from the Meadowlands Publicity Department

East Rutherford, NJ — Mr Muscleman, the richest Standardbred in training, will be sidelined for at least two months following surgery to remove bone chips from both knees on Tuesday, July 3. Dr. Patricia Hogan of the New Jersey Equine Clinic in Clarksburg performed the procedure on the winner of $3.5 million, who is trained by Noel Daley and owned by Adam Victor & Son Stable.

“(The surgery) went well,” Daley said. “He’s going to miss some time and I’ll aim for the Maple Leaf Trot (in September at Mohawk). If not, more than likely he’ll be shut down for the year because there aren’t any big races later in the season for him. He’s a tough guy, very tough. He can withstand a lot of pain. The last time he was away he was shut down for a whole year. If that was the case again, so be it, but I don’t think so. I think this time, it’ll be only a short while.”

The 2005 Trotter of the Year was scratched from last Saturday’s Titan Cup Final at the Meadowlands and will miss the Nat Ray Invitational on Hambletonian Day, August 4. Mr Muscleman won all four of his starts this season at the Meadowlands and finished second in Sweden’s prestigious Elitlopp in May. Lifetime, the 7-year-old gelding has won 37 of 67 starts.

“He had chips in one knee and a crack in the other,” said Adam Victor Sr. “He doesn’t owe us anything. We’ll give him whatever time he needs. We had a blast in Sweden this year and we’d like to go back. Hopefully, we can win it next time, but we are thinking now of the horse. He’s got the ability to withstand pain more than most do. An incredible horse, he really is.”