by Ken Weingartner, Harness Racing Communications

Ken Weingartner

Freehold, NJ — Record-setting-mare Put On A Show will try to steal the show when the 12 Breeders Crown finals are contested Oct. 27 at Woodbine Racetrack, facing nine male rivals in the $500,000 Open Pace. Put On A Show is the first female pacer in the history of the championships, which began in 1984, to take on the boys.

Put On A Show is the fastest female pacer in harness racing history, an honor she earned with a 1:47.3 win in the Lady Liberty Stakes on Hambletonian Day, August 4, at Meadowlands Racetrack. The 5-year-old mare has won 11 of 20 races this season, earning $461,809, after missing her entire 4-year-old season because of knee surgery. She has won 30 of 45 career races, banking $2.35 million for owners Craig Henderson, Richard Young and Joanne Young.

In the Breeders Crown Open Pace, Put On A Show will start from post one with driver Jody Jamieson. The remainder of the field in post position order is Aracache Hanover, Up The Credit, Hypnotic Blue Chip, Golden Receiver, We Will See, Bettor Sweet, Foiled Again, Razzle Dazzle, and Foreclosure N.

Bettor Sweet won last year’s Open Pace, also held at Woodbine. Foiled Again is the richest pacer in harness racing history, with $4.44 million in lifetime purses.

Absent from the race is multiple-stakes-winner Betterthancheddar, who has been sidelined because of a foot abscess.

“We’d been talking about it all year, trying to find the right opportunity,” trainer Chris Ryder said about racing Put On A Show against the boys. “This is the last major race of the year. With Betterthancheddar out, we thought the open boys weren’t as tough as they could’ve been. It was probably the right time to do it.

Lisa photo

Put On A Show became the fastest female pacer in harness racing history thanks to a 1:47.3 win in the Lady Liberty Stakes.

“It wasn’t an easy decision, but Richard Young wanted to do it and I didn’t talk him out of it. There are pros and cons, we know that of course, but we really believe that if things go her way she’ll give them a fright. She can be dangerous in there. If we thought otherwise, we wouldn’t do it.”

Since 1992, there have been 32 pacing races with purses of at least $100,000 in which a female pacer challenged the boys. Only once has a female pacer won — last year when See You At Peelers won the Art Rooney Pace for 3-year-old pacers at Yonkers Raceway.

During that span, there were 26 races in which an older female pacer (age 4 and up) faced male counterparts. Shady Daisy did it 15 times, finishing second on three occasions. No other mare was better than third.

“It is exciting and I’m looking forward to it,” Ryder said. “It’s kind of hard to describe. I’ve never been in this situation; it’s a little bit surreal. But it just comes back to the horse and whether she’s capable or not. You really find out when they race.”

Put On A Show (Rocknroll Hanover-Stienam’s Place) was the Dan Patch Award winner as the sport’s best 3-year-old filly pacer in 2010 and her $1.89 million combined purses for her 2- and 3-year-old campaigns set the record for a filly pacer.

Her 1:47.3 win is the fastest among all older pacers this year. Her most recent start was a track-record 1:49 victory in the Open handicap for female pacers Oct. 9 at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs.

“She can follow any amount of speed they want to throw at her,” Ryder said. “We saw that on Hambo Day. They got down there (to three-quarters) in 1:20.3 and she was looking for racetrack. Obviously, she’ll need to be in the right spot to beat the boys, but she follows speed as good as any horse, we believe.

“We know it’s rolling the dice. But if you don’t take a shot at things, there’s no way they’re going to happen if you don’t try.”