by Kimberly French, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Kimberly French

Louisville, KY —

There’s something about being on the racetrack that alters 10-year-old Notorious Buck’s demeanor.

“He’s a kitten in the barn, but he gets real aggressive when he’s ready to race and just doesn’t want to get beat,” explained Rob Harmon, the gelding’s conditioner. “I wish I had a whole barn full of horses just like him.”

The Illinois-bred son of Valley Victor-Tiffy Belle is owned by Exit 67 Racing of Boynton Beach, Florida and has earned $543,205 from 174 pari-mutuel miles. Notorious Buck sports a lifetime mark of 1:55.4f, which he established as a 4-year-old and 2009 was the second best year of his career. From 29 starts, the trotter netted 11 triumphs, six second place finishes, and four thirds, with a bankroll of $111,625.

Like any athlete, Notorious Buck has some nagging issues that he must overcome to get his picture taken.

“He has some problems with his suspensories and the branches,” Harmon said. “We hose his legs with cold water and ice him, the problem is he still wants to go so much faster than those legs will carry him.”

Because of his problems, Harmon doesn’t train Notorious Buck very hard. The gelding mostly jogs and then races himself into shape.

“We gave him some time off in early December,” his trainer said. “He was turned out down in Florida and now we are getting him ready to qualify this Friday. He seems ready to start up again.”

Harmon currently oversees about 35 head at Mark Ford’s facility in New Jersey. He was based in Michigan and had always raced in other states, but decided to make the move to the East Coast last February.

“When I’m racing at night, I don’t think about it so much, but my wife and son are back home,” he said. “When I have a day off it’s pretty lonely, but there’s just no money in Michigan.”

His connections plan on keeping Notorious Buck in the $20,000 claiming class for his upcoming campaign, but if that doesn’t yield dividends, they will adjust his races until they find the right fit for him.

“It’s a shame he has those bad suspensories, because he tries so hard,” Harmon said. “He almost knocks himself out. I’m just going to continue taking care of him and we will see what he does out on the racetrack. This horse is really all heart.”

Below are the career statistics of Notorious Buck.

Year-Starts-1st-2nd-3rd-Earnings-Record
2009-29-11-6-4-$111,625-9,1:58.2h
2008-12-6-2-2-$30,652-8,1:58.2h
2007-15-1-3-2-$15,178-7,1:59.4h
2006-25-3-6-1-$44,035-6,1:58.2h
2005-38-7-6-5-$122,905-5,1:56.2f
2004-28-6-1-4-$87,110-4,1:55.4f
2003-12-2-4-3-$46,704-3,1:57.3
2002-15-6-2-2-$84,996-2,1:59.2
Career-174-42-30-23-$543,205-4,1:55.4f