Dover Downs Season Revue

Published: April 15, 2009 10:28 pm EDT

The 2008-09 Dover Downs season was again an action-packed meet featuring many of the sport's top horses, drivers and trainers. The 133 programs featured major league live racing 15 times daily, six days a week and was highlighted by six world records

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The Progress Pace is the track's signature event. Most of the top three-year-olds in the sport took part in the lucrative 2008 event that boasted combined $450,000 purses with $35,000 elimination divisions and a $390,000 final.

Local horses and horsemen came up big in November in the track's signature event the Progress Pace two-weeks long event and the eight Matron Stakes divisions for two-and-three-year-old colt and filly trotters and pacers.

The biggest longshot payoff in the event that began in 1996 was recorded early in the meet. Joe Poliseno-trained Bettor Sweet, driven by Hall of Famer Cat Manzi, was a 32-1 upset winner of the $390,000 Progress Pace Final. A pair of George Teague-conditioned sophomores, coupled in the wagering, Rudy Rednose and Badlands Nitro, finished second and third respectively.

Proper Respect, trained by Carlo Poliseno, overlooked at 10-1, won the first of two $35,000 Progress Pace divisions for three-year-olds. Ron Pierce drove the passing lane to score an upset 1:52.1 victory. Rudy Rednose, after cutting out dazzling early fractions, finished second. Then three-time former track leading driver Luc Ouellette drove Dali to a 10-1 upset win in the second Progress Pace elim. Delaware-bred Badlands Nitro, the odds-on favourite, finished second.

After a short absence, the world record for a pacer over a five-eighths mile racetrack returned to Dover Downs when Dali equaled the World Record for a three-year-old colt pacer while setting the track record of 1:48.2 winning the final stakes race of the season, the $249,113 Matron Final on Dec. 15. Superstar pacer Somebeachsomewhere was scratched prior to his first $41,519 elimination division the week before, due to a high fever. In that elim, Dali scored a stunning 1:49.2 victory. For one week, the clocking was one-fifth of a second off the track record for a sophomore pacer set by Rapid Dialing five years before. Dali's time of 1:48.2 equaled the world record set during the summer at Pocono Downs by Shadow Play.

During the other 2008 Matron Stakes, in a period of seven days in November, four World Records for two-year-olds were set.

In elimination divisions, Explosive Matter scored a 1:55 victory to lower the former record for two-year-old trotters set by Keystone Activator by two-fifths of a second. In a Matron colt pace elim, If I Can Dream won in 1:50.4, to break one of the longest standing records in the sport. The previous record of 1:51.1 was set in 1990 by Artsplace in the Breeders Crown. That mark lasted until November 2007 when it was equaled by Badlands Nitro, in a Matron elim. Then in 2008, from Saturday until the next Sunday, two more records fell. Honorable Daughter reduced the frosh filly trotting record to 155.1. The former track record was 1:56.2 and it was equaled in a Matron elim, the week before by Margarita Momma. The World Record for a two-year-old filly pacer was set by Hawaiian Drink winning her Matron Final in 1:51.3.

The final week of the meet was again a big one. Monster Monday, April 6, was not a good day for favourites. The biggest one-day program of the meet featured two $100,000 Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund (DSBF) finals and three $85,000 and two $60,000 divisions staring the final year of the Classic Series. The regular race program featured a $40,000 Open/Preferred pace topping a strong supporting card.

Each fall and spring, the Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund (DSBF) presents its top Delaware-sired two-year-olds and later the four division for three-year-olds in two preliminary legs with the top eight point getters returning for $100,000 finals.

The $100,000 DSBF two-year-old 2008 finals came to a close with No More Games teaming with Corey Callahan for a 1:59.1 win in the filly championship. Ruby Ransom piloted by Brandon Givens in 1:59.4 won the colt trot finals. Filly pacer, Toms Toy with Corey Callahan, was a 1:54.4 winner, and in the freshman colt, Sgt Charlie, driven by Ron Pierce, won in 1:55.2 in their $100,000 finals.

During the meet's final week, the DSBF three-year-old titles were settled. In pacing finales, Mr Wiggles, off at 6-1, zoomed past favorite Rays Big Bubba to win the colt and gelding finale. Little Bit Tricky won a three-horse photo to win the filly title. TP Lucy, driven by Tony Morgan in 1:58.1 and Ruby Ransom, with Brandon Givens in the bike in 1:58.3, were decisive winners of $100,000 DSBF finals for trotters.

Again, Dover Downs played host to the first leg of the prestigious Classic Series for older male and female trotting and pacing horses. The Classic Series will end later this year.

