Pacing mare Rustys Flying tied the record for wins by a female Standardbred pacer with her 100th career victory on Saturday (July 18) at Kawartha Downs.
Reg Gassien was aboard Rustys Flying for trainer Dave Gibson and owner Glenn Tarver of Scarborough, Ont. A 12-year-old daughter of Artiscape - Flying Free, Rustys Flying was a gate-to-wire winner in 1:56.1 over Bad Night Mare and Dry Creek Image.
With the victory, Rustys Flying matches the win total Lady Netty N, who won 100 races during her career -- 99 in North America and one downunder. Rustys Flying has raced exclusively in North America, starting her harness racing career in Delaware before racing at tracks in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio before becoming a mainstay in Ontario in November 2018.
All told, Rustys Flying has raced across 16 different racetracks for 15 different trainers, averaging nearly a thousand dollars per start with a record of 346-100-56-54 and $327,853 in earnings. Her 20 wins in 2019 was the highest total posted by any Standardbred competing in North America.
“She has never earned a lot of money per race, she grinds out almost $1,000 per start and she's never won a stakes race or anything like that but she just keeps plugging along,” Tarver told Trot Insider last month. “It is an incredible accomplishment for her. She’s a blue-collar horse...she works hard for her money.”
For the results from the Saturday card at Kawartha Downs, click the following link: Saturday Results - Kawartha Downs.
It took a few weeks, but
It took a few weeks, but congrats to Rustys Flying and her connections for finally getting the job done.