"The way racing is today, you just don't see horses like him racing as a four-year-old. Overall, I think that is bad for the sport

. We need to see horses like this...if you look at his career, he didn't have that many starts."

Those words come from Jimmy Takter in a conversation with Meadowlands' Bob Heyden about 2010 Hambletonian champion Muscle Massive, who retired at the end of three-year-old season to stand stud at Hanover Shoe Farms. The son of Muscle Yankee banked more than $1.2 million in 19 career starts.

Takter's hopes for a Hambletonian repeat rest primarily on 2010 U.S. freshman trotter of the year Pastor Stephen, with stablemate Leader Of The Gang providing Takter with a potent 1-2 punch.

"Pastor Stephen is in Kentucky and will be returning in the middle of the month. Art Zubrod told me he's doing great; filling out, looking good. I think he can be a great horse. I really do. He has all the characteristics," said Takter. "My next best for 2011 is probably Leader Of The Gang, who won pretty much everything we asked but then got a little anxious towards the end of the year."

Named harness racing's trainer of the decade by standardbredcanada.ca as well as the 2010 Trainer of the Year by USHWA, Takter is coming off his best year to date with 119 training wins and purses earned in excess of $7.9 million. Despite earning more money and winning more races, Takter placed his most recent year ahead of 1997 - the year he won the Hambletonian with Horse of the Year Malabar Man, Hambo runner-up and Kentucky Futurity winner Take Chances and a trotting filly by the name of Moni Maker.

"It's tough to top that. But this is with younger horses. Moni Maker was the most bulletproof horse of all time."