by Greg Gangle, WEG media

Toronto, ON — After going behind the gate in a schooling race this past Monday at Mohawk Racetrack, owner Jim Carr was hoping to be racing his star pacer, Big Jim, this weekend at Woodbine Racetrack.

However, that will not be the case as the 3-year-old Open class did not fill which means that Big Jim‘s first pari-mutuel start will likely be in the New Jersey Classic eliminations on May 21 at the Meadowlands.

The son of Western Ideal-Bold Pink won six of ten starts and $827,204 in earnings as a rookie. He posted victories in the $600,000 Breeders Crown and $709,000 Governor’s Cup for driver Phil Hudon and trainer James ‘Friday’ Dean.

Carr’s cell phone has been ringing consistently over the course of the winter with owners and breeding farms looking to purchase an interest of Big Jim.

“I had another call before he qualified,” Carr said. “I was offered $1 million for a quarter of him and I didn’t even think about it. I just said thank you but I’m not interested, I’m going to keep the horse.”

Big Jim capped off his freshman season with a 1:49.1 world record effort with divisional honors on both sides of the border.

To watch the entire video interview on the Woodbine Entertainment website, please click here.