On the last Monday of the meet, 12-1 Frog Juice and Jim Morand overtook Winbak Speed (Ron Pierce) to win the Pacing Classic in 1:50.1. Martha Maxine went wire-to-wire in the Classic Distaff for a 1:51 victory with Andy Miller driving. Swan Image, piloted by David Miller, was a 7-1 winner of the Trotting Classic with a 1:543.4 performance while favourite Falls For You, reined by Brian Sears in 1:55.1 and 17-1 shot Summertime Yankee, handled by George Brennan in 1:55.1, won Classic Oaks division openers.

On closing day, the Delaware Valley chapter of the U.S. Harness Writers presented the 2008-09 Horse of the Meet award to Apache Dame, owned by Paul McDougall and WJ McDougall Racing stables. The eight-year-old mare overcame injury after her six-year-old year, and in late 2008 came out of retirement after foaling a Badlands Hanover filly, returned to the racetrack and won six of 12 races, with a second and a third while earning $95,400 during the meet.

Tony Morgan won the Leading Driver award for the second straight meet and third in the last four, with 280 winning drives and $2,894,787 in purses for horses he had driven. Corey Callahan vaulted into second-place among dash wins with 253 while Ross Wolfenden made the winner's circle 185 times. Brandon Givens with 136 wins and Jim Morand, 122, were fourth and fifth in the standings. Tim Tetrick drove 105 wins while Ron Pierce just missed three digits with 99 and Vic Kirby had a career high of 94 wins during the meet. Twice during the meet, Corey Callahan turned in a six-win night.

Eric Goodell, who drove early weekdays, had the highest UDRS, which corresponds with a slugging average, of .392. Tim Tetrick was runner-up at .377. Ron Pierce finished third at .347. Tony Morgan was fourth with .324 and Corey Callahan completed the top five with a .301 rating.

For the fourth consecutive meet, the Leading Trainer award was won by Josh Green with 102 wins and his stable $1,196,747 in purses, the second highest total in track history. Green has the record of 111 set in 2006-07. Last season Green had 100 winners. Chuck Crissman was second again with 78 wins, Les Givens had 67, Tim Crissman, 63, and Dylan Davis, fifth, with 55. Wayne Givens haltered 52 wins, George Teague 51 and Mike Hall 50.

Dragons Blood swept all three legs of the "Go The Distance" varied distance events for horse that raced in $10,000 or $7,500 claimers the previous month. In the process, the pacer notched his fifth consecutive victory of the season, seven wins in his last eight races, and his ninth victory from 12 starts this meet, including a North American record equaling clocking of 1:09.1 for a 5/8th mile distance race. In the $25,000 Go The Distance final over a distance of 1-1/4 miles, the pacer, while leading from the start was clocked in 1:53.4 for the mile, that time was faster than his 1:54 lifetime record.

The meet's closing day feature was the $25,000 "Go The Distance II," a three-week set that began with a 5/8th mile dash, a mile, and a 1-1/4 mile race. PJ Camalike was the 17-1 upset winner.

The earlier two events went to Rare Bunny with a record-breaking 5/8th mile, wire-to-wire in 1:08.3, three-fifths of a second off the 1:09.1 former record first equaled by both Dragons Blood, in the first of a sweep of the three events. It was then equaled in March by Pegasus Osborne in the first Go The Distance event. Rare Bunny also won the second portion of the "Speed"-"Skill"-"Stamina" trio of races.

Claiming of horses during the meet was around half of the preceding season's number. In 2008-09, there were 165 horses claimed for an average of $20,013. The 2007-08 meet saw 321 claims for an average of $19,886 per horse.

It happened again on Dec. 1; pacer Mighty River A was claimed for the sixth time in the meet. After racing twice for Toby Lynch, the gelding was claimed the sixth time in his last seven races. Before then, the pacer had changed hands after five consecutive races. Twice, he was claimed by Joe Hundertpfund, and twice more by Les Givens. The sixth time Gary Ewing became owner.

Larry Baron had the highest priced claim of the meet, Livestrong, taken for a $40,000 tag. A horse claimed in early December 2008, Caerleon Hanover claimed for $30,000 won four in a row and ascended to the Open and Preferred class during 2009.

Dragons Blood was the winningest horse at the meet. The claimer recorded nine successes during the meet. A little more than month into the season, Victors Vicky became the first five-race winner. Corey Callahan drove the five-year-old to victory in the $26,000 Open trot after working her way through the race conditions. Art And Donna ended Yankee Skyfire's six straight win streak. That same night, after a month's absence, My Last Wiggle returned to the winner's circle for a fourth consecutive victory. By meet's end, My Last Wiggle completed the meet with six consecutive wins.

The biggest longshot of the 2008 portion of the Dover Downs meet was recorded on Dec. 1 in the first race when Eddie Davis Jr. drove Armbro Cromwell to a 1:55.1 victory at 93-1 odds. The win payoff for a $2 wager was $189.20.

