Columbus, OH — The 2022 American Endurance Ride Conference (AERC) High Mileage Standardbred, presented by the United States Trotting Association, is Good Bet. The now 14-year-old Bettor’s Delight gelding earned nearly $300,000 on the track but has found his second stride in the endurance world with new owner Lindsay Toms.

Good Bet and Lindsay Toms won the 2022 American Endurance Ride Conference High Mileage Standardbred award. Photo courtesy Lindsay Toms.

“I work for a company (Maryland Equine Dental, Inc.) that does horse teeth, and one of our clients is Winbak Farm,” said Toms. “Jimmy (Ladwig) said he had a friend that was looking for a home for his horse. Sight unseen, I drove to Delaware to pick him up. I’m honored that Jimmy recommended me and that Ben Stafford chose me. He is such a wonderful person, and he was selective with who ended up with his horse.”

That was in 2019, shortly after Good Bet’s last race in February at Dover Downs. Now known as GB, his first ride was in April 2021 at Foxcatcher, in Elkton, Md., where Toms and GB had a rocky start and finished 21st out of 48 finishers.

“I love working with the Standardbreds and I wanted my own,” Toms said. “You can’t beat their temperament. I broke him to ride when I got him. The first time I competed him was 2021; it was a disaster of a year, we were horrible. We really just about gave it up, which is funny because of what this (2022) year turned into.

“We signed up for six rides and we only completed three. He seemed like he liked it, but he had issues like he was buddy sour, and he was really hot. He’s a really sweet horse, but when we got to the vet checks, he turned into a demon horse, kicking and biting the vets. I took the winter and worked on really bonding with him and finding out what he likes.”

On April 2, 2022, the team went back to where it started – Foxcatcher – and finished 10th out of 47 finishers. They competed monthly through October, completing 255 ride miles to clinch the High Mileage Standardbred award.

“We came back this year; clearly we got our act together,” Toms continued. “We did nine starts, completed all of them — we were top 10 in all of them. He’s made a complete turnaround. He’s passing vet checks, he’s napping at camps. It’s really crazy because with him consistently making top 10, it’s usually Arabian/Arabian crosses. It’s been really great, I love promoting it. He’s a goofball, I love him to death now. He’s a pretty strong personality horse and I learned a lot from him.”

The team has now started their 2023 ride season and took top honors in the 30-mile limited distance ride at the Rabbit Run endurance event in New Jersey. With this spectacular start to the ride season, if you could place a future wager on the 2023 High Mileage Standardbred standings, Good Bet would be a ‘good bet’ to be near the top.

The AERC High Mileage Standardbred award is given to the Standardbred that has the most miles ridden during the ride season (Dec. 1-Nov. 30). All rides are considered, including the limited distance 24-to-35-mile rides, and standard endurance rides (50 miles or more). Riders must be members of AERC in order to track horse and rider mileage. For more information on the AERC, visit their website at www.aerc.org.

Since 1996, the Standardbred Equine Program has worked with owners of off-the-track Standardbreds to educate the general public about the many disciplines Standardbreds excel at once they are retired from racing. For more information about the SEP at the USTA, visit LifeAfterRacing.ustrotting.com.