When Get Around Town set foot on the racetrack for the last time this month, the 14-year-old gelding finished his career with a feat likely unmatched by any Standardbred racehorse.
No, you won’t find the veteran pacer on any all-time list for wins or money earned but with 459 starts the horse can lay claim to a remarkable record for toughness and durability.
When owner and trainer team Bill and Brian Boroff pull the pacer’s racing shoes for the final time, the unlikely warhorse will hold a distinction that has likely never been matched in modern harness racing: for the last 11 years, since January 2014, the son of Jeremes Jet has contested a pari-mutuel race during every month on the calendar, except one.
The only month the horse failed to chart a raceline was April 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down racing across North America. He was ready to race... but the tracks were closed.
It’s a record that’s difficult to verify without checking the racelines of thousands of horses but a random survey of long-time horsepeople turned up no comparables.
Get Around Town winning for the final time on Oct. 9, 2024 at Hollywood Dayton
If the truth be told, I never dreamed I would be writing this story when I sold Get Around Town at the end of his three-year-old season. The thought never occurred that the then tender-footed horse would still be racing 12 years later.
I first saw ‘Town’ at the 2011 London Yearling Sale as I walked through the Tara Hills Stud sale consignment looking for a new pacing prospect with my long-time trainer, Garth Gordon.
“He was a good-looking horse. We had a bunch of horses on our list and when he came in the ring we grabbed him for $17,000,” said Gordon, who shared ownership with James Walker, Leonard Coulson and the Sugar Rush Stable, my family’s racing stable.
Gordon has seen some tough hombres in a lifetime of racing. He trained a string of hard-knocking horses over his career, including Banker Fretz (1:56, $563,007), Soft Light (1:52.3, $691,220) and Mapleleaf Buddy (1:53.2, $485,820). But he admits that he never imagined Get Around Town would turn out to be a warhorse.
Gordon trained down three yearling pacers that winter and they would prove to be a rugged bunch. 'Town' was joined by Avatartist (1:50, $449,832) and Danish Dujour (1:51.4, $329,466). Over their careers, the trio combined to make 978 starts, win 125 races and earn $1.4 million: “And they did it the hard way,” added Gordon. Avatartist was the only one with a major stakes victory, winning the $83,000 Clyde Hirt final at The Meadowlands in 2014.
Get Around Town’s two-year-old year started with a bang. After a sharp prep in an overnight race, the pacer reeled off consecutive Ontario Sires Stakes grassroots victories in July at Flamboro Downs and Kawartha Downs.
But after finishing fourth in an elimination of the Battle of Waterloo, and failing to earn a spot in the final, the horse began to struggle and Gordon shut him down in September after nine rookie starts.
The pacer continued to scuffle when he returned for his three-year-old season.
“The only thing that was wrong with him was he had sore feet,” said Gordon. “Flip flops, bar shoes, we tubbed his feet. We tried everything. His feet were stinging, and we just couldn’t get him to finish his miles.”
After a disappointing sophomore campaign that netted one win and $12,000, the connections decided that Get Around Town wasn’t going to make it as a Woodbine circuit horse. He was sold for $11,500 at the Standardbred Canada Fall Mixed Sale in 2013.
Get Around Town in his final career win for trainer Garth Gordon on Sept. 30, 2013 at Grand River Raceway
Trainer Vern Cochrane bought the struggling pacer and set the gelding on his remarkable run of resilience. Over the next 11 years, Town would average 38 starts per year and consistently earned $50,000 or better for his owners. As a 13-year-old, he won seven of 36 starts and banked $76,240.
For the better part of the last decade, Get Around Town has plied his trade primarily on Ohio racetracks. After leaving Cochrane’s barn in 2015, the horse was claimed six times and worked for nine different trainers before teaming up with Ohio-based trainer and driver Kayne Kauffman in August 2017.
“He had really good gate speed and when you race on the five-eights tracks that we race at, you’ve got to have a horse that’s a little versatile and can leave the gate. He fit the bill,” said Kauffman, who sent the horse to the starting gate 155 times over the next four years.
“He was such a gritty horse and he was sound," Kauffman continued. "The only issue we had was some bruised feet every now and then, but other than that, maintenance was minimal — an owners’ dream.
“He was an absolute gentleman. You never knew he was in the barn and he never caused any problems. He was a little pinchy on his feet now and then and you had to throw a little peppermint oil on his feet but other than that he was perfect. Anybody could jog him.”
Kauffman still remembers the day Get Around Town took his lifetime mark as an eight-year-old at Dayton Raceway.
