Hollywood's Breeders Crown Stats

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Published: October 23, 2009 08:29 am EDT

If Muscle Hill wins on Saturday night, his career summary will be eerily reminiscent to that of another harness racing superstar

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The Meadowlands' Bob Heyden, a veritable encyclopedia of harness racing information, takes this year's Breeders Crown numbers and gives some interesting facts heading into Saturday's championship finals.

1) EACH of the last THREE Trotters Of The Year has bitten the dust in the Breeders Crown
Glidemaster second in 2006
Donato Hanover third in 2007
Deweycheatmnhowe third in 2008

2) NEVER has the pair of two-year-old male Breeders Crown winners BOTH come back to repeat at three. It can happen this year with Muscle Hill and Well Said (1996-1997 Malabar Man the last trotting colt; 1997-1998 Artiscape the last pacing colt)

3) 23 YEARS have passed since Chuck Sylvester (trainer of favoured Lucky Chucky) won the two-year-old Breeders Crown for colt trotters (Mack Lobell, 1986)

4) In 2004-2005 Brian Sears and Ron Pierce completely dominated like no other pair of drivers, winning 67% of the Crowns: 16 of 24. This year, for the second time, they are likely to have the Pacer and Trotter of the Year - Sears with Muscle Hill and Pierce with Well Said (2005 - Sears and Rocknroll Hanover, Pierce and Mr Muscleman)

5) Artsplace's LAST loss came in the Breeders Crown - at age 3. He ran the table at four en route to a horse of the year season. His son Sportswriter, from his final crop of yearlings, is the prohibitive choice in the two-year-old colt pace.

6) Where have I seen this before?
IF Muscle Hill wins and is named Horse of the Year, take a look at this mirror image.
- Somebeachsomewhere and Muscle Hill will BOTH have wound up 20-21 lifetime
- BOTH set or tied the world race record for a three-year-old
- BOTH have had $2 million single seasons
- BOTH will have set single season earnings records at three
- BOTH wound up their careers with a Breeders Crown win
- Muscle Hill will have had a 20 race winning streak; Somebeachsomewhere two 10-race winning streaks
- BOTH were second in their only loss (both by a neck, and both at the Meadowlands)

7) Think Muscle Hill is in a dominant spot in his Breeders Crown?
- He's 11 for 11 - 100 per cent. The rest of the field for 2009 is 25 for 117 - 21.4 per cent!
- He's at $2,192,441 for the year. The rest of the field, COMBINED for 2009, is at $1,429,460. That is $763,000 LESS for the nine of them than just Muscle Hill!

8) Is this right? Is Howthehaloareyou actually out of a Bonefish mare? The same Bonefish who won the 1975 Hambletonian, and is the LAST Hambletonian winner ever NOT to race again?

9) Put this one in the "Things can change from week to week" category. Tom Cango went from 509-1 one week to the 5-2 favourite the next!

10) Trond Smedshammer is the ONLY trainer in this years three-year-old colt trot who's won this before, and he did it twice: 2005 with Strong Yankee and 2007 with Arch Madness. But he is best remembered for the year he did NOT win, or ENTER it, 2004 with Windsongs Legacy - likely costing him the Horse of the Year title.

11) "On Broadway". This you don't see every day. A colt getting a third and a fourth in consecutive starts. OK. But at 244-1 and 340-1 Back to Back Starts!! Broadway Bistro in the three-year-old colt trot.

12) IF Well Said wins the Breeders Crown and the November 7 Messenger ($500,000), he then becomes the RICHEST single season horse ever - anywhere. Past Varenne, past Muscle Hill and most importantly, past $2.5 million - unchartered territory. Never before done in a single season. Even more unbelievable will be this - likely NOT Horse Of The Year! Imagine being the first horse past $2.5 million, being the first colt ever to win the NA Cup, the Meadowlands Pace, the Jug AND the Breeders Crown - and NOT be horse of the year!

13) The first horse to a million? Horse of the year Niatross, 1980, $1.4 million.
The first horse to $2 million? Horse of the year Beach Towel, 1990, $2.091 million.

14) Western Hanover has three finalists in the three-year-old colt pace, and his son Western Ideal does too. Western Hanover's final crop of yearlings sell November 2-5 at Harrisburg. Know what his introductory stud fee was in 1993? $4,000.

15) Ron Pierce and Steve Elliott have NEVER won the three-year-old colt pace Breeders Crown division before. Together or on their own. Well Said would get them both on the board.

16) Vintage Master lost his first 20 career starts, but has completely turned that around. Losing streaks are not a big concern for SOME horses come Breeders Crown day, most especially Wesgate Crown, who is the ONLY horse to win a Breeders Crown FOUR YEARS APART! He won it in 1993 as a two-year-old and then again in 1997 as a six-year-old. Oh, by the way, as a sophomore in 1994, he was WINLESS for the season!!!!

17) "I Can Dream, Brother" If I Can Dream will try and do what his full brother did in 2004 win the Breeders Crown. You might remember his name: Western Terror.

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