Harness racing is a family affair for Alan Katz and his brothers, right down to the names of their homebred horses

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Katz and his siblings, Ron and Steve, race as the 3 Brothers Stable. Their horses all carry the initials JK in memory of their late father, Jack Katz.

On Saturday night, the brothers’ homebred three-year-old filly pacer Jkmusicofthenite will be among the eight horses in the $364,430 Lady Maud at Yonkers Raceway. On October 31, Jkmusicofthenite won her elimination race for the Lady Maud, beating favourite Kiss Me Kate by 1-1/2 lengths in 1:55.2. Breeders Crown champion Yellow Diamond won the other elim by three-quarters of a length over Shanghai Lil.

The victory for Jkmusicofthenite, trained by Linda Toscano and driven by Yannick Gingras, was her second of the season. She has hit the board in 13 of 16 races this year and earned $195,584. In June, she was second to Not Enough in the $293,970 Lismore Pace at Yonkers.

“We’d like to get a good post for Saturday,” Alan Katz said. “If she draws a good position she should be pretty close to the others. I don’t know if she can beat Yellow Diamond, but she’s pretty competitive with the rest of them. She’s been good all year. She hasn’t had a lot of luck; she could’ve had a lot more [money] on her card. One thing about her, she always tries. She might not win a lot of races, but she’s always close.”

The family ties run a little deeper than usual with Jkmusicofthenite, who was named for the song from the musical “Phantom of the Opera.” The filly’s dam, another homebred named Lchaim, was the favourite horse of the Katzs’ mother, who passed away in 1999 after a battle with cancer.

Lchaim, a daughter of Life Sign-Miss Saigon named after the Jewish expression “to life,” was second in a division of the 1998 Lady Maud, losing by a neck. She was third in the 2000 Breeders Crown and finished her career in 2001 with 36 wins and $674,908.

“Our mother really loved that mare,” Katz said. “Every time that mare raced her pain went away. Since we always breed, that was a mare we would never sell.”

The Katz family, which operates a linen supply business in New York, is no stranger to success in harness racing. They were among the owners of 1993 International Trot winner Giant Force and also 2002 Breeders Crown champion Molly Can Do.

“You’re in it to have such good horses,” Katz said, “but if you’re not having fun, don’t be in this industry.”

Winning the Lady Maud would no doubt add to the family’s enjoyment.

“It’s an extra happiness when one of your homebreds wins,” Katz said. “You think it’s part of the family. It’s a big thrill. Hopefully, we’ll have some racing luck Saturday and try to get a piece of it.”

The full field for the Lady Maud is Jkmusicofthenite, Kiss Me Kate, Perfectionist, Personal Ad, Pumptuous, Shanghai Lil, Up Front Kellie Jo, and Yellow Diamond. The draw is Tuesday.

This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.