If Boulder Creek can pull off the upset in the $125,000 Presidential Series final Saturday night, driver Dan Dube will have the distinction of winning the race with the two richest male pacers of all time
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Dube won the 2003 edition of the Presidential with Gallo Blue Chip, who retired as the leading money-winning pacer of all time with $4.2 million in earnings. On Saturday night, Dube and Boulder Creek will try to snap Winbak Speed's three-race streak in the Presidential, the first major stakes race of the year at the Meadowlands.
One of three winter series for pacers that will draw to a close Saturday, the Presidential shares the spotlight with the $94,600 Clyde Hirt and $72,500 Complex finals.
Boulder Creek will go to the post for the 162nd time in his career in the tenth race Presidential. He ranks second behind Gallo Blue Chip on the male earnings list with $3.4 million (US) and third all-time, sitting just behind Eternal Camnation. Boulder Creek defeated Winbak Speed in the fog on December 27, but has been beaten twice by the morning line favourite in both legs of the Presidential Series.
"Boulder Creek is getting older, yes, but he is still very strong," Dube said. "The speed is still there. He's been good for so long, it's hard to believe. I remember the first time I ever drove him. It was at Windsor and I was at Woodbine about to make the three-hour drive. I didn't want to go. He had a bad post, but I went anyway and was last at the top of the stretch. This was when he was a three-year-old. He wound up winning the race. You can't believe where he was sitting and still won it. I tell people to go on the internet and look up that race."
Dube, 39, is off to a strong start this season at the Meadowlands and bagged four winners last Saturday. The Quebec native began driving at the Meadowlands in 1999 and set a personal record for earnings in 2008 with $8.9 million banked nationally. While Boulder Creek has provided Dube with many great milestones, he still holds a special spot in his heart for Gallo Blue Chip.
"Gallo Blue Chip was an unbelievable horse," he said. "He was tough, a fighter who just kept on going. You couldn't stop him. He would overcome any mistakes I would make and make me look good. And he did it at three and four. Not a lot of horses come back after the season he had and have another million-dollar year. He would rank No. 1 on my list of all-time best."
The field for the $125,000 Presidential final:
PP, Horse, Driver, Trainer, Odds
1, Shark Gesture, John Campbell, Larry Remmen, 12-1
2, Psilvuheartbreaker, Jim Meittinis, Bruce Saunders, 10-1
3, Noble Falcon, Tim Tetrick, Kevin Mc Dermott, 8-1
4, Western Shore, George Brennan, Joe Poliseno, 6-1
5, Winbak Speed, Ron Pierce, Wayne Givens, 9-5
6, Its That Time, Brian Sears, Mark Kesmodel, 8-1
7, Boulder Creek, Daniel Dube, Mark Kesmodel, 4-1
8, Beau Rivage N, Eric Goodell, Peter Tritton, 15-1
9, Maltese Artist, Yannick Gingras, Ron Burke, 15-1
10, Soul Chaser, David Miller, Ken Rucker, 8-1
(Meadowlands)