With harness racing's stakes season concluded for this year and many of the sport's stars shut down or retired, the movement on the TROT Magazine Fantasy Stable leaderboard over the next month will largely come down to the human participants.
James Ling of Springboro, Oh. maintains his lead over the more than 1,200 contestants as the calendar flips to December. Strong campaigns by Tall Dark Stranger ($1,428,681), Gimpanzee ($1,172,092), Manchego ($794,921), Hypnotic AM ($698,178) and Summa Cum Laude ($540,325) propelled Ling's Luck Of The Irsish stable to the head of the class with a total bankroll of $7,272,883.
Trot Insider's selection of trainer Nancy Takter as a 2020 Fantasy Stable Expert could not have been more prophetic, as the top trainer of the Grand Circuit this season finds herself just off the leader in the Fantasy Stable contest. Takter's stable is also fronted by Tall Dark Stranger ($1,428,681), Gimpanzee ($1,172,092), Manchego ($794,921) and Hypnotic AM ($698,178) with Cattlewash ($512,986) also providing solid numbers to place her stable's bankroll at $7,249,667 -- some $23,000 back of Ling.
Not far behind the front pair are Bill Smellie's Billaboogie stable ($7,213,963), Tom Baryluk's Bristol Aces stable ($7,203,544) and Holli Gardner's Holli stable ($7,166,094).
The TROT Fantasy Stable Contest is based on total earnings of selected horses and five per cent of the earnings of selected trainers and drivers between June 19 and Dec. 31, 2020.
For the purposes of the fantasy bankroll, the winners (horses only) of the 2020 Breeders Crown Finals each received a $200,000 contest bankroll bonus. In the event of a dead heat in a Breeders Crown Final, the $200,000 is divided among the dead heating horse(s).
At the end of the year, the winner of the contest will receive entry into and travel to the 2021 World Harness Handicapping Championship, a prize valued at (approx.) $1,300.
Click the Fantasy tab near the top right hand side of the Standardbred Canada homepage to follow along with the contest all year long. Contest totals are updated daily at 11:00 a.m. (EST).
The top 10 stables as of Dec. 1, 2020, are featured below. To see the full list of results, click the following link: 2020 TROT Magazine Fantasy Stable Standings.
| Rank | Stable | Name | City, Province/State | Total Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LUCK OF THE IRSISH | James Ling | Springboro, OH | $7,272,883 |
| 2 | NANCY TAKTER | Nancy Takter | Allentown, NJ | $7,249,667 |
| 3 | BILLABOOGIE | Bill Smellie | Arthur, ON | $7,213,963 |
| 4 | BRISTOL ACES | Tom Baryluk | Sydney, NS | $7,203,544 |
| 5 | HOLLI | Holli Gardner | Sheridan, MI | $7,166,094 |
| 6 | HOLDEMACE007 | Kenneth Sizer | Calgary, AB | $7,149,754 |
| 7 | JC NEWFIEBOUND | Jamie Lefave | Swift Current, SK | $7,148,124 |
| 8 | COURBIER RACING | Shane Courbier | Grand Rapids, MI | $7,093,413 |
| 9 | BORTAKSTABLE2020 | Robert Steinke | Windsor, ON | $7,062,712 |
| 10 | JENN'S JETS | Jenn Jacoby | Charlotte, NC | $7,051,390 |