“I had two horses in the same race and 'Town' drew bad so Jason Brewer drove him. I was on the lead and I look over my shoulder in the bottom turn and Jason is four-high just mowing us down, going by us like we’re tied up. He won that night in 1:51.3 with the ear plugs still in.”
During the horse’s stay in Kauffman’s barn at the Warren County Fairgrounds in Lebanon, Oh., the horse routinely raced in $20,000 and $30,000 claiming races. There was plenty of opportunities for other trainers to claim the horse and Kauffman felt fortunate to keep him.
“That’s pretty remarkable around here because there’s a lot of claiming that goes on down our way. He wasn’t a great big winner all the time, but he always knocked down money. Most of the claiming guys want the hot ones who are winning week after week. My owners were very content to have a horse that showed up every week and the mailman showed up with a paycheque.”
Looking back at his time with Get Around Town, Kauffman considers himself lucky to have crossed paths with the slick-gaited pacer.
“You just appreciate the horse and the integrity that’s he’s had for the business. He just shows up every week. His stats are remarkable. He’s missed one month in 11 years and that month there was no racing. It wasn’t his fault. It’s just an incredible story. He’s an incredible horse. He’s done well for everyone.”
Kauffman still keeps a watchful eye on his old pupil and marvels at the horse’s willingness to race. “I still see him everyday. He’s stabled right next to me. He has colt legs. He doesn’t have a blemish on him. It’s crazy.”
After managing to keep Get Around Town in his barn for four years, Kauffman could no longer protect the then 11-year-old pacer as he dropped down to the $15,000 claiming level.
When the horse was claimed by trainer Michael Hitchcock in October of 2021, the barn change set Get Around Town on a journey where the horse was claimed 34 times over the next two years and do some of the best racing of his career.
Brian Boroff and his father, Bill Boroff, were the last connections to claim Get Around Town.
At age 75, Bill Boroff has a long history in the Standardbred game going back the 1970s when he started driving and training horses on the Ohio fair circuit and at The Red Mile in Lexington.
“I had a great year in 1992, but it wasn’t enough to put two kids through college,” said Bill, who left the business then to work in the computer software business, selling routing software for school buses across the U.S. He would be away from racing for 29 years before returning to join forces with Get Around Town.
Brian Boroff says he started the Boroff Stable as a retirement plan for his dad, who handles the training duties.
“Getting a horse in like 'Town' rejuvenated a lot of things for our barn. He’s been a true blessing. He came at the right time.”
In September 2023, the Boroffs bought the horse for $7,000 after Town’s owners suggested he would be a good fit for their small stable, which was earning a reputation for turning around struggling horses.
“He needed a change of scenery. He had been passed around a lot and he needed some love — and that’s what we gave him,” said Brian.
“He is just a delight,” noted Bill. “When we got him he was a little sour because he had changed hands so much but I just loved on him. I take him an apple every day — he’ll take it right out of my mouth if I’m not careful... but he does it gently.”
The pacer was a little sick when he arrived, and Bill set to work. The trainer cleaned up a snotty nose, changed his shoes and headed back to the races. The horse raced well, grabbing back-to-back second place finishes at the $10,000 claiming level. And in the second race he was claimed.
“We went to the track the following week and claimed him right back. Everybody thought I was crazing claiming a 13-year-old horse, but we like him,” said Brian.
The Boroffs then bumped him up to the $12,500 claiming level. “We wanted to send a message that he’s ours,” said Brian. And he still is.
The ageless warrior has rewarded the Boroffs with a solid 2024 campaign, including some eye-catching miles this fall at The Red Mile. The highlight came in late August when he stormed home to an open-length victory against condition horses in a tidy 1:52.3 — less than a second off his lifetime mark.
Bill Boroff (at right) with Get Around Town after his win at The Red Mile in August 2024
His career racing stats stand at 459 starts, 48 wins and a $642,877 bankroll.
“He’s racing now like he’s six or seven years old,” remarked Bill. “The drivers can’t believe he’s 14 years old. I’m gonna miss the old guy. We’ve had a lot of fun together.”
The Boroffs are now working to find a second career for the gelding and he will stay with them until he finds the right home.
“He deserves it,” chimed in Brian.
“He’s so healthy right now, it’s amazing,” added Bill, who noted that during 11 years of uninterrupted racing, one of his connections took the time to break him to saddle. “I don’t know who did it but he’s ready to go.
“I think he would make a great outrider horse. He loves to work and he sure can get around the track.”
(A Trot Insider Exclusive by Bernard Tobin)