On this day 15 years ago, a son of Muscles Yankee was born at Winbak Farm in Chesapeake City, Md. That horse would go on to boast one of the most impressive campaigns in harness racing for a two- and three-year-old trotter and dominate the sport's stallion ranks for years to come.

That horse, of course, is the great Muscle Hill.

World champion trotter Muscle Hill (Muscles Yankee - Yankee Blondie) raced in 2008-2009 and owns a lifetime record of 21-20-1-0. He continues to rank as the leading single-season money-winning Standardbred ($2,501,381) of all time.

Muscle Hill finished second in his freshman debut, a New Jersey Sire Stakes event, but never lost another race. Major two-year-old wins included the Peter Haughton Memorial, Bluegrass, International Stallion Stakes and the Breeders Crown, where he set a world record 1:53.3 for two-year-old trotting colts on a mile track. Muscle Hill finished the season with earnings of $817,301 and was voted 2008 Dan Patch Two-Year-Old Trotting Colt of the Year.

Muscle Hill was undefeated in twelve starts as a three-year-old in 2009. Major victories included the Hambletonian, Canadian Trotting Classic, Breeders Crown, World Trotting Derby, Kentucky Futurity and American-National. His world record-equalling Hambletonian (1:50.1) is still the fastest ever. Muscle Hill’s efforts earned him the titles of 2009 Dan Patch and O’Brien Horse of the Year, Dan Patch Trotter of the Year, and 2009 Dan Patch and O’Brien Three-Year-Old Trotting Colt of the Year. Muscle Hill was the first trotter to win U.S. Horse of the Year after an unbeaten season.

“He’s the best I’ve ever seen,” Hall of Famer Bill O’Donnell was quoted as saying. “He’s the next thing to Mack Lobell....he’s so versatile. All those wins were impressive. Like the Hambletonian. He just walked around there, a mile in 1:50 (an all-age World-Record-equalling trotting time of 1:50.1). He’s just head and shoulders above them all.”

Inducted into the U.S. Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 2016, Muscle Hill has cemented his legacy through his progeny that have dominated the trotting ranks for the last decade, with stars the likes of Triple Crown winner Marion Marauder, multiple world champion Manchego, 2020 Hambletonian winner Ramona Hill, Resolve, Ariana G, Mission Brief and Southwind Frank.

As Muscle Hill turns 15 we take a look back as his greatest triumph, the 2009 Hambletonian Final.

It's A Musc-Hill-Tonian!

Muscle Hill led from gate to wire and trounced his nine rivals in a world record equaling 1:50.1 in the $1,520,333 Hambletonian No. 84 for three-year-old trotters on Saturday afternoon at the Meadowlands.

From the rail, Sears pushed Muscle Hill to the lead to an opening panel of :27.1 with Explosive Matter (Ron Pierce) on his back in second. No one dared challenge the leader through a :55 half and 1:23 three-quarters with Sears asking his charge to open up, and he responded.

With a two length lead at the head of the lane, that margin grew with every stride to the wire. Tripping the timer in 1:50.1, Muscle Hill ties Donato Hanover as the fastest three-year-old trotter in harness racing history.

Explosive Matter finished second with Calchips Brute (John Campbell) finishing third.

Bred by Winbak Farm of Maryland, three-year-old Muscle Hill (Muscles Yankee-Yankee Blondie) is now 5-for-5 on the season and 13-for-14 lifetime for trainer Greg Peck and owners Jerry Silva of Long Beach, NY, T L P Stable of Kearny, NJ, Southwind Farm of Pennington, NJ and Muscle Hill Racing LLC of Long Beach, NY.

"It's very hard to find a word to describe how I feel," said co-owner Allen Skolnick of Southwind Farms. "We've waited for a long time, and I can't give enough credit to the team."

When asked if Muscle Hill was headed for a stud career at Southwind Farm after his racing career, Skolnick would not confirm or deny the statement.

"When I saw the gate open and saw him on the lead, I was happy," said Tom Pontone of T L P Stable. "I wanted him to control the race."

"He's a great horse, I had a ton of confidence in him and I knew he could do it," said driver Brian Sears after his first Hambo win. "It was a pretty honest opener, I figured I had the best horse and he did everything I asked for. I wasn't going to go suicidal fractions. Down the stretch I was thinking just don't let anything stupid happen. It's been a great day."

Sears picked up his fifth win on the day. With the win he becomes the first driver to ever win the Hambletonian and the Hambletonian Oaks on the same day.

Trainer Greg Peck was accurate in his assessment of how fast he thought his pupil could trot.

"He was excellent today, I said to Ken [Warkentin] off camera I thought he could go in 1:50.

"My wife and I came here 19 years ago with nothing. It's hard to believe we're standing here."

Peck becomes the first trainer to double in the Peter Haughton and Hambletonian in the same year.