Closing day for the inaugural meet at Northville Downs at Barry Expo Center on Wednesday, Oct. 15 featured four track-record performances and retirement tributes to 14-year-old pacers and a state racing steward.
The afternoon started off cloudy and cool, but things quickly heated up on the track as Allamerican Beach set a new track record for a two-year-old gelding pacer in the first race. Brad Kramer rated the rookie to :30.3, 1:01.2, and 1:30 fractions on the lead, and Allamerican Beach held off Crush It (Kody Massey) by a length to score in 1:59.3. Man Of Time (Charles Taylor) was third. Allamerican Beach, a son of Wakazashi Beach-Graney, is trained by Al Tomlinson, who co-owns him with Jack Mitchell, Jr. The gelding is five-for-11 lifetime. He paid $2.20 to win.
In the second race, Anna Bri And Me equalled the track record for three-year-old filly pacers. She cut out the panels of :29, :58.1, and 1:28.2 for Massey and completed the mile in 1:59.2, matching the mark Royalty Girl laid down on Sept. 10. Bunkerhill Lil (Ty Goodell) was second, 1-1/4 lengths back, followed by Crooked Kingdom (Winter Asher-Stalbaum). Anna Bri And Me is a homebred for Gregory Gardner. Paul Cloer Jr. trains the daughter of Fred and Ginger-Miss Wells, a five-time career winner in 15 tries. Her win price was $2.40.
Gap Hunter ($11.80) kept the track-record train going in the third race, coming from off the pace to tie the standard for a three-year-old pacing gelding. After racing fourth through the :28.4 and :57.2 early panels, Goodell sent the son of Bondi Hanover-Fox Valley Bailey into the breeze to three-quarters in 1:28, and the Jocelyn Bates trainee battled by leader Jet Six (Anthony Gutierrez) for a half-length victory in 1:57.4. Uallgonnamakemeloo (Massey) completed the ticket. Gap Hunter won in his first start for Bates, who acquired him after his Sept. 30 start, and the gelding improved to four-for-25 lifetime. The 1:57.4 clocking matched the record of King Putt.
However, King Putt was not satisfied with ending the meet as a co-track record-holder and sliced more than two seconds off the record with a 1:55.2 triumph in the finale. Kramer sent him to battle with Mr Pnut (Art McIlmurray) after a :28.1 first panel, and King Putt wore down that rival through :57.4 and 1:26 middle splits before storming away to a 6-1/4-length victory for owner-trainer Joe Casagranda. Mr Pnut held off Left Hand Lou (Tim Roach) for second. King Putt's mile also lowered the overall three-year-old pacing record. The Jk Endofanera-Pv Miracle Mary homebred has now won 11 times in 16 career outings. He returned $3 to win.
Trainer Paul Cloer Jr. emphatically took the training title on the final day with a four-win performance. He started the 10-race card one win behind Gerald Malady and in a second-place tie with Lake but quickly drew level with Malady as Anna Bri And Me won the second race. Cloer then struck the front as Elite Options ($3.40) won the fourth, and he and poured it on with victories from Magickingdom ($5) and Kassius Key ($27.60). The conditioner finished with 14 wins on the meet, while neither Malady nor Lake scored a training victory on the card and ended with 11 and 10 wins, respectively.
The dash-winning driver title was also decided on Wednesday, with Kody Massey finishing as leading reinsman with 40 wins. Lake had closed the gap on Massey in recent weeks and tallied three on the day, but he had to settle for second with 38 wins.
During the race programs this week, the 14-year-old pacers that were in to go were honoured individually for their lifetime accomplishments prior to their mandatory retirements at the end of the year. Those horses recognized were Itsonlyrocknroll A, Mach Stockn Barrel, All the Bettor, Model Ninetyfour, Avalanche Hanover, and Liberal.
Michigan state steward Jim Curran was honoured after the eighth race with a horsemen’s walk over as he enters retirement. In addition to his career as an official, Curran, a Jackson, Mich. native, was a winner of more than 4,000 races as a driver in a storied career that led to his induction into the Illinois Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 1987 along with drivers Dave Magee and Connel Willis. Since 2001, Curran has served his home state and others as a racing steward.
When asked in an interview to the Chicago Tribune in 1987 how horse racing impacted his life, Curran said, ”It's the horses that have made me and given me more enjoyment than anything I have experienced in the sport. When I look back, the things that stand out are the big races I've won, the good horses I've driven, and the fast miles I've raced.”
And now, after years of serving the racing industry, Curran has set his sights on enjoying retirement.
(Northville Downs; photo of King Putt winning on Oct. 8)