Just 48 hours after the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, The Meadowlands will serve up one last stakes-laden 2024 feast on Saturday, Nov. 30, when $2,572,400 USD in purses will be doled out on Fall Four/FanDuel Championships Night.
One horse looking to close out a season in which he hopes to walk away with divisional honours is Abuckabett Hanover, a veteran six-year-old who is the likely favourite in the FanDuel Open Pace.
During 2024, 'Bucky' has put together quite the resume, winning the Potomac Pace, Dayton Derby, William Haughton Memorial and Dave Brower Memorial.
“You know why I’m happy if 'Bucky' is lucky enough to win?” co-owner Bill Pollock told Debbie Little in a recent edition of Harness Racing Update. “He toiled behind Bulldog Hanover, Allywag Hanover, Tattoo Artist, a lot of great, great horses, and he was always in their shadow, and now this year, I feel he really broke out on his own and really did a good job.
“I’m so happy for him. I know he doesn’t know he might win it, but I’m so thrilled for him. I think we have a very good shot at it. Plus, if he’s successful in the FanDuel, he’ll cross $2 million [USD] lifetime.”
Pollock along with partners Bruce Areman and trainer Andrew Harris have been on a buying spree in an effort to build a championship-caliber barn. (Read more about the team behind Abuckabett Hanover in TROT Magazine's 2024 November issue.)
Pollock plunked down more than $5 million USD purchasing 18 yearlings at the 2023 sales at Lexington and Harrisburg. Over the last two years, they’ve spent almost $12 million USD in stocking Harris’ stable, which includes a then-record online purchase of $534,000 USD for Abuckabett Hanover in 2022, before they topped that mark with a $758,000 USD purchase several weeks ago of two-time Breeders Crown champion My Girl EJ.
No longer having to go up against horses like Bulldog Hanover and Allywag Hanover, Abuckabett Hanover hopes to be the bully on the playground when he faces some other top-flight competitors on Saturday night.
Ruthless Hanover, the winner of the Joseph Auger Memorial earlier this year at Harrah’s Philadelphia, and Coach Stefanos, who won the Breeders Crown in eye-popping last-to-first fashion, are two of the horses who are looking to take 'Bucky' down.
The FanDuel Open Pace is an event that historically has featured some of the biggest stars in the game.
From the moment it burst onto the scene in 2013 (when the series was named the TVG Championships), the FanDuel Open Pace was an instant hit. Modelled after Thoroughbred racing’s Breeders’ Cup Classic, it pits three-year-olds who care to face older foes to see if any of the star sophomores can take on more seasoned horses and continue to excel. The Open Pace immediately stamped itself as one of the biggest events in harness racing. It also tried to accomplish something very important. The Open races gave owners a reason to keep racing’s greatest stars on the track for the fans, which has helped racing grow.
Here’s a look at a decade’s worth of stars:
- 2013 – Billed as a battle between nine-year-old fan favourite Foiled Again and three-year-old star Captaintreacherous, it would be Foiled Again emerging victorious in 1:49.2 for driver Yannick Gingras and trainer Ron Burke. Foiled Again would go on to become the richest Standardbred of all time, with a bank account of $7,676,047.
- 2014 and 2015 – Burke was at it again after five-year-old Sweet Lou (2014, 1:48) and six-year-old Bettors Edge (2015, 1:50) upped the trainer’s win streak in the event to three. Sweet Lou was piloted by Ron Pierce and Bettors Edge was handled by Matt Kakaley.
- 2016 and 2017 – Dave Miller, the second leading money-earning driver in history, went back-to-back, scoring with five-year-old Always B Miki (2016, 1:48.2) for Jimmy Takter and seven-year-old Mach It So (2017, 1:49.2) for Jeff Bamond.
- 2018 – Seven-year-old McWicked capped off a season in which he was voted the O'Brien and Dan Patch Horse of the Year after winning in 1:48 for driver Brian Sears and trainer Casie Coleman. The first six editions of the FanDuel Open Pace had not seen any winner under the age of five, but that was about to change.
- 2019 – Always A Prince became the first of four consecutive four-year-olds to win the race. Yannick Gingras and Tyler George teamed up for the victory in 1:48.2.
- 2020 – The great Bettors Wish scored for Dexter Dunn and Chris Ryder in 1:48.1.
- 2021 – One of the best older pacers of this generation, Allywag Hanover won for Todd McCarthy and Brett Pelling in 1:48.1. Two years later, in 2023, he would become the only horse to win this dash twice, as then, at age six, he stopped the clock in 1:49.1 for the same driver-trainer combo.
- 2022 – In between Allywag Hanover’s two wins came a stakes-record performance of 1:47.3 by the marvelous Bulldog Hanover. The fastest horse in Standardbred history by virtue of a 1:45.4 clocking at The Big M, he won the 2022 edition in the final start of his illustrious career for Dunn and Jack Darling.
Gingras, Miller, Dunn and McCarthy all have two wins apiece to sit atop the drivers list in the FanDuel Open Pace. Burke has three wins to lead the trainers. Pelling is next with two.
Four-year-olds have four wins in the event while five, six and seven-year-olds all have two each. One nine-year-old has also emerged victorious.
No three-year-old has ever won the FanDuel Open Pace. Three have tried and come up short. They are Captaintreacherous, who finished sixth in 2013; Bettors Wish, second in 2019; and Confederate, eighth in 2023.
The Meadowlands is known for its big-event programs, and with the Breeders Crown added to the mix this year, The Big M has already played host to Meadowlands Pace Night, Hambletonian Day and the Crown.
The last of the “Fab 2024” takes place on Saturday on Fall Four/FanDuel Championships Night with the following eight major events that taking place: $382,200 USD Governor’s Cup (two-year-old colt & gelding pace), $338,200 USD Three Diamonds (two-year-old filly pace), $447,000 USD Valley Victory (two-year-old colt & gelding trot), $455,000 USD Goldsmith Maid (two-year-old fill trot), $325,000 USD FanDuel Open Pace, $325,000 USD FanDuel Open Trot, $150,000 USD FanDuel Open Mare Pace and $150,000 USD FanDuel Open Mare Trot.
The leading horse in the race for U.S. Horse of the Year, Twin B Joe Fresh, will look to up her seasonal stats to 11 wins from 13 starts in the FanDuel Open Mare Pace. A year ago, the Chris Ryder trainee became the first three-year-old in history to win this event, and now that Ryder has announced that the daughter of Roll With Joe-Fresh Breeze will race in 2025, a win Saturday puts her in line to possibly record a natural hat trick in this dash next year.
“At this time of year, on behalf of Jeff and Paula Gural, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of our owners, horsemen and employees for all of their dedication to the sport of harness racing and The Meadowlands,” said Jason Settlemoir, Chief Operating Officer and General Manager at The Meadowlands. “And, of course, we want to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to our faithful fans. Without them, and their loyalty to us and our product, we would not be the No. 1 harness track in the world. We are grateful to have them.”
Racing continues at The Meadowlands every Friday and Saturday. Post time for the first race is 6:20 p.m., with the live pre-game show at 5:45 p.m. The Meadowlands offers free programs on every race of every race card at playmeadowlands.com.
(With files from Meadowlands Racetrack)