by M. Kelly Young, executive director, Harness Horse Breeders of New York

Hamburg, NY — Buffalo Raceway-based Hitwiththeladies will not just be competing in the second leg of the $128,350 New York Sire Stakes for 3-year-old trotting colts on Saturday evening (June 16) at his home track, but the Giant Hit colt will be traveling to Monticello Raceway on Monday (June 18) to start in one of two eliminations for the $388,000 Nevele Pride Stakes.

This is a rigorous schedule for the defending New York Sire Stakes champion, but owner-trainer Allan McCarty is not concerned.

“He’s going to do both events,” said McCarty of his $235,000 winner. “They (harness horses) still race two heats so this won’t be a problem.”

Dave Oxford photo

Hitwiththeladies, shown here winning on the Night of Champions, will compete in the New York Sire Stakes at Buffalo on Saturday and then back in the Nevele Pride eliminations on Monday at Monticello.

Hitwiththeladies will start from post three in the ninth race Saturday at Buffalo Raceway and from the rail in his elimination Monday at Monticello, where he is the morning line 5-2 favorite. McCarty, who uses interval training, believes this conditioning method may benefit his horse in racing back on just one day’s rest.

“It may help,” said McCarty. “I’ve been using interval training for at least 20 years and I have been pretty successful with it.”

The trainer became good friends with Tom Ivers, who was the first proponent of equine interval training and authored a book and held seminars on this method.

“I was down at a seminar in Florida and as luck would have it, the second day of the seminar I went down for breakfast and there wasn’t a seat in the house except with Tom and some others who were teaching the seminar,” recalled McCarty of the encounter two decades ago. “I’m not shy, so I asked them if I could sit with them and they invited me to join them and we got to talking. They kind of took me under their wing after that and I learned a lot.”

Last year Hitwiththeladies swept all five legs and the $150,000 final of the New York Sire Stakes to completely dominate his peers.

Upon his return to the sophomore ranks, his mastery of the class has not been as easy. In the final of the $153,000 Empire Breeders Classic for New York-breds, Hitwiththeladies was third behind Bet To Win and New Hampshire Boy. Then in the first New York Sire Stakes leg the colt finished second to New Hampshire Boy.

“This year there are a lot of horses that have stepped up, particularly these two (Bet To Win and New Hampshire Boy). It’s a little more difficult this year, but mine has stepped up, too,” said McCarty. “There’s no horse I fear, I just look at them all as competition. They edged me the first couple of starts, but give me some time to catch up. Those were really his first starts of the year.”

It now seems that these three colts have stamped themselves as the ones to beat in the 3-year-old division and they will be butting heads all season in the Sire Stakes. Hitwiththeladies and Bet To Win drew into the same $25,370 division on Saturday, but Bet To Win was pegged the 8-5 morning line favorite from post five over his main competition from post three at 5-2 odds.

Bet To Win is a Credit Winner colt owned by John Lichtenberger and trained by Ray Remmen. He has won his last two starts and already has earned $110,000 this year.

New Hampshire Boy drew into the second race division and got the nod as the 2-1 morning line favorite from the outside post six. This gelding has won half of his eight starts this year and has also topped the $100,000 earnings mark this season for trainer, driver and co-owner Ray Schnittker.

The five divisions for the 3-year-old trotting colts will head to post on races two, four, seven and nine on Saturday.

On Friday, five divisions of the New York Sire Stakes for 3-year-old trotting fillies will race for combined purses of $130,175. Oh Oh Its Magic has proven herself the one to beat in this class with her Empire Breeders Classic victory in May and her win in the first leg of the Sire Stakes at Saratoga. She will start from post six in the second race for driver Jim Morrill, Jr.

Locally trained Mickalina Quinn will start for owner-breeder-trainer Peter Arrigenna in the 11th race division from post three. She finished second in the first leg of the Sire Stakes and her regular pilot, Buffalo-based Keith Kash, Jr., will again be in the bike.

The fillies will face off in races two, four, seven, nine and 11 on Friday night. Post time is 6:30 p.m.