Over the course of the winter, Ken Jacobs may have to rearrange his trophy case and make room for some incoming hardware.
Jacobs has been an ardent racing fan since the 1960s and bought his first horse in the 1990s. Fast forward to the present and Jacobs has the honour of owning the fastest two-year-old trotting colt in harness racing history when his colt Walner shattered the existing world record by almost a second, to set the new stanza of 1:51.3.
For his affable demeanor and industrial longevity, when the Monticello-Goshen chapter of the United States Harness Writers Association holds its 58th annual awards banquet on December 4 at the Fountains at Wallkill Golf Club, Jacobs will receive the chapter’s ‘John Gilmour Good Guy Award.’
The always-smiling Jacobs is always on hand when his top horses compete. When Walner won the Breeders Crown freshman trot in a stakes and track record of 1:53, and then completed his season with a crushing win over his opponents in the Kindergarten Series final, Jacobs was the first person to reach the Meadowlands winner’s circle.
Walner, is named after the Swedish pioneer Hakan Wallner, who led the way for the Swedish invasion in the mid and late 1970s to this country. Walner, the horse, is expected to be a strong winter book favourite for next year’s Hambletonian and a top contender for the Dan Patch two-year-old trotting colt of the year award.
Monticello Raceway has been lucky for Jacobs, as he has enjoyed much success over the years and has been a frequent visitor to the Monticello Raceway winner’s circle. His horses currently hold three track records at the Mighty M. Kenneth J, paced the fastest mile ever for a three-year-old pacing colt at Monticello Raceway when he won the $478,000 Monticello Gold Rush in 1:52.1h in 2007. This year, Planet Rock set the track record in 1:55:2h. For two-year-old pacing fillies, Allerage Echo holds the track mark for two-year-old trotting colts of 1:58.1h set last summer.
Jacobs is a dedicated family man, and is devoted to his wife, Rita. Residents of Baldwinsville, NY, the entire Jacobs family have already cleared the 2017 date of the first Saturday of August, as Ken looks to fulfill a bucket-list item and win the Hambletonian with Walner – although he might need a bigger trophy case.
This year, in addition to the year-end awards for horses and horsepeople from the local tracks, the Monticello-Goshen chapter will also honor Bob Boni (Lifetime Achievement Award); Keith Hamilton (Excelsior Award); Dave Little (Phil Pines Award); Roger Dowd (Amy Bull Crist Distinguished Service Award); Robert Krivelin (Amateur Driver); Justin Huckabone (Rising Star); and Denise DeSimone (Award of Appreciation).
Tickets for the gala event can be reserved by contacting Shawn Wiles at 845-794-4100 (Ext. 458) or email [email protected].
(USHWA)