Mike and Mary Jane Anderson got into harness racing as a tribute to Mike’s dad, and those tributes are extending to aunts and adopted uncles

these days.

And the aunt’s namesake is starting to make the family proud.

Aunt Mel, a two-year-old filly trotter that is one of two horses the Andersons have full ownership of, has won two of her last three starts after not winning in her first four.

Her most recent start was a win in her elimination race for the Peaceful Way Stakes, which puts her in Saturday’s $447,000 final at Mohawk Racetrack.

Aunt Mel’s recent second-place finish was to Win Missy B in a $105,000 division of the Kentuckiana Stallion Management Stakes at Indiana Downs, and Missy B reached the Peaceful Way final by upsetting previously unbeaten Check Me Out in her elimination race.

Aunt Mel, trained by Erv Miller, is named after Mike Anderson’s sister, Melanie.

“When we got her I said to my sons, ‘We can name her anything we want, what do you guys want to name her?’” said Anderson, who lives in the northern suburbs of Chicago.

And so, Mac, who is now nine years old, and Payton (named after Bears legend Walter Payton), now 11, decided to name her after their favourite aunt. And because the family has become so close with Miller, who is a friend to Mike and wife Mary Jane and like an uncle to the two boys, they named their other fully owned horse Mr Erv.

It’s not surprising because Miller has been there from the beginning.

The seeds were planted in the 1970s, when Mike’s father Don took him and his brother Marty to Quad City Downs in Illinois.

“My dad and grandfather bought cheap horses at Quad City Downs,” Anderson said. “They never made much money, but we all enjoyed going; it was a lot of fun. My dad got a lot out of it.”

As they grew older, the sons asked Don what he wanted to do for his birthday, which fell on the second week in August. Don wanted to go to Springfield’s State Fair and watch the colt and filly finals for the Illinois-bred horses.

When the brothers got married, it turned into a family affair as wives and kids joined the celebration each August. When Don passed away from cancer, Mary Jane (M.J.) said to Mike, “We still have to have a reason to go to Springfield, let’s get a horse.”

Mike went to a sale, saw Miller there and asked if he was taking owners.

“He said ‘I could,’” Anderson recalled. The two talked, and in 2007 the Andersons purchased a share of Smellthecolornine as a yearling.

“We had tons of fun,” Anderson said, noting the horse had its share of success. “Since then we’ve bought a whole passel of yearlings.”

It has become a family operation. M.J., a retired school teacher, is the CFO. She handles all the bookkeeping and the horses are in her name. Mike is president of a label company that puts the right IDs on everything from whiskey to salad dressing.

Payton and Mac are also part of the act.

“I tell people most kids fight over video games; my kids fight over yearling catalogs,” Anderson said with a laugh. “I tell them, ‘You get 20 minutes and you get 20 minutes.’ They go through it, make a list with their numbers of what horses they like.

“They jog horses with Mr. Erv all the time. They absolutely love it and they love him. When we got our second horse and wanted to name it, they said, ‘How about Mr Erv?’”

And Mr. Erv appears to have picked a sleeper in Aunt Mel. Miller purchased her (under the name Khushi Hanover) for $95,000 at the Standardbred Horse Sale in Harrisburg.

“Erv liked her from the very beginning,” said Anderson, who selects the horses with Miller, but was not on hand that day. “I wish I could take credit, but I can’t. We ended up bidding on it and went higher than we discussed. That may be why we ended up with all of her.

“Erv said she had a good attitude. She had a little tough luck at first. Erv said let’s relax with her.

“He put her in a Review Stakes at Springfield and Erv’s son Marcus gave her a nice drive [for her first win]. She trotted nice and gained a lot of confidence. She went over to Indiana and raced real good but got beat by Win Missy B. In every race you can see her getting more confidence. Erv is tweaking her here and there and hopefully she trots well in Canada.”

The Andersons will be watching the race on simulcast this weekend. The family will be at Balmoral Park for Super Night in Illinois. The inspiration for Aunt Mel’s name will be interested to see what happens.

“[Melanie] was never into the horses that much like my brother and I or my father, but she was very happy that the kids thought of her and named her Aunt Mel,” Anderson said. “The other night when she won the elimination I told her, ‘By the way you won a big race up in Canada.’ She said, ‘How did I look?’ I said, ‘I didn’t care how you looked. You were fast. That’s what I was worried about.’”

Regardless of what happens at Mohawk this weekend, Anderson will enjoy it. He entered the racing game to keep his father’s spirit alive. He has done that, and then some.

“My only regret is I didn’t get involved in it sooner,” he said. “I just think the world of it, and I think the world of everyone we have worked with. It’s exceeded my expectations with how much fun we’ve had and relationships we’ve made.”

Here is a look at the Peaceful Way field in post position order, with listed drivers and trainers:

1. Miss Majestic, Sylvain Filion, Mark Steacy
2. Superstar Hanover, Ron Pierce, Jimmy Takter
3. Aunt Mel, David Miller, Erv Miller
4. Win Missy B, Trevor Ritchie, Charlie Norris
5. Princess Fortune, Anthony MacDonald, Paul Reid
6. Miss Paris, Scott Zeron, Richard “Nifty” Norman
7. Witch Way, Randy Waples, Joseph MacIsaac
8. Xquisite Chocolate, Brian Sears, Paul Kelley
9. Love Walked In, Andy Miller, Julie Miller
10. Check Me Out, Tim Tetrick, Ray Schnittker

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