Heyden On Tonight's Card From Mohawk

How many straight years has the North America Cup had a purse of $1 million or more? Is that the longest streak? If not, which race holds it?

Meadowlands' statistician extraordinaire Bob Heyden presents some cool facts and figures going into tonight's card of eliminations for next week's stakes finals at Mohawk.

Only two tracks in ALL of North America in 2009-are offering OVER THREE 500g races-SAME Card-SAME night-THREE times-in 2009-and Mohawk is doing it twice!!!

• Woodbine - Four $600g Breeders Crowns October 24
• Mohawk - September 5-$1 Million Metro, $700g She's A Great Lady, $700g Canadian Pacing Derby
• Mohawk - June 27 $1.5 Million NA Cup, $735g Fan Hanover, $600g Elegantimage

NORTH AMERICA CUP

• 23rd straight year at $1 million-ONLY the Hambletonian-at 26 straight and counting-has gone for 7 figures more often.

• Blair Burgess is the ONLY trainer EVER to win:
  North America Cup
  Little Brown Jug
  Meadowlands Pace
  Hambletonian
  AND have a trotter AND a pacer named Horse Of The Year (Glidemaster-2006 (T) and Real Desire 2002 (P)

• Fathers Day-N A Cup same week? The LAST father/son to win the NA Cup EACH? Cams Card Shark-1994 & Bettors Delight 2001 But the FATHER of the YEAR award HAS to go to Jate Lobell on NA Cup night, winning it himself in 1987-the FIRST $1,000,000 pot in the Cup-but then SIRING three winners-1992-Safely Kept (from his first crop), 1995 Davids Pass and 1997 Gothic Dream
  (Note-Western Hanover has sired the NA Cup winner three times also-but was just nipped by one of those Jate Lobell sons-Safely Kept-in 1992-from winning it himself)

ELIM NOTES

• The last TWO NA Cups were won by a WEG regular (MacDonell-Jamieson); 15 of the prior 16 were won by a nightly MEADOWLANDS regular driver (NOTE-All four Morning Line favourites in the 2009 eliminations are to be driven by a current Meadowlands nightly regular)

• Steve Condren (Keep It Real, Sombrero Blue Chip) is trying to do what NO ONE ELSE has ever done-20 YEARS in between Million $ wins. 1989-Goalie Jeff-NA Cup, 2009 ??????
• The record for longest time BETWEEN wins for a driver in a million $$ race? 9 years-Jack Moiseyev-1993-Presidential Ball-Meadowlands Pace-2002-Fools Goal Breeders Crown
• The record for longest time BETWEEN wins for a trainer in a million $$ race? 19 years-Steve Elliott 1987-Even Odds-Wilson $1.4 million-2006-Artistic Fella Meadowlands Pace (NOTE-IF Jack Darling wins this race, it would be an NA CUP record for time IN BETWEEN wins-12 years-1997 Gothic Dream-2009 Stonebridge Terror, Carnivore)
• John Campbell drove Gallo Blue Chip in the 2000 NA Cup elim to victory. Had he chose Gallo in the final and not Twin B Champ, John would have won his 7th Cup in 10 YEARS!!!! John is the ONLY driver to win six of the SAME million $ races in a single decade-1990s-N A Cup
• Tim Tetrick is vying to become the youngest driver to win the NA Cup -27. He's ALREADY the youngest to win ANY million $ race when he captured the 2007 Rooney with Southwind Lynx (25 years, 7 months)
• 8/40 entered are geldings-Gallo Blue Chip was the last gelding to win this-and he went on to HOY honors
• 5/40 in the elims are debuting at Mohawk
• 2/40 are undefeated over the oval: Sombrero Blue Chip 2/2, Keep It Real 4/4
• 9 DIFFERENT drivers have won the NA cup in the new millennium
• Tracy Brainard is the most represented trainer in the elims with 5. She did something unprecedented last Saturday night-becoming the FIRST FEMALE TRAINER to win THREE $100g races in the SAME NIGHT!
  Lismore-Not Enough ($293,870); Rooney-If I Can Dream ($421,850)-Miss NJ Showherthemoney ($175,000)

