from the Meadowlands Publicity Department

East Rutherford, NJ — Splitting his time between Chicago and New Jersey produced career high dividends for trainer Nelson Willis last year.

The 63-year-old conditioner looks to continue that upward trend by racing a compact stable of powerful pacers at the Meadowlands in 2007. This weekend, he will send out Street Dancer, in Friday night’s fifth race, a $35,000 feature for pacing mares, and Incredible Art in Saturday’s tenth race for $75,000-$100,000 claimers.

Willis, who is stabled at Illinois’ Balmoral Park, first began sending horses to the Meadowlands in 2006. He ended the year with career highs in victories (112) and earnings ($1,219,688). One of the highlights of Willis’ Meadowlands meet last year was racing a three-horse entry in the $43,315 Fox Sports Net Final on April 20, 2006. The entry was sent off as the even-money favorite, led by Apache Hotspur, a five-time winner at the Big M in 2006. Apache Hotspur finished second from post 10, while his stablemates, John’s My Buddy and Incredible Art, were fourth and eighth, respectively.

“This is my second season racing at the Meadowlands,” Willis noted. “I had some nice horses that weren’t getting raced here in Illinois and some were in the same classes. I decided to try it last year and, fortunately, they did very well. Last year was my best season ever.

“I’ve got two or three green horses ready to send out and qualify,” he added. “I’m going to try to keep five at the Meadowlands all the time. They’re stabled at the track and I have an assistant trainer, Michael MacKenzie, who’s very good. He worked for my late son-in-law, Brian Pinske. Brian was quite a loss.”

Street Dancer was named Illinois’ Three-Year-Old Pacing Filly of the Year in 2006. The daughter of Richess Hanover won 17 of 25 starts and was on the board 23 times. She took a mark of 1:50.3 while racking up $300,585 in earnings for her team of owners: former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar, Terry Rathgeber, Ted Lock and James Reynolds.

“She is just really tough,” Willis said. “Look at her record. There were a thousand times last year when I thought they were going to beat her at the seven-eighths pole, but the closer they got, the more she leaned forward. The Grandma Ann ($180,000, Sept. 16, 2006 at Balmoral) and the Cinderella ($100,000, Nov. 17, 2006 at Maywood) were her biggest wins.”

Though her talent is obvious now, it took some time for Willis to see the true potential in Street Dancer.

“I got this mare at the end of her 2-year-old season,” Willis recalled. “They brought her to me and we weren’t sure about her. My nephew (Kristopher Reynolds) had raced her once at the Marshall-Putnam County Fair (in Illinois) and she got beat 35 lengths in 2:14.3. They didn’t have any idea what she could be. I trained her for about a month or two and decided I had hit the brick wall with her.

“She’s very lazy and doesn’t exert herself,” he continued. “I qualified her in 2:00.1 and I thought she was very good because the most I had trained her was 2:05. We entered her at Maywood and I called (driver) Dale Hiteman. I told him to really race her and get after her.”

Street Dancer won that start, the $66,000 Violet Stakes on Oct. 12, 2005 at Maywood, in 1:55.1.

“And it’s been all downhill since then,” Willis said, tongue firmly planted in his cheek.

“I really think she’ll do well at the Meadowlands,” he added. “She might need a race because we turned her out for awhile. All of last year, I raced her and then gave her a couple of weeks off in the field to freshen up. Managing her that way has worked out very well.”

Street Dancer will make her Meadowlands debut from post eight in Friday night’s fifth race. She is rated at 5-1 on the morning line with Ron Pierce in the irons.

Born in Columbia, Kentucky, Willis got his start in the business working with his brother, Connell, on the Chicago circuit while he was still in high school. The Beecher, Illinois resident opened his own stable in 1967.

“My brothers worked for a trainer in Kentucky when they were young and I learned the business through them,” he explained. “My family moved to Illinois when I was just 8 years old. When Connell used to come up here from the south to race, I would help him out. My father never raced horses. He was a farmer who raised tobacco, corn and other crops. I’ve never done anything but this. I’m 63 years old and I’ve been hanging around racetracks since I was 13!”

Mark your calendar for this Meadowlands giveaway

The Meadowlands will give out a 2007-2008 calendar featuring photographs of the top horses of 2006 and valuable monthly coupons on Saturday, February 3.

Available to paid admissions, while supply lasts, the calendar highlights important 2007 race dates and offers a coupon every month for items like free admission, valet parking, betting voucher or dining & concession discounts.