Another Sears-ian year is rolling to a close
December 28, 2006,from the Meadowlands Publicity Department
East Rutherford, NJ — When racing resumes Friday night for the final two programs of 2006, there is little doubt who has dominated the driving colony for both the fall meet and the entire year at the Meadowlands — Brian Sears.
Through 19 of 21 programs, Sears leads the way with 47 victories, 20 more than Yannick Gingras in second place. Combining statistics for the January through August meet with the fall season, Sears has 339 victories to 236 for Ron Pierce.
Four of Sears’ stakes wins at the Meadowlands this year were with Sand Vic, a finalist for Older Trotter of the Year, who captured the Cutler, Titan Cup, Breeders Crown Open Trot and Nat Ray.
Sears also won the Breeders Crown Open Pace with Lis Mara, who was voted the Dan Patch Award as Older Pacing Horse of the Year.
Sears’ other stakes wins at the Meadowlands in 2006 included the Aquarius with Jenna’s Choice, Exit 16W with Deliver The Goods, Hiram Woodruff with Corleone Kosmos, Stanley Dancer with Mr Pine Chip and the Tarport Hap with My Little Dragon, a finalist for 3-Year-Old Pacing Filly of the Year.
In 2006, Sears also broke a track record that had lasted for 20 years. From March 3 to May 18, he won at least one race for 48 consecutive programs, eclipsing the 47-program streak set by John Campbell in 1986. Sears’ skein was snapped on Friday, May 19, when he had six seconds from 12 drives.
Fall Meet Top Drivers, Starts, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, Win %, Earnings
Brian Sears, 193, 47, 22, 29, 24%, $780,060
Yannick Gingras, 169, 27, 22, 27, 16%, $547,767
Ron Pierce, 173, 26, 26, 26, 15%, $697,753
David Miller, 184, 22, 28, 20, 12%, $1,165,476
George Brennan, 135, 19, 21, 20, 14%, $641,353
Andy Miller, 166, 16, 32, 20, 10%, $466,581
Cat Manzi, 173, 16, 20, 16, 9%, $307,599
Daniel Dube, 170, 12, 15, 23, 7%, $366,348
Combined Leaders, Starts, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, Win %, Earnings, Total Wins, Total Purses
Brian Sears, 1634, 339, 243, 221, 21%, $7,333,047, 433, $11,439,087
Ron Pierce, 1557, 236, 194, 191, 15%, $6,954,958, 456, $14,439,087
George Brennan, 1441, 208, 198, 179, 14%, $4,915,198, 339, $9,006,143
Yannick Gingras, 1399, 172, 184, 176, 12%, $3,643,097, 368, $7,135,242
Cat Manzi, 1380, 154, 161, 158, 11%, $4,236,714, 685, $7,860,920
David Miller, 1551, 151, 169, 185, 10%, $5,209,413, 367, $10,162,260
John Campbell, 1150, 133, 131, 143, 12%, $5,088,586, 183, $8,790,864
Andy Miller, 1089, 89, 123, 122, 8%, $2,614,010, 405, $5,835,704
Combined leaders are the merged stats from the Meadowlands January through August meet with the fall meet. Total wins and total purse stats are for 2006 in North America. All stats are through December 27.