Scott Blackler saw two Down Under imports step up for his stable in 2024, and he’s looking forward to getting started again with that duo this year.
New Zealand-born male pacer Big Skewy N will be the first to return to action, making his seasonal debut in Saturday’s $25,000 USD featured pace at Mohegan Pennsylvania’s Pocono Downs.
Australia-born male pacer Humble A, who went eight-for-eight upon arriving in the United States last season, is several weeks from qualifying but is being pointed toward the MGM Borgata Pacing Series at MGM Yonkers Raceway.
The two horses combined to win 16 times and earned $348,912 for owner Arrhythmic LLC. Both finished their 2024 campaigns with victories in the Preferred at The Meadowlands, Big Skewy N on Dec. 7 and Humble on Dec. 28. Big Skewy N also counted the Bert Beckwith Memorial Invitational at Plainridge Park among his triumphs.
Blackler said Big Skewy N, a son of Sportswriter-Serenas Whisper, was “a pleasure.” Overall last season, the now eight-year-old gelding hit the board in 15 of 25 races and earned $192,333. For his career, he has 22 wins and $284,670 in purses.
“When the owner bought him, no one really knew what he was going to be,” said Blackler. “He’s kind of a horse that takes care of himself and does his own thing. He’s a routine horse, a happy horse, and he just tries every time. Anybody would say they’d wish they had 10 like him.”
Six of Big Skewy N’s eight wins last year were timed in 1:49.2 or faster, with all but one of his victories on five-eighth-mile ovals. His career mark of 1:48.3, set in a conditioned race at Pocono in October, tied for the season’s ninth fastest by any older pacer on a five-eighths-mile track.
Big Skewy N’s triumph in the $102,740 Beckwith at Plainridge in Massachusetts was special to Blackler, a New England native now living in upstate New York.
“That was a race I always looked forward to, but I never really had the horses to do it,” said Blackler. “I was lucky enough to get an invite and it worked out well. I’m from Maine, and my family came down for it. It was a nice day.”
Big Skewy N’s most satisfying win, though, was in the Preferred Handicap at The Meadowlands, at odds of 46-1 in the horse’s ninth start at the track.
“Just because he raced a few times there against some of the better horses, good horses, and he never got his trip,” said Blackler. “I wanted to win at The Meadowlands with him so badly. He finally got it done.”
A quarter crack forced Blackler to stop with Big Skewy N following the win at The Big M, but the gelding is ready to get back to work now. He qualified twice ahead of Saturday’s start, winning the most recent on Feb. 11 in 1:54.1 at Pocono.
“He’s kind of chunky, but he’s happy,” said Blackler. “He’s ready to get going, I think, and I am too. It’s nice racing him. We thought about staking him to a few things, but it’s hard because they go with top-money earners and he’s kind of limited on where he can race. He doesn’t really get around Yonkers. Hopefully, he has a good year like he did last year.”
Humble A, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy racing at Yonkers. The five-year-old son of American Ideal-Perfect Penny posted seven of his eight wins in 2024 at The Hilltop. The plan is to send the gelding to the Borgata, a six-round series for older male pacers that begins March 31 and concludes May 9.
Jason Bartlett drove Humble A to seven of his wins while Scott Zeron picked up the other.
“He paces the turns just as fast as the straightaways at Yonkers,” Blackler said about Humble. “We also staked him to some of the bigger races locally but, that being said, it’s top-money earners, so it’s hard. We hope he has a good March and April in the Borgata. We had to take a chance with him. I believe he’s that type of horse and I think Jason believes he’s that type of horse as well. We’ll see what happens.”
For his career, Humble A has won 13 races and earned $167,515.
“Humble is very humble,” said Blackler. “He’s very quiet, relaxed, nothing really bothers him. When he gets on the track, he’s a different horse. He’s just a big, cool horse. He’s got to step up, but he’s answered all the calls so far.”
Racing begins at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Pocono Downs. For a free Pocono race day program, visit the Pennsylvania Harness Horsemen’s Association website by clicking here.
(USTA; photo of Big Skewy N winning at The Meadowlands)