by M. Kelly Young, executive director, Harness Horse Breeders of New York

Yonkers, NY — It’s not often that one barn can tutor three young horses into the New York Sires Stakes finals, let alone all three in the same division. But that is just what Larry Remmen has done this year with his 3-year-old trotting colts Bet To Win, Rushmore Hanover and Conway Court. The trio will be competing in what may be the most competitive event on the $1.2 million New York Night of Champions at Yonkers Raceway on Saturday, September 15.

“I think this is probably the best group the Sires Stakes has had in a long time,” said Remmen of the sophomore trotting colt class he faced this summer.

Neither Remmen, nor his training partner and brother, Ray, have ever won on the Night of Champions and this was the first year in recent memory that the brothers’ stable competed regularly on the circuit.

“We don’t bring horses to New York unless we know they can be competitive. New York is a big state and it’s expensive to ship all over from New Jersey if you don’t have a horse that’s good enough to earn money. We were just really lucky this year to have three that were good.”

Foto Won Photo

Bet To Win, shown here winning the Empire Breeders Classic in May, is one of three sophomore trotting colts sent out by the Remmen Stable in Saturday’s Night of Champions.

Bet To Win was undefeated in the New York Sires Stakes and strung together seven straight victories before that streak was broken by an early break and a distanced finish in his Sires Stakes leg at Yonkers on August 24. Since that performance the Credit Winner gelding has not appeared on the track, leading to a swirl of backstretch speculation about his condition.

“I’m not too sure what happened with him that night. Jimmy (driver Jim Morrill, Jr.) was easy with him after the break and couldn’t say what caused it really. But he’d been going quite some time and even though we had an easy go in some of those races, we turned him out for a few weeks and gave him some time off,” said Remmen, dispelling rumors of injury. “He trained (Wednesday) and was great.”

Bet To Win made a few starts at age two, but hit the board only once and never earned his way into the winner’s circle. So far in 2007 he has seven wins in nine starts and $223,952 in earnings. Part of his hefty bankroll came from winning the New York season-opening $153,125 Empire Breeders Classic at Tioga Downs on May 28. Winning on the Night of Champions would provide the horse a perfect set of bookends to his season.

John Lichtenberger of New Jersey owns Bet To Win, who will start from post two with Dan Dube in Saturday’s fifth race.

Lichtenberger’s other half of the coupled entry, Rushmore Hanover, will start with Jeff Gregory from post five. Rushmore Hanover earned nearly $100,000 as a 2-year-old and has bettered that this year without yet winning an event. The son of Credit Winner was gelded in mid-June and has improved steadily since then.

“Rushmore is starting to come into his own now,” said Remmen. “Every time he races he is getting better. If there is some battling on the front end on Saturday — hopefully not my horses — he could get there. That’s the kind of form he’s in now.”

Remmen is also sending out the Conway Hall colt Conway Court. Due to bona fide separate ownership, this horse is not coupled with the other two. He is owned by Paolo Rosanelli and John Siena, long-time New York Sires Stakes participants.

“He is a handy little guy, he can get himself into position and he’s raced really well this year,” explained Remmen of his horse who will start from the rail with leading NYSS driver Jim Morrill, Jr.

In his last start at Saratoga, the horse unfortunately broke stride and was placed back to last.

“He got locked in and tried to squeeze through a hole that wasn’t there, but he came out of it OK and he’s ready to go Saturday,” shared the conditioner.

Another trainer with multiple entries on Saturday is Ray Schnittker, who sends out eight horses in five different divisions. His New Hampshire Boy will be one in the talented field of horses challenging Remmen’s three.

Schnittker has won on the Night of Champions twice before — in 2003 with 2-year-old trotting colt Last Call At Dem’s and in 2004 with 2-year-old trotting filly Twin B Senorita — but never had as many opportunities in one night as he will Saturday.

Post time for the $1.2 million Night of Champions is 7:40 p.m. The New York Sires Stakes finals are carded as races two through nine on the 10-race program.

The evening will also include a long-sleeved T-shirt giveaway featuring the Night of Champions logo, while supplies last. The T-shirt giveaway is sponsored by Yonkers Raceway and the Agriculture and New York State Horse Breeding Development Fund.