To watch a race replay of the Battle of Lake Erie click here.

Northfield, OH — This Is The Plan etched himself into the harness racing history books as the fastest horse to ever win on a half-mile track when he won the $200,000 Battle of Lake Erie in 1:47.3 Saturday (June 5) at MGM Northfield Park.

This Is The Plan etched himself into the harness racing history books as the fastest horse to ever win on a half-mile track. USTA/Mark Hall photo.

Yannick Gingras drove This Is The Plan for harness racing’s all-time leading trainer, Ron Burke, who conditions the pacer for co-owners Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi, J&T Silva-Purnel & Libby, and Lawrence Karr.

This Is The Plan started from post three. He yielded early to Stars Align A (Joe Bongiorno) before making his move approaching the quarter, taking the lead in :26.2.

“I didn’t want to take any prisoners,” explained Gingras. “He (This Is The Plan) has been super sharp.”

This Is the Plan never experienced an anxious moment the rest of the mile, leading his competition through fractions of :53.3, 1:20.3 and 1:47.3, besting his closest rival by 5-1/4 lengths.

“The faster you go, he just doesn’t get tired,” said Gingras.

The 1:47.3 clocking represents the fastest race ever on a half-mile track, besting the 1:48.1 set by Pet Rock in 2013 at the Delaware County Fair, and lowered the Northfield Park track record by more than a full second.

This Is The Plan, a 6-year-old Somebeachsomewhere-That’s The Plan gelding, increased his career bankroll to $2,206,200 by taking home the lion’s share of the healthy $200,000 purse.

Completing the 2021 Battle field were Western Joe, Catch The Fire, Stars Align A, Hesa Kingslayer N, Little Rocket Man, Gold Digger King, Century Farroh and Southwind Amazon.

“Records are meant to be broken and we just broke one,” admitted Gingras. “I gave the people a little show tonight.”