When Darena Hanover won the Matron Stakes at Dover Downs for three-year-old filly pacers on Sunday night, the win lifted trainer Ron Burke into new territory and erased his own mark from harness racing's record books.
With the inside post advantage, Darena Hanover and driver Yannick Gingras carved out fractions of :26.4, :55 and 1:22.4 en route to the 1:50.4 triumph. She held on by a nose to win over pocket-sitter Marty Party (Ron Pierce), who closed up the inside along with third-place finisher Shelliscape (John Campbell). The Yankee Cruiser-Dashaway Hanover filly is owned by trainer Ron Burke's Burke Racing Stable LLC of Fredericktown, Pennsylvania. This year's Jugette champion now boasts a record reading 8-6-2 in 20 seasonal starts while her career bankroll soared past the half-million dollar mark.
That win propelled Burke to seasonal earnings of $18,529,358 - more than double the second place trainer, Jimmy Takter ($9.098 million). Burke surpassed the $18,528,024 his stable earned in 2011.
Boasting 822 seasonal wins through satellite stables across the U.S., Burke is well on his way to toppling that record as well. In 2010, the Pennsylvania native notched 840 victories which also set a single-season record for trainers.