from the Meadowlands Publicity Department

East Rutherford, NJ — It is every director of racing’s objective to have races so competitive that the horses all finish together at the wire. Much has been said about how competitive and well matched the field of 10 is in this Saturday afternoon’s 79th edition of the $1 million Hambletonian at the Meadowlands. But it would take a dead heat to rival the finish that took place 15 years ago on August 5, 1989.

In an era of heat racing, the Hambletonian title went to a trotter who won twice in the same day. If there were no double-heat winner, there would be a race-off among those who had captured the preliminary heats.

In 1989, Park Avenue Joe, driven by Ron Waples, and Probe, with Bill Fahy in the sulky, each had won a heat when they met in the late afternoon two-horse race-off. When the pair hit the top of the stretch, they were racing as a team, then took turns having the advantage and finally hit the wire together, the first and only dead heat in Hambletonian history. They had trotted a last quarter in :26³ seconds, still a record for the Hambletonian.

Trainer Jerry Riordan, who was then an assistant to Park Avenue Joe’s trainer, Chuck Sylvester, remembers that day well.

“Randy Beekman was the caretaker on Park Avenue Joe,” recalled Riordan. “Jeff Cameron drove him at Brandywine about three or four weeks before the Hambletonian and won with him, but said he was so locked on the right line he couldn’t bring him back to the winner’s circle. Randy then reminded me that several months earlier we had injected a stifle joint and that seemed to help him. It did.”

The dead heat would turn out not to be the end of the story. It took two years of hearings and legal actions for an administrative law judge’s decision to declare them co-winners but to distribute the winner’s share of the purse to Park Avenue Joe. At that time, standings were a compilation of all the heats. Probe had a first, a ninth and a first. Park Avenue Joe had a second, first and first.

“That was a great day,” said Riordan. “I remember the photo and a person from the USTA (the United States Trotting Association’s John Pawlak) told me that if it was a dead heat, that I’d be the winner because of best summary. I’ll never forget that.”

Around The Meadowlands for August 6, 2004

Trainer Joe Holloway will be on hand Saturday to see a pair of his three-year-old pacing colts — Modern Art in the third race and Driven To Win in the 14th race — compete in two of the three $100,000 divisions of the Oliver Wendell Holmes at the Meadowlands.

That option did not seem all that certain a few days ago.

“The other day, I felt like I was having a heart attack,” he explained. “I got in the car and drove to Delaware (to go to the hospital he preferred), not the smartest thing to do the doctor told me later. I got to the emergency room, and they picked up on it pretty quick. Because of Lymes disease, I have a heart valve problem. Basically, neither of the valves are communicating with the others. It’s like an electrical problem. I’m now on antibiotics for a month, and they’ll see what happens from there. If it’s not corrected, I’ll be fitted for a pacemaker. I won’t know until then. I don’t feel that good. I tire very easy. I can’t do a lot right now. But I’ll be at the track for Hambletonian Day on Saturday for sure.”

Eight of the 10 fillies in the Hambletonian Oaks and the three favorites in the Hambletonian are New Jersey sired, representing 55 percent of the sophomore trotters in the two events.

Yankee Glide (Kentuckiana Farms in New Egypt) sired three of the fillies, two are by Muscles Yankee (Perretti Farms in Cream Ridge) and by Malabar Man (both at Southwind Farms in Pennington and Perretti Farms) and one by Self Possessed (Kentuckiana).

On the colt side, both Cantab Hall and Cash Hall were sired by Self Possessed (Kentuckiana) and Tom Ridge by Muscles Yankee (Perretti).

There have been 34 trotting yearlings to sell for $300,000 or more and two of them are in this year’s Hambletonian, Cantab Hall ($310,000) and Cash Hall ($300,000). But no $300,000 yearling has yet to win a million dollar race.

Of this select group, Andover Hall was both the richest of them with $870,510 in earnings and the fastest with a record of 1:51³.

The highest price ever paid for a yearling was $650,000 for Experience Victory.

Jimmy Takter, who trained 1997 Hambletonian winner Malabar Man, is hoping his finalist this year, Tom Ridge, will get him back to the winner’s circle.

“I want to win this race,” he said. “I’ve left strict instructions with everyone involved with the horse that I want to win it. I’m not out there for second or third. This is what I want. If we’re going to get beat, it’s going to be with our best shot. Personally. I’d prefer for Ronnie (driver Ron Pierce) to control it, but he can race any way he’d like to.”

When Royal Mattjesty hit the three-quarters in 1:19³ in the Breeders Crown Pace on July 31, he joined a select sub-1:20 club. He ended up deadheating for second with Peruvian Hanover in a mile won by Boulder Creek. It was the fastest three-quarters at the Meadowlands. The three-quarters record of 1:19 flat was set by Cambest on August 16, 1993 in a time trial in Springfield, Illinois, in a 1:46¹ mile.

Ron Walters will serve his last day as assistant paddock judge at the Meadowlands on Saturday. He will be saluted after Saturday’s second race. He will move to the judges’ stand at Freehold Raceway, starting August 9.

Walters will be the associate judge at Freehold, sharing the stand with presiding judge John Tomasella and associate judge Brian Walling.

Walters, who resides in Trevose, Pennsylvania, was introduced to harness racing by his late brother, Tom, who trained horses at Liberty Bell Park and Brandywine. Walters became a patrol judge at Liberty Bell in 1982 and then became the paddock judge and stallman at Liberty Bell until that track closed in 1985.

“I like it here but it’s an opportunity I can’t pass up,” said Walters, who has held his Meadowlands position for 18 years. “I’m sure I’ll be here filling in when one of the judges takes a night off.”

Advance wagering for the Hambletonian Day card began on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. Post time on Saturday is 11:30 a.m., with gates opening at 9:30 a.m. There will be simulcasting from Monmouth Park and Saratoga only. There will be no nighttime simulcasting on August 7.