Sears Wins 2011 Big M Driving Title
Brian Sears sewed up his sixth driving title in seven years on Saturday night at the Meadowlands Racetrack
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Sears’ three wins on the card included the $235,750 Golden Girls with Dreamfair Eternal and $317,800 Woodrow Wilson with Major Bombay, giving him 149 victories to close out the 2011 harness meet. The 43-year-old Secaucus, New Jersey resident also led all drivers in earnings with $3.5 million in purses. He previously led the standings for five straight years, from 2005-2009.
Highlights of the meet for Sears included steering See You At Peelers to victory in the $127,000 Tarport Hap, Arch Madness in the $220,750 Titan Cup, Slave Dream in the $200,000 Arthur Cutler Memorial, Hey Mister in the $257,000 Del Miller Memorial and Bettor Sweet in the $174,250 US Pacing Championship.
Tim Tetrick finished second in the standings with 137 victories, while David Miller was third with 100. Newcomer Simon Allard cracked the Top 10, finishing seventh with 40 wins, while Hall Of Famer Mike Lachance rejoined the list with a highly successful summer campaign.
The 2011 Meadowlands Top 10 Drivers:
Rank - Name - Starts - 1st - 2nd - 3rd - Purses
1 - Brian Sears - 731 - 149 - 111 - 100 - 3,523,915
2 - Tim Tetrick - 717 - 137 - 100 - 95 - 2,931,735
3 - David Miller - 710 - 100 - 90 - 82 - 2,223,972
4 - Andy Miller - 746 - 96 - 94 - 85 - 2,236,171
5 - Yannick Gingras - 687 - 94 - 103 - 118 - 2,416,508
6 - Ron Pierce - 670 - 63 - 94 - 71 - 2,802,404
7 - Simon Allard - 317 - 40 - 46 - 38 - 720,764
8 - Mike Lachance - 329 - 35 - 31 - 25 - 776,780
9 - John Campbell - 399 - 32 - 47 - 49 - 935,629
10 - Brandon Simpson - 447 - 29 - 29 - 45 - 491,473
(Meadowlands Racetrack)