Tipping his hat to the ladies, Meadowlands' Bob Heyden lists his ten best female moments in Meadowlands harness racing history
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10) Moni Maker-the richest lady ever-and the ONLY horse ever to step onto the Meadowlands racetrack with TWO Horse Of The Year titles ALREADY under her belt, winning her third Nat Ray (3-3) in 2000 - in a CAREER best 1:52.1.
9) Shady Daisy second to Artsplace in the 1992 US Pacing Championship on Hambo Day. Remember that Artsplace was undefeated that year and the horse of the year, and "Daisy' put a scare into "Art' in front of a national audience.
8) Peaceful Way's 1:51.4 world record effort-closing from out of the clouds to catch Housethatruthbuilt. For three-sixteenths of a mile, was there EVER a trotter who could motor like her?
7) Jacqueline Ingrassia and Aeronautess teaming up to upset in the 2004 Goldsmith Maid for $211,000. $96 to win, the richest purse ever won by a female driver here, and with a filly no less. Plus, division winner Solveig was second.
6) Miss Easy winning the 1991 Meadowlands Pace consolation over Cambest. NO FILLY has tried her luck since in the Pace elims. 19 years! Still the richest ever female pacer at 2 & 3. Miss Easy was as dominant a force as we've ever seen at the Meadowlands.
5) Match race of 2003 - Bunny Lake over Worldly Beauty. The best 4YO mare versus the best 5YO. Not quite Rachel-Zenyatta, but heading there.
4) Susan Looney, at age 16, winning at the Meadowlands with One For All in the early summer of 1984. THIS record will hold forever, now that you have to be 18 to drive here. Throw in the fact that her mother JoAnn was THE Best female driver here the first ten years of operation and you have the rarest of the rare-mother-daughter drivers making their own Big M history.
3) Tarport Hap going 8-10 against the boys in 1977. All her wins against male competition. She was so outstanding she won the division title WITHOUT racing in the spring, summer or fall!
2) My Little Dragon's 1:48.1 world female race record in July 2007. Sears-Noel Daley-Adam Victor and Son. The record still holds.
1) Ellamony getting her 16th straight Meadowlands victory here in the winter of 1996. That was tied by Lucky Jim in 2009, but no FEMALE has ever approached this mark. Even stranger is the fact that it was set over a four-year period:
1993: 11-11
1994: did not race here
1995: 2-2
1996: first three starts all wins