Auckland Reactor - Photo Property of Vicki Wright

I know that the blog is supposed to focus on the 3YO pacing colts, but I cannot help but be excited that Auckland Reactor is going to be racing in the United States.

Ellen Harvey reported yesterday that the amazing pacer had arrived in New Jersey on February 3, and that he has already hit the training track. The only problem is one that pretty much everyone in the north eastern side of the United States if facing – he is cold.

Auckland Reactor‘s trainer Kelvin Harrison, a native of New Zealand who is now training in the United States joked “He’s settling in pretty good, but he’s like me, he doesn’t have a lot of hair.”

Harness fans undoubtedly cannot wait for Auckland Reactor to shake off the cold weather and begin to heat up the tracks around the Grand Circuit this summer.

Harness racing in North America has certainly been given a boost, and things are looking great for the sport in 2010.

Starting from the 6th post position didn’t seem to bother Come Back, who bolted out to an early lead and never looked back in route to a length and head victory over Totally Empressive, who last week won his Count B division.  Lake Shark, who has showed signs of life on the track early in 2010, finished a third, while Bruisers Brother, another winner against older pacers in 2010, came in a well-beated fifth.

In the second division, it wasn’t necessarily the photo-finish win by Willies Place that was the main story, but about how poorly the favorite Playing Solitare fared. While the Jody Jamieson-driven Willies Place captured the lead at the top of the stretch and held on gamely at the wire for the win over Mambo Italiano, Playing Solitare never seemed to take to the track on Friday, staying at the back of the pack, coming in 6th in in the field of 7.

Friday’s Count B finale sets up to be an excellent showdown between Come Back and Willies Place, who finished the second leg of the series in 1:54.3 and 1:54.4, respectively.  The final comes a day after the United State’s first major 3YO pacing series rolls on as The Meadowlands hosts the second leg of the Jr. Trendsetter Pacing Series.

Check back later this week as RoadtotheJug will bring you all of the North American pacing action.

The first division on Friday went to Totally Impressive, who wasn’t too impressive to the betting public but ran quite well to pull the minor upset in 1:55.2.  The gelding, driven by Ron Waples and trained by Hall of Fame-horseman Bob McIntosh, jumped to an early lead and held off the late-charging Playing Solitare, who sat well off the pace before making his impressive run.  Cactus Jack, who in the Snowshoe Series had show some guts in beating older pacers, got up for third.  The post-time favorite, Mustang Art, was beginning to make his charge going into the stretch before breaking and finishing near the back.

The victor in the second division proved to be even more impressive as the favorite Come Back wired the field, pacing in 1:54.1, posting one of the best 2010 times for the 3YO pacing class.  The I Am A Fool colt won the division by 3 3/4 lengths over Lake Shark, while Bruisers Brother finished a well-beaten 3rd.

The Count B Series will resume with the 2nd leg on Friday, February 5 at Woodbine, and RoadtotheJug will be here to follow the action.

The Experimental Ratings take into account the astute observations of not only Bergstein, but a plethora of harness racing’s elite drivers to produce an estimated ranking of the top harness racing stars, giving a glimpse into the minds of those involved as to who they think the best of the best are as well as the best mile time that the horses will produce.  Sportswriter sits in the #1 position among the 3YO pacers, making him an early front-runner in the Road to the Jug, and the Experimental Ratings show that the consensus is that Sportswriter should pace at around 1:47.1.

All Speed Hanover, the victor in the 2009 Breeders’ Crown 2YO Pace, the only race in which Sportswriter fell to defeat,  comes in second with an estimated time of 1:47.2, followed by the 2009 Governors Cup winner One More Laugh, who is predicted to pace at 1:47.3.

As it is still quite early in 2010, it may be awhile until these and other colts on the list….as well as the filly, Fancy Filly, the only lady on the list, are seen in action, but RoadtotheJug will be there to bring you all of the 3YO pacing action.  Until then, we can only leave you with the rest of the 2010 3YO Pacing Experimental Ratings.

1. Sportswriter – 1:47.1

2. All Speed Hanover – 1:47.2

3. One More Laugh – 1:47.3

4. Rock N Roll Heaven – 1:47.4

5. Blue Rock – 1:48

6. Rockin Image – 1:48.1

7. Power Of A Moment – 1:48.2

8. Malicious – 1:48.3

9. Hes Gorgeous – 1:48.4

10. Fancy Filly – 1:49

Granted, this is an earnings-restricted pacing series, so the big admittedly guns are still resting up, but at this point of the year harness fans will pretty much take what they can get for stakes action.  So while the Count B might not feature Canada’s best 3YO pacers, the field does look competitive.

