Stacy Chiodo has always felt a whole lotta love for Whole Lotta Lou, so it’s been gratifying for the trainer to see the 5-year-old pacer enjoy a breakout season in 2023. Whole Lotta Lou already has set career highs this year for wins, with five, and purses, with $49,420, while climbing the class ladder at The Meadowlands.
Tag: Ken Weingartner
Dexter Cup attracts field of seven
Seven horses were entered for the Dexter Cup, the first Grand Circuit event of the season for 3-year-old male trotters, making eliminations unnecessary this Saturday at Freehold Raceway. All seven horses advance directly to the Dexter Cup final, which will go for a purse of $137,775, on May 6 at the half-mile track in central New Jersey.
Prushnok getting a bang out of Dynamite Dylan
After being limited to three starts last season, Dynamite Dylan exploded on the scene at Miami Valley Raceway this month by breaking his maiden with a 1:50.4 win in the first start of his sophomore campaign and following with a victory last week in his elimination of the James K. Hackett Memorial for Ohio-sired 3-year-old male pacers. On Thursday, the homebred colt will try to make it 3-for-3 in ’23 when he faces eight rivals in the $50,000 Hackett championship.
Multi-talented Witherite ascends to position of Hoof Beats editor
James Witherite did not spend his life preparing to become the editor of Hoof Beats magazine. Rather, life itself readied Witherite for the role. Witherite, a 36-year-old Pennsylvania native whose interests and talents encompass not only harness racing but multiple facets of the arts, ascended to the position of editor earlier this month following a one-year stint as assistant editor. He took the helm from Kathy Parker, who joined Hoof Beats as editor in 2021 and will continue with the magazine as a contributing writer.
Brennan talks milestone, Borgata and Matchmaker
George Brennan was 14 when he drove a horse to a paycheck for the first time. The teenager, making his only start of 1981, steered Myron’s Bunny to a fifth-place finish in an amateur race, with the trotter collecting $50 in purse money. Brennan has accumulated — since that initial $50 start — nearly $199.7 million in purses as he prepares for the first Grand Circuit finals of the season Monday (April 24) at MGM Yonkers Raceway.
Stars to shine on Saturday in New Jersey Breeders Maturity at Big M
Some of harness racing’s top 3-year-olds of last season — Treacherous Dragon, Niki Hill, Bythemissal, Fashion Schooner, and Pretender — will begin their 4-year-old campaigns Saturday (April 22) in the first of two weekends of New Jersey Breeders Maturity races for pacers and trotters at The Meadowlands.
Quiksilvr Bluechip is Kirby’s shining light
Quiksilvr Bluechip might not always be a joy to be around, but the trotter never ceases to bring a smile to Vic Kirby’s face. Kirby and his partners purchased Quiksilvr Bluechip near the end of his 3-year-old season for $24,000 at the Standardbred Horse Sale’s mixed sale in November 2019. Since then, the son of Credit Winner-Sea Raven has won 21 races and earned $344,202.
McCarthy gets to ‘Know’ gritty Matchmaker hopeful
After capturing her third-round division in the Blue Chip Matchmaker Series for older female pacers last week, Incaseyoudidntknow will get another chance to prove her mettle when she faces four other prelim winners in the fourth leg of the event Friday (April 7) at MGM Yonkers Raceway.
Burke eyes success with ‘Pearlman’ and ‘Mystery’
With a year of seasoning against the sport’s best older male pacers under his belt, Lou’s Pearlman is set to begin his 2023 campaign Saturday (April 8) in the $36,000 Open 2/Open 1 Handicap at The Meadowlands.
Racing reflections with Yannick Gingras
When a 21-year-old Yannick Gingras moved from his native Quebec to the U.S. in the summer of 2001, he had no idea what his future held. The young driver, who launched his career in 1998, arrived with 72 career wins and fewer than 400 starts. Two years later, Gingras was named the sport’s Rising Star, and his trajectory continued upward from there.