Sunday, February 15, 2015 Bret Hanover
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Sunday, February 15, 2015 With Superstars Abounding, 50 Years Ago, stretch at the Illinois State Fair to end the streak at 35. Harness Racing Was "America's Fastest That was shocking enough, but two weeks later the sons of Adios met again at the Indiana State Fair in a select Growing Sport five-horse field. Bret set honest fractions in the first heat as By Dean A. Hoffman Adios Vic rode the caboose, and Bret hit the wire more A half-century ago, giants roamed the landscape of slightly more than a length ahead of Adios Vic. American harness racing. The time of 1:55 was the fastest mile ever by a They are immortals now but they were living legends sophomore Standardbred and it matched Adios Harry's during the 1965 season. It was a heady time in harness all-age race record. Bret and Ervin basked in the spotlight. racing when attendance and handle were soaring and the But not for long. Ervin put Bret in front the second heat but USTA issued decals with the slogan: "Harness Racing: set more moderate fractions with Adios Vic third along the America's Fastest Growing Sport." rail. In the stretch, Adios Vic shot past Bret to inflict a It was a time in America when LBJ sat in the White second humiliating defeat on the champ. House presiding over an escalating war in Vietnam, the Bret's misery wasn't over. In that era, stakes usually Beatles led an invasion of required a horse to win two heats, so Bret and Vic returned British music, and the Ford to the track for a raceoff. Ervin and Bret opted to trail Adios Mustang was the talk of Vic but couldn't catch him in the homestretch. For the first Detroit. time in his career, Bret Hanover went back to the barn Who were these harness without a trophy. racing giants? Bret Hanover Three weeks later, the two heroes would lock horns again stood tallest of all. He came in the Little Brown Jug, a race that was delayed as heavy into the '65 season rains turned the county fair track at Delaware, Ohio into a unbeaten in 24 starts as a juvenile and as the first (continued on next page) Bret Hanover, the “Big Bum” 2-year-old ever to be voted (USTA photo) Horse of the Year. His supporting cast included the brilliant filly Armbro Flight, the flashy freshman pacer Romeo Hanover, the ageless gelding Cardigan Bay, the twin Castleton Farm champs Race Time and Dartmouth, Noble Victory, plus well-remembered names such Kerry Way, Adios Vic, Overcall, and True Duane. The cynosure of all eyes, however, in 1965 was Bret, aka "The Big Bum", as trainer-driver Frank Ervin called the lazy bay son of Adios. Bret had been the cynosure of all eyes from the time he went through the sale ring at Harrisburg, Pa., selling for $50,000. That made him the highest-priced yearling of 1963. The history of harness racing is replete with the name of premium-priced youngsters that never live up to their advance billing once they reach the racetrack. No one remembers so many big ticket yearlings and if you don't recall their names now it's likely because they attained their greatest fame in the sale ring, not in the winner's circle. Bret Hanover was different. He soon showed that he was worth every penny of his $50,000 purchase price---and then some. He began winning as soon as he got to the races in 1964 and just kept repeating. When his season was over, he had 24 straight wins. The pressure was on Bret to keep his unbeaten streak alive in 1965 although trainer-driver Frank Ervin knew that wasn't likely to happen. The inevitable occurred in mid-August of '65 when Adios Vic snaked past Bret in deep BOOK NOW FULL! THANKS FOR YOUR TREMENDOUS SUPPORT! Bred on the same cross as Father Patrick, Pastor Stephen,and this year’s top 2yo, Billy Flynn. 