by Nick Salvi, for Tioga and Vernon Downs
Nichols, NY — It was recently announced that 2011 North America Cup winner Up The Credit will be bred to mares in 2012 but rather than retiring from racing will be pointed toward a 4-year-old campaign on the race track.
Quoting from a piece on the topic in Harness Racing Update; “He (Up The Credit) had a knee problem all year and he’s over it and better now than he’s ever been, so we thought we’d bring him back and race him as a 4-year-old and maybe even a 5-year-old,” co-owner and trainer Carl Jamieson said.
“Up The Credit’s return to the races will provide racing fans the opportunity to watch a major stakes winning 3-year-old compete for another season, rather than disappear into the breeding shed,” observed Jeff Gural. “I applaud their decision and am hopeful that others will consider continuing to race their top horses while breeding them in the future. We encourage breeders to support Up The Credit as it shows that the Jamiesons recognize the current model of retiring our best 3-year-olds is not working and we need to take some chances for the long term benefit of the industry.”
- Up The Credit to race and breed in 2012 (Thursday, December 22, 2011)
The owners of Up The Credit, p, 2, 1:51.4s; 3, 1:49s ($1,137,292) have decided and are pleased to announce that — as well as standing stud at Seelster Farms — Up The Credit will continue to be trained and the plan is to race him as a 4-year-old.