from the Meadowlands Publicity Department

East Rutherford, NJ — Artstanding’s calm disposition was what made him stand out to trainer Tom Fanning at the yearling sales, but the colt’s self-assuredness is what has turned him into a stakes contender.

Owned by New Jersey residents Jim Switlyk of Berkeley Heights and Bob Gorney of Jackson, Artstanding is one of seven horses who will bid for the winner’s share of the $500,000 Anthony Abbatiello New Jersey Classic, the sixth race on Saturday night at the Meadowlands.

“We got him for $35,000 at Harrisburg (Standardbred Horse Sale),” Fanning noted. “The owners, Jim Switlyk and Bob Gorney, picked out about 15 colts to look at, and he was one of them. They liked his pedigree. He stood nice and had a good attitude. I looked at him three times and each time I went to look at them, he was lying down and he was in a busy spot. I like that because nothing seemed to bother him. I felt bad because each time I had to have him stand up.”

Fanning was conservative in training him down as a baby.

“I didn’t train to go that much that early,” he said. “Even when we raced in baby races I didn’t care if he won, just that he raced strong and did everything right. Baby races are like pre-season games. It doesn’t count for anything. We just want him to finish strong and have some left in the tank.”

Artstanding earned $383,967 as a freshman, making him the fourth richest two-year-old pacer of 2005 behind Jereme’s Jet, Western Ace and Palone Ranger. In his second lifetime start, he flew home to nose out Western Ace in the $175,000 New Jersey Sire Stakes Championship in 1:52.2. He moved on to runner-up finishes in a $67,450 Niatross division at the Meadowlands, the $160,000 Lou Babic Final at Freehold and the $593,032 Governor’s Cup Final at Woodbine. Artstanding never missed a check, rounding out his season with a fourth in the $240,675 Matron Final at Dover and a fifth in the $575,400 Breeders Crown Final at the Meadowlands.

The colt, however, has a Jekyll and Hyde routine from barn to racetrack. “He is still laid back in training, but this year in the paddock, he is much more aggressive,” Fanning said. “He is screaming and kicking at the other horses. He’s aware of himself. He’s a big, strong horse and he knows it now. But back at the barn, he has this mellow disposition.”

In the $25,000 New Jersey Classic Prep race last week, Artstanding never had a chance to move into contention as he faced interference at the half and slow fractions. He drew the rail in the final and is rated 6-1 in the morning line.

“He seemed to come out of the race good,” Fanning said of the race. “Obviously, all the fractions were against him, but (driver) Mike Lachance said he was good. Next week, we’ll be more aggressive. I think Lachance has been protecting him, but next week I expect him to be more competitive. He has very good tactical speed. He likes to be involved in the race early a little bit, but I’ll leave it in Lachance’s hands, whatever he feels is best.”

Fanning made a change on the colt before the prep, switching from an open bridle to a sliding blind.

“Most young horses don’t race well with an open bridle, but he seems to like it,” he explained. “Our compromise was to put the sliding blinds on. The blind stays down until the three-quarter pole and then opens. It keeps him more interested in the race.”

Fanning, 47, had a career season in 2005 with 34 winners and a stable that grossed $730,283, more than double his previous best seasonal bankroll. Fanning resides in Jackson, New Jersey, with his wife, Moira, and daughters Veronica and Caroline. Moira Fanning is Director of Publicity and Event Operations for the Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown.

$500,000 Anthony Abbatiello New Jersey Classic (from the rail out): Artstanding, Mike Lachance, 6-1; Pure Ego Hanover, Andy Miller, 15-1; Manhardt, Cat Manzi, 15-1; Western Ace, Ron Pierce, 5-2; Palone Ranger, David Miller, 3-1; Feelin Friskie, John Campbell, 9-5; and Armbro Deuce, Yannick Gingras, 8-1.

$175,000 Thomas D’Altrui Miss New Jersey (from the rail out): Art’s Temptress, George Brennan, 5-1; Mythical, John Campbell, 8-1; Katies Western, Brian Sears, 4-1; Future Destiny, Ron Pierce, 6-5; One Ace Too Many, David Miller, 6-1; and Ideal Weather, Yannick Gingras, 9-2.

Hanners on the weekender schedule

Driver Brad Hanners will be spending many of his weekends in New Jersey.

“I’ve committed to driving at the Meadowlands regularly on Fridays and Saturdays right now,” said Hanners, who has been racing on the Delaware circuit the last several years.

