by Ken Weingartner, Harness Racing Communications

Ken Weingartner

Freehold, NJ — Action-Broadway, who was named the Dan Patch Award winner as best trotting mare by the U.S. Harness Writers Association, brought breeder/owner Ken Sommer to new heights.

“I’m going to be 90 in May and that (Dan Patch news) sure as heck put me up on Cloud Nine,” said Sommer, who lives in Sheffield, Ohio. “I take my hat off to the writers, the number that voted for her. I felt her performance spoke for itself.”

Action-Broadway, who was a 4-year-old in 2011, won 10 of 27 races and earned $538,944, which was No. 1 among all trotting mares. Trained by Virgil Morgan Jr., she won the $366,450 Armbro Flight Stakes at Mohawk Racetrack and the $164,000 Muscle Hill Mare Trot at Vernon Downs. She was second to Frenchfrysnvinegar in the Breeders Crown and runner-up to San Pail in the Glorys Comet.

In addition to winning the Dan Patch Award, Action-Broadway is a finalist for the O’Brien Award as the top trotting mare in Canada for 2011. The other finalist is Frenchfrysnvinegar. The winners will be announced January 28.

USTA/Mark Hall photo

Dan Patch Award winner Action-Broadway has won 19 races and banked $834,116 in three years on the track.

For her career, Action-Broadway has won 19 of 55 races and earned $834,116. As a 3-year-old, she set a Canadian record with a 1:52.4 victory in a division of the Casual Breeze Stakes at Mohawk.

“I did not know what kind of horse she would be until she got in training,” Sommer said. “At that time, Virgil Morgan informed me that we had an absolute natural with the desire that she had to perform. That was from day one in training.”

Action-Broadway is a daughter of Broadway Hall out of the mare Photo With Molly. Her family includes Armbro Blush, who earned the award as 1982’s best 2-year-old filly trotter, as well as standouts Spry Rodney and Gerry Mir, who achieved acclaim as a pacer.

“She has a good pedigree, but her attitude early on when we were breaking her was second to none,” Morgan said earlier last year. “I think early on her attitude might have been a hindrance because she was so eager to trot and she wanted to go from second gear to fifth gear. She made a couple of breaks as a 2-year-old, but now she’s seasoned, much more mature and a better racehorse for sure.”

Action-Broadway earned $129,322 as a 2-year-old, but went off stride in her richest stakes finals: the Breeders Crown, Merrie Annabelle and Goldsmith Maid.

“She’s always had talent and I knew right when I broke her there definitely wasn’t going to be a problem with her trotting fast,” Morgan said. “We had to do some things to keep her calm, but she was certainly a treat to break and train down.”

Action-Broadway ranks as Sommer’s most successful horse, although he had others, such as homebred stakes-winner Striking Lindsey. Sommer, who worked in the housing industry and still puts in time at the office, got started in harness racing 25 years ago.

“One guy said he was putting together a group to start a stable,” Sommer said. “I got involved with six guys and all six guys had different ideas. I had enough headaches, so I said the heck with it and went out on my own.”

Action-Broadway is one of 20 horses bred by Sommer with “action” in their name, and of those old enough to have raced, nearly all have earned money.

“That puts me at the top of the list (alphabetically),” Sommer said, laughing, about the “Action” moniker. “I just did it because I liked the word ‘action.’ I was checking out different names and thought, ‘What the heck, let’s go with action.’ It’s worked pretty well for me.”

Sommer, who has four mares in foal this year, is looking forward to the O’Brien Awards announcement, as well as a trip to Florida next month for the Dan Patch Awards banquet.

“There are a heck of a lot of peaks and valleys in this game, but I’ve sure met a lot of wonderful people, both in the United States and Canada,” Sommer said.

He also hopes for another wonderful season of racing in 2012.

“My trainers say it is going to be an even better year for me,” Sommer said, adding with a laugh, “I’ve got it written down on my calendar. That’s what they said, so I’ll hold them to it.”