Jimmy Takter is acknowledged world-wide as one of the most successful trainers of Standardbreds, especially trotters. The native of Sweden is based in New Jersey and races primarily on the Grand Circuit, the highest level of competition for harness horses.
A pair of Takter’s former stable stars have gone on to become successful sires in the Ontario Sires Stakes program including the province’s leading trotting stallion for several years, Kadabra, as well as Ken Warkentin. The latter horse earned over a million dollars in his career before being retired to stud.
Tatker’s wife Christina has named several of their horses after well known personalities in the sport. Ken Warkentin honoured the Ontario native with the same name who began his announcing career at Flamboro Downs (where he gave the great Cam Fella his nickname of The Pacing Machine), and then moved to the Meadowlands where he remains an integral part of that track’s media department.
Nicole Kraft, now an assistant professor at Ohio State University, was the editor of Hoof Beats magazine for several years and the Takters bestowed her name upon a filly by Muscles Yankee born nine years ago. The filly earned just over $43,000 during her racing career and is now retired to the broodmare band of Jan Hoibye of Norway.
Nicole Kraft’s second foal, by Ken Warkentin, is the three-year-old trotting filly Love Detective. She’ll give Takter a rare appearance in the Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots division when she lines up tomorrow night at Grand River Raceway in the last of a half dozen $18,000 divisions.
Owned by Hoibye and Christina, Love Detective will be making her second Grassroots start in 2014 having finished third in first event of the season on June 17 at Mohawk. In her next start, against Grassroots eligible fillies last week at Mohawk, she finished second. She has post two tomorrow evening with Rick Zeron slated to steer.
Her competition includes one of the best fillies in this division overall last year, Miss Aultsville. That daughter of Kadabra, who won $150,000 from eight starts last year, will leave from post six with Jack Moiseyev at the lines as usual.
Tomorrow night’s Grassroots event is the first of 10 for Grand River Raceway this season. Post time for tomorrow night’s card at the picturesque facility in Grand River is 6:30 p.m. and the fillies will take the spotlight in races one, two, four, seven, eight and 10.
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To view entries for Wednesday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Wednesday Entries – Grand River Raceway.