Dew N Doughnuts is a longshot to advance to the final of the Delvin Miller Adios Stakes at The Meadows, but facing tough odds is nothing new for the three-year-old pacer.
Bred and owned by Tom Klosky Jr., the colt needed two surgeries to his left hock because of joint and cartilage issues that threatened to end his racing career before it began. Dew N Doughnuts recovered successfully though and is ready for action in Saturday’s Adios eliminations.
Dew N Doughnuts, a son of Klosky’s stakes-winning mare Artbitration, starts from post No. 1 in the first of two nine-horse elims at The Meadows. Mike Wilder will drive the colt for trainer Norm Parker. Dew N Doughnuts, who has won four of 14 races this year and earned $47,694, is 20-1 on the morning line.
The top four finishers from each elimination advance to the $500,000 (est.) final on July 27.
“He’s been a nice horse for us considering we weren’t sure he was going to get to race,” said Parker, who has been based at The Meadows since following his father Dwane into the business in the early 1990s. “We’re reaching into the pot a little bit putting up the money for this, but it’s here and he’s not staked to any other big races down the road except the Little Brown Jug.
“I’m hopeful. The rail shouldn’t be a bad spot for him because he’s pretty handy off the gate. He should be able to protect enough to stay in the race without hurting himself too bad. I think we’re in a spot where we have a fair chance. He’s got a chance.”
Dew N Doughnuts, by the stallion Real Desire, is Artbitration’s first foal. Parker’s second trainer, Terry Brewer, looked after Artbitration on the road when she was racing and Dew N Doughnuts’ name is a reference to his love of cinnamon donuts, which he often shared with Artbitration, and Mountain Dew.
Artbitration won the 2004 Lynch Memorial Stakes and was second to Kikikatie in the 2004 American-National and 2003 Shes A Great Lady (losing by a nose). Parker trained Artbitration and co-owned the horse with Klosky during the early part of her six-year career, which concluded in 2008 with 32 wins and $727,129 in earnings.
“She was just a pleasure,” Parker said. “She was very laid back, but she gave us her all every race. He’s a lot like her. He trained down exactly like her, kind of laid back, and never really showed you he was going to be a speed horse. I was prepared for that because of training her. I worked with him to make sure he knew what he was supposed to be doing.
“He’s laid back in the stall, just a nice horse to be around. A little boy could jog him. He’s an easy horse to drive, not real aggressive, but he puts himself in a good spot.”
Dew N Doughnuts raced twice last September, finishing no better than fifth, and Parker stopped with the colt to give him a chance to mature for his three-year-old season.
“I liked him all along, but didn’t push him too hard,” Parker said. “We decided we’d take a break and come back this year with the idea of racing him early to see if we had anything. We had a little success early, then a little bump in the road here in the summer. I still believe he’s got the ability to go with these horses. We’ll have to see how the trip plays out.”
Dew N Doughnuts was no worse than second in his first nine starts this year, with four wins. He then headed to the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes series, where he drew outside posts in his first two races and finished seventh both times. He bled in the second one, so he was put on Lasix for a June 14 PASS start at Harrah’s Philadelphia, and finished fourth.
“David Miller drove him and said he thought he was the winner, but he kind of came up empty,” Parker said. “He had an issue with the Lasix; he didn’t handle it well. I had to work a little bit on that.”
He followed that race with a fourth-place finish, beaten a length, in a condition race at The Meadows. After a two-week layoff, Dew N Doughnuts won a qualifier in 1:53 at The Meadows on July 12.
“I had made some changes in his shoeing [for Philly] and I don’t think it agreed with him, so I switched back,” Parker said. “We gave him a little bit of field time, did a little bit of regrouping, and I thought he trained well. He’s a lazy type horse and to go a mile like he did on the front in the qualifier was good. I believe he is coming back to where I expected.”
The 52-year-old Parker, who is starting a horse in the Adios for the second time in his career, hopes it is good enough to get a spot in the final. The Parker family holds a reunion and cookout at The Meadows on Adios Day – dubbed Parker Palooza – and having Dew N Doughnuts as part of it would be “the icing on the cake,” Parker said.
“We’re giving it our best shot,” Parker said. “You never know what might happen in a horse race. Hopefully we’ll have some luck.”
This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.