by John Manzi, publicity director, Monticello Raceway
Monticello, NY — Last season Double Dream N was one of the best pacing mares in North America. Besides winning nine times in 26 starts and amassing a bankroll in excess of $296,000 for her owners, Redmak Enterprises LLC, she won a Breeders Crown elimination in 1:51.1 at Mohawk Racetrack and then finished second in the $336,000 Breeders Crown Final.
This season the 7-year-old New Zealand-bred daughter of Dream Away began the season under the care of Ross Croghan and it seemed that the mare never really got untracked. Despite being driven by top catch-drivers at the Meadowlands during the winter months she had nothing to show for her efforts.
It wasn’t until March 7 that Double Dream N finally won a race and it came at Yonkers Raceway in 1:57.3. The mare then won her next start at Yonkers in 1:57 against less than stellar competition.
Then Double Dream N returned to the Big M and though she put in a few good miles a second-place finish was the best she could muster.
In the meantime her disposition was deteriorating and she was occasionally spinning around on the track and showing other behavioral antics. All the negatives that were transpiring came to a head on May 2 when she pulled herself up in a race at the Meadowlands and refused to finish.
Whatever emerged between the owners and their trainer is not known but after that negative performance at the Meadowlands the Redmak Enterprise connection — Evan Katz, Richard Agid and Denice Motta — decided to turn the mare over to Billy Parker, Jr. at Monticello Raceway.
“I’ve owned horses with Billy and being that he is such a good horseman we thought that he might be able to help straighten Double Dream (N) out,” Katz related.
![](http://ustrottingnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/28382-Double-Dream-N-7-15-08.jpg)
Geri Schwarz photo
Double Dream N and Billy Parker won a Preferred Pace at the Mighty M in 1:54.3 on July 15.
So it wasn’t long after her dismal performance at the Big M that Double Dream N was on a van to Monticello, N.Y. and directly to Billy Parker, Jr.’s farm just outside the village.
“She seemed sour, as mares can sometimes get, so I decided to keep the harness off her and put her in the field to help her relax,” Parker explained.
“We kept her away from the race track and when I exercised her I’d tow her six miles behind my (make-shift starting) gate. Then we’d put her out to eat green grass in the field again.”
As weeks went by Double Dream N was becoming more manageable, although, according to Parker, she still didn’t like turning nor milling around.
After nearly six weeks of recuperation, Parker-style, it was time to take her to the racetrack and since 30 days had transpired the mare needed to qualify before she would be able to race again.
“When I qualified her on June 18 I went straight to the (starting) gate and once she got her nose on the gate she kept at her business and really was a pleasure to drive,” Parker said.
Double Dream N won the qualifier rather handily in 1:59 but after that it was right back to the farm.
“I only put a harness on her when we race her otherwise she eats grass and gets towed for exercise.”
The following week Double Dream N was entered in a betting race, a winners over pace at Monticello, and Parker was quick to enlist the help of the track marshall to turn the mare and lead her to the starting gate. All went fairly well that day, too, and though she closed strongly Double Dream N finished third in a 1:56.2 mile.
Her next start was against the boys in Monticello’s Preferred Pace and it was in that race that the mare opened Parker’s eyes with a stellar performance when she finished a neck behind the winner in a time of 1:54.2.
“We again were excused from the post parade and went straight to the gate and were assisted by the marshall but now the mare was acting better and she raced a real good mile,” Parker said.
But the best was yet to come.
The following week, again going through needed details, Double Dream N beat the boys in the Preferred Pace, winning by two lengths in 1:55.1. And the following week, July 15, she won again against the best pacers on the grounds in 1:54.3.
“A funny thing about this mare; even though she doesn’t like to turn and sometimes has a mind of her own, when she’s in a race I can drive her with two fingers (meaning she’s very manageable and handy),” Parker explained.
After the good performances at the Mighty M the Redmak Enterprises crew again had Breeders Crown on their minds and wanted to try Double Dream N on a big track.
“We decided to van her to Tioga Downs to race her in their Mares Open Pace and if she raced good we hoped she’d be able to return to Canada for this year’s (older pacing mares) Breeders Crown,” Katz said.
And Double Dream N acted like her old self and finished a close second in a mile timed in 1:52.3.
After the race it was back to the ‘Parker-Hilton’ and green grass and towing. On August 3 the mare got her harness on again after they vanned her to Tioga Downs for another race there. This time Double Dream N was victorious in 1:53.4, again with Parker at the controls.
“She’s ready now Evan,” Parker told Katz, referring to her being pointed for another Breeders Crown at Mohawk Racetrack in late August.
So recently Double Dream N was sent to trainer Darren McCall, the conditioner who had her last year when she was in Canada racing in the Breeders Crown.
Obviously the story is not yet finished and we’ll see what happens in the prestigious Breeders Crown race in late August, but one thing for sure is that besides being a superb driver (he has over 9,400 wins) Billy Parker, Jr. is an excellent horseman.