Bruce Saunders is best known for training 2010 U.S. Horse of the Year Rock N Roll Heaven, but it was two award-winning horses at the beginning of his career that paved the way for his transition from the worlds of finance and government to harness racing.
Chipper Frost was the Delaware Valley Horse of the Year in 1979, not long after Saunders, who has a master’s degree in finance, began in the sport following stints at a brokerage firm and as the head of the division of economic development for the state of Delaware (even serving as acting governor for a day). Five years later, Perky Fiddler gave Saunders his second Delaware Valley Horse of the Year honouree.
“I never intended to be involved in harness racing,” said Saunders, who recently recorded his 1,500th win since the inception of official trainer stats in 1991. “While I liked horses, I was never exposed to them until I was in high school. I went to Freehold (N.J.) High School and a lot of my friends, their families had horses. So, I would go with my friends to watch them race, and I kind of got a little interest, but I never thought it would be a career.
“But once you have a good horse, you’re hooked.”
Saunders got started in racing following the loss of his gubernatorial-appointed economic development job in the mid-1970s. He began by helping a friend with his horses in Maryland and eventually landed at Liberty Bell, where he worked with a handful of horses, one of which was Chipper Frost.
In 1979, Chipper Frost won 10 races and $93,805, with his top moment coming in a leg of the Can-Am Series at Laurel Raceway, which the four-year-old pacer captured in an all-time Maryland record of 1:56.3.
“He was a pretty exceptional horse,” said Saunders, who trained Chipper Frost for owner Ron Hastings. “I would go with him from pillar to post. People liked him. That got me started.”
Perky Fiddler, owned by Saunders, also was a 10-race winner in his Delaware Valley Horse of the Year campaign. The then six-year-old pacer was a track record setter at Brandywine, Liberty Bell and Pocono Downs, where he established the all-age mark of 1:56.1 in winning the final of the Keystone Laurel Pacing Series. The previous Pocono record, 1:56.3, was set by Laverne Hanover in 1969 and equalled by Ludell Hanover in 1983.
In addition, Perky Fiddler set the record for most career sub-2:00 miles at Brandywine when he won there in 1:56.2 in September 1984. It was his 12th victory in less than two minutes at the track.
“He just tries harder than some horses,” Saunders said in 1984. “He has met better-bred horses and horses with more ability, but there are none gamer than him. What makes him unique is his durability and stamina. In getting older, he has gotten stronger.”
Saunders added now, “Perky Fiddler raced until he was nine in the Opens at Liberty Bell and Brandywine. They would race for 10 or 12 thousand [dollars]. That horse would win $65,000 for three or four years. He kind of kept me alive.
“As time went on, I gained more experience and I ended up developing my own barn, people I knew in the Wilmington, Delaware area. My routine would be to race at Brandywine in the summer, Liberty Bell in the fall. Then when Liberty Bell would close, I would go to either Roosevelt or Yonkers, whichever was open for the winter. As it grew, maybe had eight horses, my one caretaker would stay at Yonkers with three and I would be at the Meadowlands with a half dozen or so.”
Saunders posted his first million-dollar season in 1997 and enjoyed 14 consecutive million-dollar campaigns (topping $2 million four times) beginning in 2000. From 1998 through 2011, he ranked among the Top 10 trainers in wins at The Meadowlands on seven occasions and was 11th three times.
His first star during that time was Misfit, who earned more than $ 1 million lifetime. Other stakes and upper-level horses during that period included Manificent, Die Lute, Eleven A M, Master Barney, Casimir Camotion, Psilvuheartbreaker, Southwestern Dream, Lookinforadventure, Nob Hill High and Moonlit Dragon.
And, of course, Rock N Roll Heaven.
Rock N Roll Heaven won 16 of 21 races in 2010 and earned $2.16 million. He paced a record 11 sub-1:50 miles, with victories in 1:49.2 or faster on every size racetrack — half, five-eighths, seven-eighths and mile. The colt was owned by Frank Bellino and bred by Steve Stewart, Charles “Cotton” Nash, Julie Nash and Francene Nash.
In 2017, Rock N Roll Heaven was inducted into the U.S. Harness Racing Hall of Fame.
“He was an unbelievable horse in so many regards,” Saunders said in a 2020 interview looking back at the horse’s victory in the Little Brown Jug (pictured above). “One of the remarkable attributes he had was that he could pace away from a field of horses any time during the mile. In the middle part, the first part, from the top of the stretch home; if he was fresh, he could just sprint away from horses. And a lot of them stood on their toes trying to keep up with him.
“To get a horse that is Horse of the Year is pretty spectacular. He was special.”
Over the years, Saunders has enjoyed longstanding relationships with a number of owners, including Cary Potkin (Potkin Stables and M&M Harness Racing), Bill Matz (M&M Harness Racing and Z Tam Stables), the Paul family (M And L of Delaware), and more than a decade with the Bellino family.
“I’ve had owners that bought a number of really good horses for me over the years,” said Saunders. “That’s the important thing as a trainer, to have good owners and good caretakers who understand the game and like their horses. The training part really is the easy part.
“Good owners and good horses aside, I think your reputation precedes you in almost any profession. I think in order to survive in this game, or any other profession, it’s important that people perceive you as honest, straightforward and an individual of integrity. Those are the kinds of things I pride myself in. Integrity leads to longevity, I think. I’m kind of proud of the fact that I still do this.”
As for the present, Saunders just picked up a win last week with Manolete in the opening round of the New Jersey Sire Stakes for two-year-old male pacers. In his previous start, the colt missed by only a neck in a division of the Kindergarten Classic Series.
“I always felt in my mind, because of my education, I could do pretty much anything I wanted,” said Saunders. “But I learned at a very young age that enjoying life and being happy is probably the most important thing for an individual. I know a lot of guys that make a lot of money, but are they really happy? No, they don’t enjoy what they do. Horses make me happy, and I’ve been lucky enough to be around people that make me happy.
“It’s a great game. I wouldn’t be doing anything else.”
(USTA)