“I do like racing at the Meadowlands, it seems more relaxed in a way, but I wouldn’t take the full-time leap and give up what I have here unless I had the idea I could start all over again,” he noted. “Right now, I’m hanging in there when some of the top guys go out of town for stakes on the weekend. I figured I could get my foot in the door that way. I’ve been very fortunate so far. Larry Remmen put me down on some. I just need a little opportunity and then try to produce.”

For Ohio-born Hanners, horse racing was the family business.

“My father and grandfather both trained horses,” he explained. “They go back to the days of the soft hats. I pretty much followed the fair circuit when I started driving and raced at Lebanon and Scioto Downs.

“I came to the Delaware circuit about six or seven years ago, and about three years after the slots started here,” he noted. “I simply came to make more money, and I brought about eight or nine horses of my own. I’m still training eight here.

“I had never had much luck at the Meadowlands, but you need the power to drive,” said the 34-year-old with 3,300 career wins and $24 million in purses earned. “Everything depends on the horse you’re driving and the way each race unfolds. It’s really difficult to tell how a race is going to go there. I study the program and I think I know every horse in a race. But it’s still impossible to predict what’s going to happen. I’m also adjusting to each driver’s tendencies but each race unfolds differently. There might be a race in which you think a few guys are going to leave, and then it doesn’t line up that way. My first and only win so far there came with Four Starz Bling (on May 6).

Hanners had planned to race a horse from his own stable, Tawny, in the $40,000 mares open pace at the Meadowlands on Friday night, but she will be scratched.

“I raced Tawny last night here (May 23 at Harrington), and she came up sick, so unfortunately I’m going to have to scratch her,” he said. “She looked a little overmatched in there anyway, but I just wanted to get her off the half-mile track. She’s a big mare who doesn’t get over the smaller track too well. I brought one up there (Big Underdog) on May 5, and he got claimed. I have JF Dreamwork (in the sixth race on) Thursday night. Yannick Gingras is going to drive him. He probably needs some class relief. You need to classify them quick if you want to do well there.”

Hanners is coming off his best year ever with 478 wins and $4.7 million in purse earnings, but he has had his share of challenges.

“When you drive down here there’s the Tony Morgan factor,” he noted. “Obviously, he dominates, but I still win my fair share at Dover Downs and Harrington. This meet I missed a couple of weeks with some accidents. I was involved with the spill that killed Hal Belote. It left everybody here with a heavy heart. We’re reminded how dangerous it can be out there. He was a great guy, and we were pretty good friends.”

Around The Meadowlands for May 25, 2006

Trainer Robbie Siegelman is back to work after taking a few days off to heal some cuts and bruises from a car accident in the Meadowlands stable area. “I was aiming for Monday, but I couldn’t make it and came in on Tuesday,” he said. “I’m very sore, that’s it. My insurance company told me that I had not had a claim since 1975. I drive back and forth six days a week from Long Island, and then I go and hit a pole right here where I train horses. I still cannot explain exactly how it happened. But I’m just glad to be back and that there was no further damage.”

Hellava Hush, second in the Cutler, will get some time off. “He’ll take a few weeks off,” said trainer Bill Gallagher. “Then he’ll go in an open before the Titan Cup. He came out of the race perfect. Cat (Manzi) said it was his best race all year. I said all along that Sand Vic would be the one we’d have to worry about. If we got away cheap up front, it would have been tough to beat Roger (Hammer with Vivid Photo) and my horse. But that was not the case, and Sand Vic was the one who capitalized.”

Two-time Pacing Mare of the Year Loyal Opposition is getting a break as well. “I took her home for a while,” said trainer Erv Miller. “She needs a different atmosphere. Right now she’s not up to where she needs to go. So I am doing what I think she’s telling me to do. If you’re not on top of your game over there (at the Meadowlands), you can get beat up some.”

A pair of top pacing mares are in foal — Bunny Lake to Rocknroll Hanover and Frightening P to Western Hanover.

Cookerosa, recently sold by owner-breeder-trainer-driver Toby Lynch, debuts Saturday night at the Meadowlands for his new connections. “This is his first start for us,” said David Scharf, one of the owners. “He trained well this week. He hasn’t raced in three weeks so it’s hard to know what to expect. (He is) racing against older horses this week and next week (then) he heads to the Burlington. He’s only had six starts at two and two this year. He has big speed but so do all the top horses so it’s a matter of where it takes him. We should know more after Saturday night.”

John Campbell has 75 wins this year through May 24, only 13 of those with favorites.