Harness racing’s biggest stars will battle on the track on Saturday, Nov. 30 in the 2024 FanDuel Championships and Fall Four stakes finals at Meadowlands Racetrack. Recently, retirement ceremonies have become the norm on this night of racing, and this year is no different.
This year, a retirement video has been compiled for those who announced their retirements, including:
- Legendary Hanover – 2023 O’Brien Award winner and 2024 Meadowlands Pace & Cane Pace champion
- Captain Albano – 2023 Dan Patch Award winner and 2024 Little Brown Jug champion
- Sig Sauer – 2024 Kentucky Futurity and Breeders Crown champion
- Winners Bet – 2024 Graduate and 2024 Breeders Crown champion
- T C I – 2023 O’Brien Award winner and 2024 Carl Erskine Memorial champion
- Karl – 2023 Dan Patch Award winner and 2024 Hambletonian champion
Karl will also be on site on Saturday for one last visit to the winner’s circle for his driver Yannick Gingras, trainer Nancy Takter and owners Christina & Nancy Takter, Black Horse Racing, Crawford Farms Racing and Bender Sweden.
Seven-year-old Its Academic will be honoured in the Meadowlands winner’s circle following his final start in the FanDuel Championship Trot. Its Academic, the 2023 Dan Patch winner with nearly $3 million in earnings has wins in the John Cashman Memorial, Crawford Farms Trot, Spirit Of Massachusetts (two-time winner), Charlie Hill Memoria, Tom Aldrich President's Trot (two-time winner) and Caesars Trotting Classic.
Allywag Hanover etched his name in history as one of the sport’s top Free-For-All pacers, and the Meadowlands will honour him and his connections – owner Allywag Partners, trainer Brett Pelling, driver Todd McCarthy and caretaker Terry Buchanan. On the board in 49 of 78 career starts, with 28 wins, he banked nearly $2.5 million and won a 2021 Dan Patch Award. Allywag Hanover won the FanDuel Championship (formerly TVG finals) twice, once in 2021 and again in 2023 over Bythemissal.
(With files from Meadowlands Racetrack)