2, 1:54.2, 3, 1:52.3F, 4, 1:50.3F ($1,290,660) HarnessRacingUpdate.com • 2/15/15 PAGE 2 of 8 quagmire. Thanks to a miraculous track maintenance job, When the list of great trotting females is compiled, the soggy clay was peeled from the surface and racing was Armbro Flight deserves a high rank. able to take place. When the freshman pacing No one could catch Bret on Jug Day in 1965 as the big classics were contested, if freight train bulled his way past his pesky rivals to win in someone asked, "Romeo, Romeo, 1:57, the fastest race ever on a twice-around oval. Bret wherefore art thou Romeo?", they returned in the second round to win in 1:57.2 and wrap up would have found Romeo Hanover the Jug trophy. Adios Vic struggled with the turns and was on top by several lengths at the never a factor. wire. While the rivalry The chestnut son of Dancer between Bret Hanover Hanover ignored his suspect hocks and Adios Vic was to dominate the major stakes for playing out on the 2-year-old pacers, such as the Fox 1965's best 2-year-old, Stake and Roosevelt Futurity. A pacing gait, the Romeo Hanover sophomore trotters were (USTA photo) year later Romeo would go on to led by the filly Armbro win the Triple Crown. Flight and Noble Victory. The top freshman trotter in 1965 was the filly Kerry Way Noble Victory was the and a year later she would go on to win the '66 trotting counterpart of Hambletonian. Bret Hanover. He was The best older trotter in harness racing was the jet black Armbro Flight was one of many blessed with a wonderful Victory Song stallion Dartmouth, who elbowed his bigger stars that graced the sport 50 pedigree (his dam and older stablemate Speedy Scot out of the way. Speedy years ago (USTA photo) Emily's Pride won the Scot was a 5-year-old and past his prime in 1965, although Hambletonian) and he won 18 of 19 starts as a freshman, he did represent the USA in the International Trot at losing only a heat when his hock hit the sulky and he broke Roosevelt. He was making a three-wide move for the lead stride. when he broke stride. Pluvier III won that race. The '65 Hambletonian was practically conceded to Noble Dartmouth was the "Steady Eddie" type of trotter for Victory after he was unbeatable in his starts prior to the Castleton and trainer-driver Ralph Baldwin and Castleton Hambo. Like the Jug track that year, the DuQuoin oval (continued on next page) came up a quagmire and the bar shoes that Noble Victory wore in front anchored him in the sticky clay. He failed to win a heat but his stablemate Egyptian Candor took home the trophy in a four-heat struggle that ended in darkness. (There were no lights at the DuQuoin track.) In the Hambo raceoff, Egyptian Candor edged the tough filly Armbro Flight, but she shrugged that defeat off and simply got better. Five days after the Hambletonian, Armbro Flight beat Noble Victory in the Horseman Stake at Indianapolis. She won a heat in 1:59; Noble Victory won a heat in 1:57.2. and then Armbro Flight came back and won the raceoff and trophy. What always amazed me is that the Indianapolis raceoff was the seventh heat that Armbro Flight had raced in five days---and yet she trotted her final quarter in :26.2. Amazing! Armbro Flight and Noble Victory met again in the Kentucky Futurity. Stanley Dancer drove Noble Victory and he varied his tactics. In one heat, he sent Noble Victory to the front. In the other heat he trailed Armbro Flight. The tactics made no difference: Armbro Flight whipped Noble Victory both heats. "I tried her on the front end, and I tried her from behind, but I just couldn't beat her," Dancer told O'Brien after the race. Armbro Flight again beat colts in the Dexter Cup and then went to California and beat the best older trotters on the continent in the American Trotting Classic. (When have you ever heard of a 3-year-old filly beating the best older horses in training?) HarnessRacingUpdate.com • 2/15/15 PAGE 3 of 8 Farm. The same connections also campaigned the “We don’t want to come home until we’ve put some 4-year-old Race Time in 1964 and he was one of the best money in the bank,” Takter said. “She has been so unlucky older pacers in North America. over there. The next two races are at a mile and that should Race Time's toughest foe in '65 was the New Zealand help her. She is really good right now. We just need a race import Cardigan Bay, just as Cardigan Bay had been a where we finally have some luck.” formidable foe to Overtrick the previous year and just as Cardigan Bay would be to Bret Hanover in 1966. When the Yonkers Cancels Saturday Live Racing, Evening pundits list the best pacing geldings in harness racing Simulcasting history, Cardigan Bay surely deserves a spot near the top. By Frank Drucker It was a epic season for harness racing. Business Publicity Director, Empire City @ Yonkers Raceway barometers for the sport all pointed up, new tracks were Yonkers Raceway has cancelled its live racing program opening, and giants roamed the land of harness racing.