by Ken Weingartner, Harness Racing Communications

Ken Weingartner

Freehold, NJ — What a lady, what a night. Even in the daytime.

JK Owhatanite, a 3-year-old filly named after the Four Seasons’ hit song “December 1963, (Oh, What a Night),” is among the horses entered for Friday’s (July 1) afternoon of racing at Historic Track in Goshen, New York, as part of Hall of Fame Weekend. Trained by Linda Toscano and driven by Jason Bartlett, the filly has won four of five races this year, including the $197,634 Lismore Stakes at Yonkers Raceway on June 4.

Friday’s card at Historic Track features nine New York State Fair Sire Stakes events for 3-year-old male and female pacers. In addition, there is the Ladies Invitational and one Catskills Amateur Drivers race.

JK Owhatanite will compete in the day’s first race. Post time is 1 p.m.

Mike Lizzi photo

JK Owhatanite has banked $181,710 in her career with five wins in 14 starts.

“We’re ecstatic with her,” said Alan Katz of the 3 Brothers Stables, which bred and owns JK Owhatanite. “We knew she could get around the half-mile tracks. That’s where her advantage has been, around the small tracks. We planned to keep her on the small tracks pretty much, and she’s a New York-sired (horse) and most of the tracks are half (mile). She’s been very good.”

Katz and his brothers, Ron and Steve, make up the ownership group. Their horses all carry the initials JK in memory of their late father, Jack Katz.

The Katz family, which operates a linen supply business in New York, is no stranger to success in harness racing. They were among the owners of 1993 International Trot winner Giant Force and also 2002 Breeders Crown champion Molly Can Do It. Their Jkmusicofthenite, named for the song from the musical “Phantom of the Opera,” was a multiple stakes-winner and finished second in the 2009 Lismore.

JK Owhatanite won once on the New York Sire Stakes circuit in 2010 and finished second on three occasions. She brings a four-race winning streak into Friday’s start. She will start from post six in a seven-horse field.

“She had ability at (age) 2 and she matured between 2 and 3,” Katz said. “Our filly is handy on a small track. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that she stays sound and continues to perform. I wish I had more like her. Right now she’s giving us a good time.”

ALL THE RAGE: Randy Bendis’ first foray into the New York Sire Stakes program with 3-year-old male pacer American Rage has been a success so far. The son of American Ideal-Raging Heart has two wins and a second in three starts on the circuit. He faces six rivals Friday in the New York State Fair Sire Stakes at Historic Track.

Ed Hart trains the gelding for Bendis, who owns the horse with Michael Novosel Jr. and Reed Broadway. Jordan Stratton handles the driving.

Mike Lizzi photo

American Rage was a 1:55 winner in a NYSS race at Yonkers on June 24.

“He’s a real nice horse,” said Bendis, who lives in Pennsylvania and perhaps is best known for training multiple stakes-winner Georgia Pacific. “He’s just a long, real gorgeous colt. This is our first endeavor into the New York Sire Stakes. He looked like a pretty good candidate. He reminded me a lot of his dad, American Ideal. He looked a lot like the Direct Scooter side of the family.”

American Rage was a $32,000 purchase at the Lexington Selected Sale. His mother, Raging Heart, was a multiple stakes-winner and his family includes 1986 Breeders Crown winner Masquerade and 1981 Meadowlands Pace runner-up Computer.

Last season, a stakes payment snafu left American Rage to compete in Pennsylvania, where he won two of five starts and was no worse than third in any race. This year, he has won six of 12 races and earned $91,040.

“We raced him light,” Bendis said. “We thought we had a pretty nice horse and pointed him toward getting some races under his belt. It seemed like he got a little better, a little stronger, every start. He accomplished some things as a 2-year-old, but you always felt he was saving a little bit. That’s why we decided to castrate him, and it helped him for sure.”

American Rage is staked only in New York, which is fine with Bendis.

“If you’re going to follow that (sire stakes) program, there’s not a lot of room for anything else,” Bendis said. “That was our aim, to be one of the better ones and get in the final, and have a nice older horse when it’s all said and done. Ed Hart has done a wonderful job with him. As long as everything works out, he should have a real nice racing future.”