by John Manzi, publicity director, Monticello Raceway

Monticello, NY — When horses were first brought to the American colonies more than 300 years ago, match races — featuring one man’s horse against another man’s horse — had been an important part of the sport of racing.

In the 1800’s, match races took place with regularity. By the 20th century, however, important match races grew fewer and fewer with the most notable taking place in the Thoroughbred industry.

On November 1, 1938, arguably the greatest of all match races took place at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland between Triple Crown winner War Admiral and the rags-to-riches people’s horse, Seabiscuit. Undoubtedly the results of that event are probably known by more people world-wide than any match race before or since as the circumstances surrounding the head to head challenge was a defining moment of a tremendous motion picture of Academy Award caliber.

Though Standardbred racing has never gained the universal appeal that Thoroughbred racing has, some very notable match races are part of harness racing lore. A few that come to mind immediately were the clashes between Bunny Lake and Worldly Beauty; Dotties Pick and Adios Harry; and Tar Boy against Adios Butler; the latter being the greatest two-horse race ever at The Mighty M.

On Thursday, December 30th, the last day of racing during the 2004 season at Monticello Raceway, the track will offer a unique match race in an event that is being dubbed: The Last Hurrah, the Clash of the Senior Titans.

On that date two venerable 14-year-old pacers, Troy D and The Suleiman N, will go head to head on the betting card.

For some reason which can’t seem to be explained by even the most notable of harness racing aficionados, horses are forced into retirement on January 1 of their 15-year-old season. Consequently, Troy D’s and The Suleiman N’s last race of their illustrious careers will be against one another.

Though the participants in the match race are not world record holders, each have been outstanding pacers for well over a decade. Troy D has earned over $370,000 and has registered 89 lifetime victories; the fastest a 1:52.2 effort at age six. He holds the Vernon Downs record for most sub 2:00 victories there.

The Suleiman N has not only been short of spectacular in the United States, where he earned almost $201,000, but prior to coming here the foreign-bred pacer bagged over $211,000 in his native New Zealand. His lifetime mark of 1:52.2 was taken at the unlikely age of 11.

“This match race may not have the appeal of Tar Boy vs. Adios Butler, but considering the two pacers are 14-years-old and still forces to be reckoned with, their head to head competition is a positive statement for all seniors, be they human or equine,” said Monticello Raceway general manager Shawn Wiles.