The connections of Mister Big are looking forward to another successful year with the classy campaigner, who is now back in training and has the potential to earn his third consecutive million-dollar season

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"Only Gallo Blue Chip, Eternal Camnation, Boulder Creek, and Nihilator have won more money [in US dollars] on the pace. A half million won this year and Mister Big will be second all-time, a million and he will be first," says Joe Muscara, Jr. whose father is Mister Big's owner Joe Muscara. "It's not the money in itself that's important, it's important because the money is a measure of the greatness of the horse."

In the past two years, the standout six-year-old has won more stakes races than any aged pacer pushing his bankroll to over $3.35 million. The Ontario-sired son of Grinfromeartoear – Worlds Sweetheart earned over $1.5 million last year alone after in a sensational season that included back-to-back wins in the William R. Haughton, the United States Pacing Championship, the Canadian Pacing Championship, and the Breeders Crown.

Like a true champion, Mister Big has not gone unchallenged. He has been put to the test by some of the sport's top pacers including the likes of Lis Mara and Artistic Fella.

"They are both great horses and they raced great races," Muscara, Jr. told Trot Insider. "When you are a potential Hall of Famer and you get beat by a potential Hall of Famer you tip your hat and say 'we will get you next time.'

"Last year our goal was to win all four big ones, something no horse has ever done. To do that you need an experienced owner to set the agenda, an enlightened trainer to get the horse to each race in top form and a great driver who understands the horse and what makes the animal tick. With my dad, Virgil Morgan and Brian Sears, Mister Big had a great support team behind him. But most of all you need a very, very special horse - and a little luck, too.

"Artistic Fella is an exceptional horse and also has a great team behind him. It is rare that you have aged horses of this quality going against each other week after week and it is the reason the racing was so exciting this [past] year."

Muscara, Jr. is hoping to keep that excitement going.

"Mister Big set a world record for a five eights track at Chester [last] year but we have never pushed the pedal all the way down just to see how fast he can go because we are trying for the three greatest years ever by an aged pacer. We have two down and one to go."

Mister Big's phenomenal efforts on the track have secured him the Dan Patch Award for older male pacers for the second straight year. With only two starts on Canadian soil in 2008, Mister Big is not eligible for the O'Brien Award.

"[We're] a little saddened because it wasn't like we didn't make the attempt," says trainer Virgil Morgan. "They never had eliminations for the Breeders Crown and they didn't have eliminations for the Canadian Pacing Derby. We would have liked to have raced in an overnight between there sometime but we weren't given the opportunity so it's a little saddening, but life goes on."

While Muscara, Jr. is geared up for another big season, trainer Virgil Morgan Jr. is keeping everything on an even keel.

"The goal is just to stay healthy. That's my main objective as a trainer," Morgan told Trot Insider. "If he stays healthy the rest will fall into place. When you set dollar amounts I don't its fair to the horse because there's just so much involved in that - the post position, the trip and what not. So I prefer not to get caught up in that and be more realistic and just hope that he stays healthy."

"He's doing great," says Morgan. "He's a pretty big, good looking horse. He's a very muscular horse. He put on a little muscle and actually he got a tad taller. He really looks great. I couldn't be happier at this point."

Morgan says the bay will follow the same schedule as last year, which includes 16 premiere races and additional competition in the form of standout sophomores Art Official, Dali and Shadow Play.

"We will try to do the best we can. They've changed the schedule a little bit. There's not too much of a break between some of the major races. The races are pretty much consecutive so it might be a little harder but hopefully he'll be up to the task."

Looking down the road, Muscara, Jr. says Mister Big will retire at the end of the year and head to the breeding shed as a shuttle stallion between the United States and New Zealand. At the age of seven, by today's standards, that's older than most studs entering the breeding business - something not lost on Mister Big's trainer.

"Mr. Muscara is a class act and he's good for the business," stated Morgan. "To bring the horse back to race as he has - not many people would do that."