Notes of interest

Tim Tetrick had a five-win night on Dec. 7 and then reported to Jefferson University Hospital, in Philadelphia, for a hip replacement procedure. It was thought that he would be back at the earliest in February. But in just a little more than a month, Tetrick has made an outstanding recovery and returned to driving horses little more than a month late. On Jan. 20, Tetrick returned to his home track Dover Downs and quickly picked right up where he had left off notching four wins in six races.

On the meet's penultimate card, Ross Wolfenden drove his 4,000th victory since arriving in the states a decade ago. Earlier he drove Copper Harbor to victory to win a non-wagering $20,000 DSBF sophomore filly trot consolation. Then New Zealand expatriate guided What A Boomer home in 1:58. A few weeks earlier Mike Cole joined the 1,000-win club.

Ken Wood, one of the most popular owners at Dover Downs, continued his personal humanitarian project digging wells for water for natives of Ghana. At meet's end Wood was spending his 11th visit to the African country. It is estimated that Wood has donated more than $500,000 in equipment and time to the project. In February, Wood was honoured by the U.S. Harness Writer's Association as recipient of the first January Davies Humanitarian award at the Harness Congress dinner at the Harness Congress at the Belagio in Las Vegas.

Among the other honourees at the Harness Congress at Las Vegas in early February were Tim Tetrick, voted the Driver of the Year award for the second straight season. Delaware-bred Tug River Princess won both the USHWA Dan Patch and HTA Nova Three-Year-Old Pacer of 2008 awards.

Early in 2009, three youthful drivers, all in their early 20s, drove their first pari-mutuel victories. Arty Forster III, 21, guided Ace Boo Koo to victory in his fifth career start. Shortly after, his younger brother, Russell Foster won his first race in his third start driving 16-1 steered On Stage Sizzle. The Foster brothers are third generation horsemen following in the footsteps of their father, Arty Forster Jr. and grandfather Arty Foster, both listed among the leading trainers this meet. Blake Brown, 20, also joined the "first win club" driving Seeboomook Warrior to victory in his seventh career race.

The Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition was spotlighted in early November, when Stacy Chiodo, of Jackson, New Jersey, won in two races to annex the Mildred Williams International Woman Driver's Championship at Dover Downs. The series boasted 76 female drivers that competed at 32 tracks in North America. Each track held a fundraiser for a local breast cancer charity or another local charity chosen by the tracks that raised almost $90,000 in the fundraisers. Three area drivers - two from Delaware, Linda MacDonald and Valerie Warnick and Betsy Brown of Maryland - competed in a handful of events that were within commuting distance and won races, but did not earn enough points to qualify for the finals. Canadian Ann Karin Larsen was the regular season series champion.

A trio of Dover Downs horsemen took part in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Pace at Freehold Raceway on Jan. 19. DeShawn Sample drove his horse from off the pace to win the event pacing MLK-winner at Monticello Raceway, Jim King Solomon. Sample, 30, from Greenwood, Delaware and Orlando Green of Seaford, competed, but George Polk Jr. of Dover, did not race because his horse was scratched.

Death came in threes in early 2009. Two highly respected veteran horsemen, Med Davis, Ken Shand and a longtime owner and fan Jim McGinnis passed away during the meet.
Med Davis was a well know horseman and breeder from the Smyrna area, followed in the footsteps of his father, J. Medford Davis, one of the sports most noted breeders of the mid 20th century. Shand was a seasoned trainer-driver when he left Australia in the early 1970s to sell his K-A Spreaders and horse equipment in a store in Wilmington, Delaware. Shortly after, he began to train horses and became one of the most successful trainers of inexpensive nondescriptly bred young trotters that went on to win stakes races over three decades. Two of his trotting fillies - Willow Run Gracie and Yankee Legacy - went on to foal a world champion each. Windylane Hanover, and Windsong Legacy, the first Triple Crown winner in more than a quarter century, respectively. Shand also developed the modern trotting hopple used by many trotters today.

The top individual and horse awards for the 2008 First State season were handed out on Jan. 9 at the biggest social night of the year for Delaware harness horsemen, the Delaware Standardbred Owners Association (DSOA) annual awards-dinner. Nearly 400 saw the 2008 top pacer, trotter, and claimer of the year at Dover Downs and Harrington Raceway receive awards. Doug Lewis won the DSOA's coveted "Horizon" award presented to an up-and-coming horseman.

One of top local "comeback stories" of the year in harness racing is a warm-hearted story about, Cookerosa, now owned by trainer Jim Banks. When the pacer's racing career seemed over, Banks was given Cookerosa, who had a knee injury, by Toby Lynch who bred, raced, later sold and then bought back. The well-bred horse was nursed back to soundness by Banks and returned to racing in 2008 winning three races in 10 outings. Cookerosa now has won twice this year with a second in seven starts and $17,587 a few dollars more than he earned last year.