• 13/40 are homebreds
• George/Brenda Teague are the second most represented training tandem with 4 entered.
• 3 trainers in the elims have won the NA CUP final before. Blair Burgess (Tell All-2007), Jack Darling (Gothic Dream-1997) and Brenda Teague (2006-Total Truth) Note-Jim Campbell trained 1986 NA Cup winner after he won it-Quite A Sensation
• 18/40 entered are Mohawk Maidens
• 4 sires in the elims were Horses Of The Year themselves. Cams Card Shark 1994, No Pan Intended 2003 (US), Artsplace 1992 and Real Desire 2002
• 1:48.4-2002-Red River Hanover. That was the ONLY time that the winning NA Cup time held up as the year's fastest sophomore mile
• Gone-but HARDLY Forgotten. Artsplace passed away in 2006, Western Hanover in 2007. BUT-these two are all over the 2009 NA Cup eliminations. 18/40 entered are sons or grandsons of Western Hanover, and 8/40 sons or grandsons of Artsplace.
• Western Terror is THE most represented sire with 5, followed by Western Hanover himself at 4 and Western Ideal also with 4.
• Western Hanover will try and break a tie with Jate Lobell at 3 for THE winningest sire in NA Cup history. Jate Lobell-1987 winner-sired Safely Kept 1992, Davids Pass 1995 and Gothic Dream 1997.Western Hanover 2nd in 1992, won with The Panderosa in 1999, Red River Hanover in 2002 and Mantacular in 2004
• Master Maiden? Vintage Master is a MAIDEN (0-19) trying to win the NA Cup. It would be the first CUP for Jimmy Takter, AND the first time ever a maiden has won this race. Currently, THE RICHEST race ever won by a maiden is the 2003 Metro-Camelot Hall-830g.
• Sophomore Jinx? Well Said has a LOT to overcome to win the NA Cup. Only ONCE in 24 tries has the Breeders Crown Freshman Pacing Champion come back to win the NA cup at 3-Bettors Delight 2000-2001. NEVER has that Freshman Champion won the Meadowlands Pace!!
• Jennas Revenge? He was the 1995 Three Year Old of the Year-but an injury sidelined him JUST before the NA Cup. Jennas Beach Boy did gain a measure of revenge in 2006 SIRING the winner-Total Truth.
• Mach Three-Again? Only if Shipps Xpectancy can pull off the shocker. He sired last year's winner-Somebeachsomewhere.

FAN HANOVER STAKES

• Named for the Oldest LIVING Horse Of The Year (Harness OR T-bred) 31 YO Fan Hanover. 1981 HOY

• 27th edition
• The 9 fastest editions of this stake have all come in the new millennium
• 5 fillies have won the Breeders Crown and the Fan Hanover in the same year (1990 Town Pro, 1993 Immortality, 1994 Hardie Hanover, 1999 Odies Fame and 2004 Rainbow Blue)
• The first 12 Fan Hanovers went to 12 different drivers
• 20/26 winning drivers in the Fan Hanover Canadian Born
• 6 winners of the Fan Hanover also won their division title that year
• The race was contested at Greenwood from 1983-1993, Woodbine 1994-2004 and then at Mohawk
• ODDITY-Mother and daughter have BOTH held the stakes record in the Fan Hanover. Town Pro-1990 1:53.3 now 1:50.3 by Darlins Delight, her daughter, which is the current stakes standard
• Richie Silverman won the second edition of the Fan Hanover at age 19!!!!!! 1984-Peachbottom (4 years later 55 YO Bud Fritz won it with Silver Reign in the first 6-figure Fan Hanover)
• The purse for the most recent Fan Hanover stakes was 20 times HIGHER in 2008 than when it began in 1983.
  1983 $36,200 (Armbro Bramble)
  2008 $718,370 (Chancey Lady)

• The last three editions of the Fan Hanover have gone for over $2 million combined ($2,039,130)
• Rainbow Blue won the Fan Hanover five years ago (2004)-and, just like Fan Hanover (1981)-was voted HOY
• The purse for the Fan Hanover has gone up every year since 2002.
• The richest female pacer ever won the 2000 Fan Hanover-Eternal Camnation

ELEGANTIMAGE

• Woodbine 2000-2006 then Mohawk

• Casual Breeze won the inaugural in 2000
• In 2006-Bee Line won it, daughters of Self Possessed were 1-2-3 the same year that he was exported.
• Last year's edition was the richest yet, $576,432
• Stakes record of 1:54.2 was accomplished in back to back years 02-03 Cameron Hall and Southwind Allaire.
• The last two winners also won their division-2007 Pampered Princess and 2008 Lantern Kronos (4 of 9 overall have)
• Paul MacDonell is the only driver to repeat in this final 2004-Mystical Sunshine; 2008 Lantern Kronos