Tag: Ken Weingartner

Eric Foster might not be able to say where College Tuition rates among his best horses, but he knows where the 7-year-old male trotter ranks otherwise.

Brett Beckwith’s penchant for winning races has already put him among the leading drivers in North America. Later this year, he will take aim at triumphing abroad. Beckwith, the 2024 Dan Patch Rising Star Award winner, has been selected by the U.S. Trotting Association to wear the Stars and Stripes and represent America in November’s World Driving Championship in New Zealand.

Marvin Luna knows what it’s like to sit at the top of the driver standings at Harrah’s Hoosier Park. At least for a while. The 23-year-old Luna led the way at Hoosier as late as the first week of June last season before perennial track champion Trace Tetrick reclaimed the No. 1 spot on his way to his 13th title at the Anderson, Ind., oval.

Whether winning races on the track, or winning hearts around the barn, Rose Run Vision is something to behold. An 8-year-old female pacer, Rose Run Vision has posted 41 victories in her career and banked nearly $600,000 in purses for owner Eash Racing Stable.

Franklin Gannon III was 17 years old when his parents bought a yearling female pacer named Scarlet Brocade. Her impact on Gannon’s life, as well as the lives of his Maryland-based family, was immediate – and lasting. Scarlet Brocade’s daughter Scarlet Pandemic produced Phoenix Rising, who has extended the family’s winning run to a third generation.

Mad Max Hanover, no stranger to success during his stakes-winning career, is back on a roll. The 6-year-old male pacer will bring a three-race win streak to The Meadowlands on Saturday (March 8), when he will meet six rivals in the night’s $25,000 featured pace.

Wanda Polisseni has had success as an owner and breeder, but the enjoyment she gets from watching horses flourish on the track is equaled by the pleasure derived from seeing those athletes thrive away from it after their careers come to an end. This past Sunday, Polisseni’s efforts were recognized at the Dan Patch Awards banquet. She was the recipient of the 2024 Stan Bergstein-Proximity Award.

When trainer Chris Ryder was recognizing the partners involved with female pacer Twin B Joe Fresh at Sunday’s Dan Patch Awards banquet, he introduced Barry Spak by noting his fellow co-owner “likes to remain a little anonymous.” Well, those days are over. Spak, who has never attended one of Twin B Joe Fresh’s races during her career to date, is ready to end his self-imposed exile following the now 5-year-old mare’s coronation as 2024 Horse of the Year.

Scott Blackler saw two Down Under imports step up for his stable in 2024, and he’s looking forward to getting started again with that duo this year. New Zealand-born male pacer Big Skewy will be the first to return to action, making his seasonal debut in Saturday’s $25,000 featured pace at Mohegan Pennsylvania’s Pocono Downs.

As Logan Rowe continues to establish himself as a trainer, he knows he can always count on his “big mare” for big efforts. Beautiful Seaside, a 5-year-old female pacer, has been a top-level performer for the Rowe family throughout her career. Bred and owned by Rowe’s cousin, Matt, she has won 17 of 54 lifetime races and earned $239,310.