by John Pawlak, the U.S. Trotting Association

Columbus, OH — Harness racing fans at The Meadows know who Bettis is — both of them.

One is Jerome Bettis, the now-retired All-Pro running back who played primarily for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the other is his namesake, a red-hot trotter who today was named Horse of the Month for February by the U.S. Trotting Association.

Chris Gooden photo

Bettis has won $212,722 in his career and was named February Horse of the Month.

Owned by David Wade, Gerald Brittingham and William Peel III, the trotting Bettis was undefeated in three starts at the Meadows in the month just ended, plowing fullback-like through three fields of Preferred Handicap performers at the track located just south of where Jerome Bettis ran wild through NFL defenses.

Although Bettis had good success in state-bred stakes as a youngster, he never raced against Super Bowl-level competition in the sport, but has won 27 of his 69 starts and $212,722 in what has been, all things considered, a fine career — that in February showed no signs of slumping.

On one other point, Bettis’ co-owner, co-breeder, and trainer David Wade professes to be a lifelong fan of the Philadelphia Eagles — so why name the colt after a player on an opposing team?

“Our good friends out in Pittsburgh, the Beinhauers, own Sierra Kosmos (Bettis’ sire), so we named him after a Pittsburgh Steeler because of who his sire is and the Beinhauers. We do live in the Pittsburgh area now, but we are still Eagles fans first and Steelers fans second.”

And, the Bettis fan club in the sport of harness racing seems to be growing.