Every January 1, all standardbreds observe a birthday. Those reaching the age of 15 are no longer permitted to participate in pari-mutuel racing. Stormont Northstar, one of the most popular trotters in Delaware during the last decade, scored a 2:00 victory, his 72nd lifetime, over an "off" track on Dec. 10. Unfortunately, the trotter was unable to get a race the rest of December, and upon reaching 15, is in retirement. The altered son of Canadian stallion Brisco Hanover won $60,186 at age 14 in 2008. His career bankroll was $600,873 in earnings. Trainer Bob Stevenson and his grandson Eric Davis, only a teenager, is younger than Stormont Northstar that he co-owns.

Former World Heavyweight Boxing and Olympic champion George Foreman's pacer Major Duke, was a winning starter during the meet in the George Teague Stable. Teague has also trained young horses for Atlanta Falcon's linebacker, Demorrio Williams, and former New York Jets receiver, Wayne Chrebet.

Dead-heat wins are rare, but two dead-heat wins in little more than a month involving the same horse, is highly unusual. Go Nano Go and Safari Heat could not be separated by the photo finish camera in a 1:57.1 mile in an $18,000 trot in November. During closing week at Harrington Raceway, the gelding and Put Them On Hold also finished in a dead-heat victory.

George Teague had another outstanding season in 2008. Two Teague-trained and co-owned juveniles completed the season with earnings of more than $1.5-million in purses. Southwind Lynx and Badlands Nitro. Their racing careers are over with both heading for stallion careers in 2009.

Two other successful Teague-conditioned sophomores were trotter Kadealia, Breeders Crown and Ontario Sire Stakes Champion who banked $512,075, and Rudy Rednose in his first season of racing won 378,779 in purses. They join two other top performers in the Teague Stable that will continue to race in 2009, Total Truth and Western Ace, both lifetime winners of around $1.4-million racing.

A win by double-gaited veteran Twelve Seventeen, now a trotter, made his dam, Dime A Dip unique. Twelve Seventeen ranked second fastest standardbred to compete and post fast victories on both the trot and the pace in harness history. And on Nov. 18, Twelve Seventeen, driven by Jack Parker became the fifth foal of his Marauder-sired dam, Dime A Dip, to win in little more than one week. The wins came at three tracks, three at Dover Downs, and one at Saratoga and Plainridge racetracks. A Blissful Dimer, Bellas Bombshell, Shoeless Joe and the two-year-old Mata Hari were the winners. Dime A Dip was foaled in 1987. While racing Dime A Dip took a 1:56.4f record winning nearly $75-thousand in purses before being retired to become a successful broodmare.

Incidental information

During the 2005-06 Dover Downs meet, Tony Morgan set the all-time track record setter with 447 wins. Last meet, Tim Tetrick became only the second driver in track history to win more than 400 races in one meet completing 2006-07 with 416 wins.

Tim Tetrick, 27, and fellow Dover Downs driver Brandon Givens, now 22, are the only drivers to have driven winners of more than $1-million in U.S. earnings at the age of 19.

In 2008, the sport's top three-year-old competed for more than $1-million in purses in November.

Staked horses raced in the $390,000 Progress Pace and the three Matron sophomore finals - filly pace and trot and colt trot - each with purses of more than $250,000 in each. Again in those events, Delaware-owned, trained and driven horses were abundant.

Two starters in the 2008 Progress Pace, Badlands Nitro and Rudy Rednose, both are co-owned by Teague Inc. John Celii on Badlands Nitro and Elmer Fannin of Lincoln, Delaware is part owner of Rudy Rednose. Louis Tomczak of Dover started Proper Respect, winner of a Progress Pace elim. In the Matron Colt Trot the week before, Shutter Boy, a trotting colt owned by North State Street Stable of Dover and George & Tina Dennis Inc. of Wyoming, Delaware. In the Filly Trot, Rojan Stables of Wilmington were part of the ownership of Poster Pin Up. A Delaware-sired $1-million winning filly, Tug River Princess raced in the Filly Pace.

The prior season, 2007, the highest number of First State owned horses competed in the Progress Pace and Matron Stakes. Of the 19 First State-owned contenders, nine made the rich finals. They were Teague Inc. of Houston co-owner of three starters, Rodney Mitchell of Dover, Kenny Mitchell and Bobby Myers of Greenwood, Only Money Inc. of Hartly. Ralph, Roz and Doug Paul's M&L of Delaware, Lloyd Arnold of Dover, Toby and son Jason Lynch from Delmar. David Banks of Dagsboro and Carter Racing Stable of Greenville.

The track's 41st season is scheduled to open on Nov. 1, 2009 and continue through April 16, 2010.

(Dover Downs)

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