by Charlene Sharpe, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Charlene Sharpe

Seaford, DE — In 2004, then 3-year-old My Fella made his first lifetime start in a $4,000 claiming race for maiden pacers. Eleven years later, he’s come full circle, ending his lengthy career as a $4,000 claimer.

The only difference?

The 63 wins and more than $666,000 in earnings he racked up in between.

The classy veteran goes to post in what might be his last race this Saturday (Nov. 21) at Vernon Downs as he faces mandatory retirement Jan. 1 when he turns 15. My Fella will start from the rail for regular driver Fern Paquet Jr. in the third race on Vernon’s closing night.

“He shows up week after week,” trainer Alexandra Berube said of her senior pacer. “He’s a grinder.”

His statistics prove that.

Photo courtesy of Alexandra Berube

My Fella has raced every year since 2004, with a resume of 441 lifetime starts, good for 63 wins, 71 seconds and 57 thirds.

Though he didn’t race as a 2-year-old, My Fella (Pacific Fella-Ultra Sheer) has raced every year since 2004. From 441 lifetime starts, he’s had 63 wins, 71 seconds and 57 thirds. His career performance record is highlighted not just by one stellar season but by year after year of success on the racetrack.

The gelding took his lifetime mark of 1:49.2 as a 6-year-old at The Meadowlands. He enjoyed his most lucrative season two years later, earning just under $108,000 as an 8-year-old. In 2012, as an 11-year-old, My Fella had his most victorious season, making 13 trips to the winner’s circle.

It was those statistics that prompted Berube to purchase the 14-year-old pacer this spring. While many would be hesitant to buy a horse they knew would have to retire at the end of the year, Berube couldn’t help but be attracted to the claimer.

“I liked aged pacers that show a lot of back class,” she said.

Berube, a firm believer in finding good homes for her horses when they’re done racing, also thought that by getting a horse nearing the end of his career she’d be able to ensure he made his way into a Standardbred adoption program. And so she purchased My Fella in May. He made his way from Maine, where he’d been racing at Scarborough Downs, to Berube’s farm in upstate New York.

“They said he needed a big track so I figured he’d be good for Vernon,” she said.

Aside from adjusting his shoeing to keep the pacer from hitting his knees, Berube had little to do to prepare My Fella for a summer at Vernon. He immediately took to the seven-eighths-mile track, winning a $4,000 claimer on May 25 in 1:54.1. He took a seasonal mark of 1:53.2 in June, won twice in July and once in August. Though he hasn’t won since then, he’s had several close runner-up finishes and rarely misses a check.

Berube said Saturday’s showing will probably be his last unless she decides to try him at a half-mile track this fall.

She says the pacer knows what to do when he hits the racetrack each week, so she just tries to keep him happy in the meantime. As far as a training regimen?

“We do whatever Fella feels like doing,” Berube said. “He jogs a couple days a week and he gallops to train. He gets turned out quite a bit. It keeps him happy.”

She said it didn’t take long for My Fella, who starts whinnying at her as soon as she walks into the barn and doesn’t stop until she leaves, to become a local favorite.

“He’s a pretty big character,” she said. “The little kids love him.”

She’s already started riding the pacer a bit and says he’ll be a trail horse once he retires. Though she originally planned to send him to the Starting Gaits Standardbred transition program, Berube has since decided to keep the old gelding for herself.

“He’s become our pet,” she said. “He’s earned his retirement.”