Tahnee Camilleri is still getting to know Aussie import Naturally Gifted, but the trainer and pacer are making strides together. Naturally Gifted has hit the board in four of five races, winning two, since arriving in the U.S. during the fall. Last week, the 5-year-old gelding finished third behind Covered Bridge and This Is The Plan in his opening-round division of the MGM Borgata Pacing Series for older male pacers at MGM Yonkers Raceway.
Tag: Ken Weingartner
McCarthy looks to keep clicking with Incaseyoudidntknow
Andy McCarthy enjoyed success with Incaseyoudidntknow in last year’s Blue Chip Matchmaker Series for older female pacers at MGM Yonkers Raceway and the tandem began this season’s event on the right foot with a win in the opening round a week ago.
Carson Conrad ready for Hoosier’s Friday night lights
Carson Conrad has driven at Harrah’s Hoosier Park in the past, but Friday will be a little different for the 19-year-old. The fifth-generation horseman will compete at the central Indiana oval for the first time on opening night.
‘Storm’ aims to surge to six figures again
Mississippi Storm can join a select group of trotters this year by doing what has become a habit for him – earn money.
Kyle Swift is living his dream
When Kyle Swift learned that he was going to receive the 2023 Rising Star Award from the Upstate New York chapter of the U.S. Harness Writers Association and Batavia Downs, it was a special moment for the 18-year-old driver. Not simply for the honor and recognition, but for being emblematic of Swift coming full circle to the career he dreamed of as a child.
Shults ready to roll at Big M
Michael Shults was fascinated by horses at an early age – his family had been involved in harness racing before he was born and Shults appeared in his first winner’s circle photo as an infant – but it wasn’t until recently that he embarked on his own career in the sport.
Hot dog! Calabrese relishes Amateur Driver of the Year honor
Long before he began competing in harness racing and winning races as a trainer and driver, John Calabrese set a track record at The Meadowlands…for selling hot dogs. Calabrese, who grew up 10 minutes from the Big M, spent three summers while home from college working a hot dog cart on the track’s apron. One night in 1980, with the great pacer Niatross as the star attraction, Calabrese sold 1,042. This past December, Calabrese was named the Amateur Driver of the Year by the U.S. Harness Writers Association.
Bright ‘Rose’ returns fresh for Matchmaker preparation
Season after season, Lit De Rose continues to bloom. The now 9-year-old female pacer enjoyed a career-best season in 2023, posting 11 wins and earning $354,985. It was her fourth consecutive campaign with six figures in purses and bettered her previous money high of $211,805 set one year earlier. Lit De Rose made her 2024 debut last week at Yonkers as she prepares for next month’s start of the Blue Chip Matchmaker Series at The Hilltop.
Hoping for more good ‘Karma’ in 2024
Several months after Karen Hauver retired from a 21-year career with the Ontario Sire Stakes program — a job that precluded her from owning a racehorse — her father suggested that she and her mother join him in ownership of a 2-year-old filly pacer that was getting ready to qualify. The filly — Karma Seelster — was a multiple stakes winner at age 2, an O’Brien Award finalist at 3, and exceeded the million-dollar mark in Canadian earnings this past July.
Kakaley hopes workload adds up to continued success
A number of good things — with an emphasis on numbers — happened for Matt Kakaley in 2023. Kakaley won a career-high 561 races last year, surpassed 6,000 lifetime victories, and captured his second consecutive driving title at Mohegan Pennsylvania’s Pocono Downs. He also topped $9 million in purses for a second consecutive season (missing his career high by less than $250,000) and reached $100 million in lifetime purses, with the 35-year-old becoming at the time the third-youngest driver to hit the century mark.