by Kimberly French, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Williamsport, PA — It didn’t work out for Boy Band on the racetrack, but he has dominated his competition in the breeding shed. The 9-year-old trotting stallion’s first 15 starters have earned $391,113, established three new state records, and collected four state championships.

“Almost all of his offspring that raced won their divisions or were close to it,” said owner Dr. Michael Andrew of Gorham, Maine.

The son of Lindy Lane and Classic Casette was hampered by a suspensory injury that limited him to three career starts, but the $145,000 yearling purchase is a half-brother to Cayster 4,1:55 ($530,451); Program Speed 2,1:56.1 ($345,007); Giant Hit 3, 1:54.2 ($646,650); Set The Program 4,1:56.2s ($118,589); and Rockaroundtheclock 3,1:56.4h ($197,485).

“In his first qualifying race he was hitting the bike, but he still went in two minutes,” said Andrew, who is a professor at the University of New Hampshire and president of the Maine Standardbred Owners and Breeders Association. “He’s very well-bred and he has very good conformation. His attitude is also excellent, which is a big piece in the success of a trotter, because if (the horse) is crazy, you can never get them to perform properly. He is a very intelligent horse and most of his offspring are the same way.”

Andrew, who played polo for three decades, has been a fan of harness racing since his childhood and purchased his first racehorse with a friend in the early 1980s. He decided to breed horses on his 65 acre farm about 10 to 15 years ago and enjoyed tremendous success right from the beginning.

“The quality of horses to buy here for the Maine Sire Stakes wasn’t so good and I liked raising horses, so I figured I could raise better horses than I could buy,” the 70-year-old explained. “I started with not very expensive mares, but they turned out to be very good. The first one I bought (Miss Molly Tamale) produced Likeabatoutahell (by SJ’s Caviar, 4,1:52.1, $366,188). He’s six and is still racing.”

When Andrew selects his mares he pays close attention to their maternal families and their production records. He’s also a stickler for certain physical attributes.

“I am very fussy about a horse’s conformation,” he explained. “It would be difficult to put into a few words, but I would say the depth and angle of the shoulder and muscling in the rearend (for a trotter) are the two things I’m particularly interested in.”

Derek Davis photo

Bad Boy Billy claimed victory in the 2-year-old Maine Breeders Stake colt trotting final on Oct. 11 at Scarborough Downs.

Andrew’s small broodmare band foaled three — Up Tempo, Kanalla Bella, and Bad Boy Billy — of Boy Band’s four Maine champions. All three horses set new state speed marks for their respective divisions and Up Tempo 3,1:59.4h ($112,343) was the best in his division in his freshman (2007) and sophomore (2008) seasons. Kanalla Bella 3,2:01h ($81,025) is Maine’s 2008 3-year-old filly trotting champion and the undefeated Bad Boy Billy 2,2:02.3h ($60,396) is last year’s leading freshman gelding trotter.

Up Tempo, who was the first horse in the history of Maine harness racing to trot a sub-2:00 mile, was sold to agent Paul Kelley of New York for $47,000 at last fall’s Harrisburg Sale, but Andrew still owns Kanalla Bella and Bad Boy Billy.

“When the horses are about to turn four, I usually sell them,” he said. “That is when the sire stakes are over and it is very difficult to break even on overnight horses in this area because the purses are not high enough. In order to keep raising babies, I have to sell horses after their 3-year-old season. The only one I’ve kept is Likeabatoutahell.”

Andrew hopes Boy Band, who stands at Dupuis Farms in nearby Saco, has a bright future at stud.

“After the breeding season, he comes home for the rest of the year,” he said. “With the economy being what it is, I don’t know if people will breed as many mares this season. If they do he’ll probably get close to 40, which is a lot for Maine. I would say most other stallions get about 30 mares. People definitely noticed him last year.”