"It's something I'm really proud of because it's actually a true test for a trainer, I think...to be able to keep a horse sound from beginning to the end."
Swedish native Jimmy Takter made his first start in the Breeders Crown in 1985 at Louisville Downs. He drove and trained open trotter Mark Six to a fifth-place finish in the event won by Nearly Perfect. The duo went off at 65-1, and few in attendance probably took note of the determined young horseman.
Some 30 years later, Takter leads all Breeders Crown trainers in the year-end championship series with a staggering 33 trophies and $13 million in earnings, nearly double that of the next closest trainer.
Last year he announced that 2018 would be his final full year of conditioning a large stable, as he and his wife Christina are determined to step back from the 24/7 grind and enjoy life and their grandchildren a little more.
Takter is going out with a bang, sending 15 starters into the $6 million Breeders Crown races on Saturday, Oct. 27 at Pocono, headlined by the “Wonder from Down Under” Lazarus in the $430,000 Breeders Crown Pace. Correspondent Heather Vitale visited Millennium Farm for a Breeders Crown preview of Jimmy Takter’s last hurrah in the series he’s dominated.
The posts for the Breeders Crown Open Pace and Trot were drawn on Tuesday to complete the fields for this Saturday's all-star card of harness racing, with $6.4 million in total purses, slated for The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. Post time for the first race will be at 5:30 p.m. (EDT).
(with files from The Breeders Crown)