Allentown, NJ – Mr Bill G earned the overall High Point Horse title at the 32nd annual National Standardbred Horse Show, presented by Purple Haze Standardbred Adoption Program, which wrapped up Sunday (Sept. 20) at the Horse Park of New Jersey.
The show drew 180 entries on 123 horses across 178 classes, from dressage, driving, and games on Friday (Sept. 18) to hunters, jumpers and equitation on Saturday and western, in-hand and trail on Sunday.
This year marked the debut of a two-ring format on Saturday and Sunday, along with new classes and gait splits designed to give horses at every stage a fair place to compete, whether they came off the track last spring or have been showing for a decade.
Champions
Mr Bill G, owned by Jeff and Janine Gesek, posted the highest cumulative point total across every class at the show. The Geseks were drawn to him for a personal reason: he shares a name with Jeff’s father, Bill, whose MS led Jeff to found Pacing For The Cure. The horse became the face of the charity during his racing days and now carries that role into the show ring with Nadia Sherman and her Sherman Show Stable. Gesek and Pacing For The Cure also sponsored the show’s Pacing For The Cure class, won this year by Spotacular, with Mr Bill G finishing sixth.
Homicide Hunter, the first trotter in history to break 1:49, took Grand Champion in both War Horse 2 Gait and In Hand Conformation, and was Reserve Champion for the show’s overall High Point Horse title. The 14-year-old son of Mr Cantab set what was then the world record of 1:48.4 at the Red Mile in October 2018, won that year’s Breeders Crown Open Trot, and retired in 2020 with more than $1.76 million in earnings. Lionhead, shown by Holly Morgan, was Reserve Champion in War Horse 2 Gait.
In War Horse 3 Gait, Good Bet took top honors for Lindsay Toms, with Chipariffic and Bethany Lambertson earning Reserve Champion.
Other racing millionaires on the grounds included J L Cruze, Sevruga, Mariner Seelster and Lettucerockthem A. J L Cruze, who retired at the end of last season with $2.04 million in earnings from 273 starts, was the first horse to trot a mile in under 1:50 at the Meadowlands.
Very Smart, shown by Shyann Landals, was named Grand Champion in the Fresh Off the Track division, which is open to horses that have raced since August 2025. Diamond Head, who raced as recently as last week, and Brielle Roman took Reserve.
Chocolate Delight took the Jersey Bred High Point award, while Xing The Delaware took Reserve.
Around the Show
Competitors and sponsors gathered Saturday evening for a barbecue chicken dinner sponsored by Crofter’s Fields.
The show also paid tribute to Emma and Chris Young, Bob Ferguson, Gary Gregory and William “Kenny” Wood, longtime friends of the Standardbred community, who were remembered with dedicated classes and gifts made in their names.
“Every year this show gets bigger and better,” said Colleen Nolan-Tran, Vice President of SPHO-NJ. “It was an honor to see so many beautiful horses, so well conditioned and well trained, competing across such a wide variety of disciplines. That’s a credit to everyone in a Standardbred’s life, from the horsemen who bred and raced them to the people who’ve given them a second career. We’re grateful to Purple Haze Standardbred Adoption Program, our sponsors, and the volunteers and exhibitors who make this weekend happen.”
Full results are available at https://nationalshow.sphonj.org/#/results. Year-end awards will be presented at the SPHO-NJ Year-End Awards Banquet on Jan. 17, 2027, at the Radisson in Freehold, N.J.
About SPHO-NJ
The Standardbred Pleasure Horse Organization of New Jersey is a volunteer-run nonprofit that promotes the Standardbred in pleasure and competitive riding and driving. In addition to hosting the National Standardbred Horse Show, SPHO-NJ runs a year-end awards program for Standardbreds in second careers.