A group of North America’s best veteran pacers are set to collide at MGM Northfield Park for the $200,000 Battle of Lake Erie on Saturday night, June 5.
This Is The Plan, winner of the $514,000 Borgata Series Final at Yonkers on April 19, headlines a field of nine of the sport’s fastest horses. Trained by harness racing’s all-time leading conditioner Ron Burke, This Is The Plan is the top-earning horse in harness racing in 2021 with over $324,000 in purses. The six-year-old has amassed a career bankroll of over $2-million.
Century Farroh, champion of the $500,000 Breeders Crown for veteran pacers in 2020 and the O Brien Horse of the Year, is also expected to be among the Battle of Lake Erie favorites. The Ontario-sired star has earned over $1.2-in earnings for trainer Dr. Ian Moore and owners Ratchford Stables of North Sydney, Nova Scotia.
Manchego, a returning Dan Patch Award winner who won the Arthur J. Cutler Memorial in her 2021 debut, is the No. 1-ranked horse in this season’s first Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll. The six-year-old female trotter received 20 of 35 first-place votes.
Six-year-old male pacer This Is The Plan, the MGM Borgata Series champion and the sport’s leading money-winner, was second in the rankings. He was followed by four-year-old male trotter Its Academic, three-year-old male pacer Abuckabett Hanover, and six-year-old female pacer Machnhope in rounding out the top five.
Its Academic counts the Charlie Hill Memorial among his wins while Machnhope was the Blue Chip Matchmaker Series champion. Abuckabett Hanover handed Perfect Sting his first career loss in a division of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes earlier this month.
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Prairie Panther scored a repeat victory in Pompano Park s $11.500 Open Handicap Pace on Monday night (March 8), conquering six worthy opponents and near gale force wind gusts in the process.
The versatile seven-year-old gelded son of Royel Millennium changed strategy this night after a courageous win last week on the engine, coming from well off the pace to score in 1:51.2 under the direction of Hall of Fame driver Wally Hennessey.
Seeing Eye Single (David Miller) closed fastest of all to be second, three-quarters of length away, while Skip To My Lou, assigned the outside post in this field, rallied from last halfway through the mile to finish third.
The month of March roared in at Pompano Park when the tiny Skip To My Lou came in like a lion to take top honours in Monday s (March 1) $11,000 Open Handicap Pace.
The five-year-old gelded son of Sweet Lou got picture perfect handling from 21-year-old Joe Chindano Jr. to score a two-length win in 1:51, his fifth in seven seasonal starts.
Rebellious (Wally Hennessey) was second after cutting much of the mile while Alluneedisfaith N (Mike Simons) was another neck back in third.
As the wings folded, Skip To My Lou, usually content to work from off the pace, changed strategy this night and push the gate out of his way to take the field through a hot :26.3 opening panel before Rebellious took over once they straightened away the first time. Rebellious then carded subsequent panels of :55.4 and 1:23.3 and turned for home with a length advantage which began to melt as Skip To My Lou left the cozy pocket and began gnawing away before taking charge midway through the stretch.