Mister Big, who finished eighth in the American-National Stakes on November 1 at Balmoral Park in Chicago, will not race again this year.
The connections of the five-year-old pacer had considered racing in Canada once more prior to the end of the season, but trainer Virgil Morgan, Jr. decided it was better to stop with the horse after blood work indicated he was sick.
“His white count was high after the race at Balmoral. He was definitely sick,” Morgan said. “He showed no sign of it going in, but afterward drawing blood it indicated his white count was high. He’s done for the year and turned out. He’ll come back in after a well deserved break around the first of the year. He should be well rested and ready to go next year.”
For the year, Mister Big won 11 of 14 races and finished second twice. He earned $1.5 million in purses, which established a record for older pacers – breaking his own mark of $1.3 million set in 2007. His victories this season included the Breeders Crown, the William R. Haughton Memorial, the Canadian Pacing Derby, the U.S. Pacing Championship, the Bobby Quillen Memorial, and the Allerage.
Mister Big finished third in last year’s American-National. He led this year’s race off fractions of :27, :54.2, and 1:22.2 before dropping back through the field in the stretch.
“Last year he finished third and was a little flat. This year his blood came back bad. We’ve definitely had some bad luck there, that’s for sure,” Morgan said.
Mister Big is the defending Dan Patch Award winner as best older male pacer and the first pacer in history with million-dollar (U.S.) campaigns at both ages four and five. Mister Big could join Red Bow Tie (1998-99) as the only older male pacers to win back-to-back divisional honours in the U.S. in the last 30 years.
(Harness Racing Communications)