The first $20,000 division is scheduled as the 4^th race on Friday’s card and features Cactus Jack, who was in the money against older horses twice in the Snowshoe Series at Woodbine, but drawing 9^th will mean that even the drop down to 3YO company will make for a tough race. That is especially true considering that just inside of Cactus Jack sits Southview Cam, who has two wins under his belt in 2010 and has paced a decent 1:56.2 against older company. Although drawing outside will make it a bit tougher, these two should handle the rest of the field, but being this early in the year means that a race such as this can be anybody’s to take.  Don’t be surprised if the #1 Mambo Italiano, who has also fared well in 2010, jumps in to steal the show.

The second $20,000 division is the 6^th race on Woodbine’s Friday card and features who should be the favorite for the series, Bruisers Brother.  This hard-knocking son of Mach Three has already beaten older pacers in the Snowshoe Series, and currently sits near the top in North American 3YO earnings for 2010 as he never finished outside of the money in the Snowshoe.  Drawing the 1-hole is only music to the ears to driver Mike Saftic, who looks to continue the early success of this colt in these early pacing series.

Drawing the far outside in this division is Lake Shark, another 3YO winner against older pacers in the Snowshoe Series.  After scoring an early win in the Snowshoe, though, Lake Shark has struggled lately to continue the success, and drawing the outside will make it tough in this race, especially since he will have to compete against Ittakestwobaby,  who has two wins in 2010, including a nice win against older company in a conditioned pace at Woodbine.

Early series can make it tough to pick winners, but these are good times for pacing fans as the big stakes will soon be here.  Check back to RoadtotheJug to keep up with the 3YO pacers in 2010.

These guarantees are in addition to the excellent bet, which has a takeout of only 15%, which horseplayers all know make the play a great bet.

In addition to this great wagering advancement, the stakes action is beginning to heat up at The Meadowlands, highlighted by Saturday’s $125,000 Presidential Series Final, featuring some of the best Free-for-All pacers, and we will soon see the first major round of 3YO pacers in action in the Jr. Trendsetter series.

The action is heating up, and RoadtotheJug will be here to follow it all.

Of course, many will argue that the Snowshoe Series isn’t a real test, but I am a little impressed with the times that these kids are putting on the board.  In both legs, Bruisers Brother has put up a time of 1:55.0, which isn’t record-breaking, but at least he is only a second or two off the times of his 4YO competitors, and I think he will improve a great deal from that. Same with Lake Shark.

While these are probably not horses that will make a huge impact on the 3YO pacing division in 2010, these are strong competitors, and should be interesting to watch over the next few months.

The son of Western Terror went 9-6-2 in 32 career starts, amassing over $400,000 in career earnings. Last year Fast Pay was ultra impressive in his Ontario Sire Stakes races, winning 3 OSS Gold series finals, all on different track sizes.

Dave Menary reported to Trot Magazine that Fast Pay was critically injured in a stall incident this morning and passed away. The Free-for-All division lost an up-and-coming star to say the least.

For the full story, please visit the Standardbred Canada website.

2009 was a fantastic year for harness racing. From stars like Well Said and his amazing 2-heat win in the Little Brown Jug to the undefeated Muscle Hill and his flawless Hambo performance to the gutsy older pacer battles between the likes of Won The West, Mister Big, and Shark Gesture, the best in harness certainly shined in 2009.

2010 brings us a fine lineup of 3YO pacers with many questions to answer. Will Casie Coleman keep Sportswriter in top form? Will All Speed Hanover gain some of the respect he deserves? Will some of the outsiders pick up the pace and join the top of the class?

It certainly won’t be long until these and many other questons will be answered where they should be: on the many tough ovals across that comprise this great sport.

Check back often to RoadtotheJug for updates on these questions, and best of luck to everyone in 2010..

The reason I love harness racing is the fact that it is a real sport, and real competitors are willing to run their horses. Thus is the case of Travis Seekman, who is set to run this fun 3YO tonight at Balmoral Park.

Annieswesterncard has put up quite a fight this year, including impressive runs in the 2009 Little Brown Jug, and should be a strong campaigner in 2010.

Anyway, I am just pulling for Annieswestercard in this pace tonight, and I hope everyone playing the races there, as well as places like Woodbine and Santa Anita, bring home some winners.

Season’s Greeting, and let’s get ready for a big 2010.