An unexpected meeting between Jay Cross and owner Carl Hanes turned out to be just what both of them needed. Now the friends are bonding even more over sophomore trotting filly Sure Do.

by James Platz

Nearly a decade has passed since horseman Jay Cross sat down next to a complete stranger he knew only as ‘Carl’ in the grandstand before a fair program at Connersville, IN. Carl Hanes had watched fair racing as a boy, and now retired, he had become a regular at most stops along the Indiana fair circuit. Through that introduction, the two have built a partnership and friendship that has brought them through trying times, and more recently, to the winner’s circle. They are currently enjoying the fruits of sophomore trotting filly Sure Do, a winner in eight of 10 seasonal starts competing primarily at the fairs.

“My dad would take me to Converse to the races,” Hanes said of his early interest. “I was introduced to it back when I was six, seven, eight years old. Over the years, I went to the races, mostly the county fair races. I lost my wife 15 years ago. I’ve been a farmer all my life. I had retired from farming, and I had no hobbies, so I started following the county fair circuit again.”

Cross’ wife, Pam, works as the charter at many of the fairs, and her parents also assisted with photo finish from time to time. Both Jay and Pam noticed Hanes and struck up conversations with him throughout the summer.

“Pam’s parents don’t know any strangers, but they got acquainted with him,” Jay said. “I would hear Pam and her mom and dad talk about talking to Carl. At Connersville, Pam’s mom and dad were there. Before the races I went upstairs and talked to them. Carl was sitting halfway down the stairs right there on the end. I was going down to the racetrack to get ready and I just stopped, sat down and introduced myself, which is totally not me.”

Neither went into detail about the length of the conversation or the subject matter, instead focusing on how the exchange ended.

“When he got ready to leave he asked, ‘Did you ever think about owning a racehorse?’” Hanes said. “I said, ‘Well, I’m just afraid they would cost too much for me and my liking.’ I didn’t really know how much it would take.”

Jay responded, “‘If you’re really interested, come down to the trailer after the races.’ He did, so we talked a little bit more.”

Jay and Pam Cross outlined with Hanes the expenses of caring for and racing a horse. They provided their address and an open invitation to visit their Middlebury farm. A few weeks later, Hanes made the two-hour trek from his home in Fairmount.

“When I got there, Jay showed me around” Hanes said. “He asked, ‘Have you got some time? I want you to go with me. I have a horse that I think you would be interested in.’”

The horse in question was a Valley Speed 2-year-old named Glowing Embers. Hanes recalled watching the gelding race during the 2013 fair season. The trotter had finished the campaign, hitting the board in eight of 15 starts without a victory, and was turned out in anticipation of his sophomore season. The asking price on Glowing Embers was $2,200, and a deal was quickly struck.

“I had been to a couple of sales, and I knew what the less expensive horses were bringing,” Hanes said. “I looked at Jay and said, ‘How quick can you load him up?’ That’s how I got my first horse.”

Glowing Embers collected one win on the fair circuit in 2014, and five wins overall while earning $18,618.

That season, Jay helped Hanes navigate the experience of first-time horse ownership. Racing also became a welcomed distraction to a man still dealing with the loss of his spouse. However, before season’s end, it was Hanes who would provide guidance to the long-time horseman facing his own challenges.

“I always thought it was neat that God placed me in his life to help him through the time of losing his wife,” Jay said. “When I had my cancer, he was placed into that situation for me. The big thing when I first learned I had prostate cancer was that I wanted to talk with someone that had it. We didn’t know what we were getting into, and I didn’t know anybody.

“In the course of events, I had to tell my owners what was going on. I was looking at surgery. And of course cancer is a scary word, you don’t know what you’re getting into.”

Hanes remembers joining the trainer at the races in Goshen that year and noting that Jay was not himself. The two sat down a few days later and the veteran conditioner shared his recent diagnosis. Much to his surprise, he discovered an ally that had personally waged the same battle.

“We had breakfast together and after we got done, I told him what was going on” Jay said. “I can see him just like it was yesterday. He just sat back, put his hands together on his chest over his belly and leaned back and said, ‘I had that, and I’ve never had any trouble.’ I asked him questions. It had been 11 years since he had gone through it. It’s one of those things where you can relate to somebody totally differently when they’ve been through the same thing. It was a big comfort to know that this was somebody that had been through it.”

Added Hanes, “I told him, ‘I know exactly what you’re talking about because I’ve been through it.’ It just perked him up, knowing you can survive prostate cancer.”

Nine years later, the two men are connected once again, this time through the achievements of trotting filly Sure Do. After the success of Glowing Embers, the owner and trainer set out to employ the same strategy each season. Late in the year they would try to identify a 2-year-old currently racing to buy and campaign at 3. They were able to repeat their initial success. For instance, Hanes partnered with fellow owner Maynard Miller on Jailhouse Jesse filly Credit Fraud from late 2017 through early October 2018. The sophomore won six races on the fair circuit that summer, including five in a row at one point.

There were some missteps, however, including yearlings purchased in back-to-back years that didn’t pan out on the track. The men may not have returned to the yearling market if acquiring young horses at the end of the freshman season had not become so difficult.

“For two years we couldn’t get anything bought,” Jay said. “That’s when the Amish market got hot and put us out of business. The second year I thought I had something bought. Ownership partners decided to buy the rest out instead of selling. There were a couple others I thought I could buy and they all fell through. Carl said something about buying a yearling, but I didn’t think that’s what he wanted to do.”

Hanes showed up at the 2021 Hoosier Classic sale in search of a horse. Jay had noticed a trotting filly from the first crop of You Know You Do. She was a half-sister to a filly he had purchased in partnership that never made it to the races. He had not fully inspected her, but was discussing the filly with Pam when Hanes approached. Jay, who also helps with the sale, was called away to assist with an audio issue.

“I came back and up walks Carl and hands me the ticket,” Jay said. “He had bought Sure Do. I didn’t get her out and look at her, I just kind of, in passing, looked over the stall gate, and she was kind of a flashy looking filly. Pam pointed out that she had a front foot that was not 100 per cent correct. It’s not a glaring fault, but it’s there.”

Purchased for $10,000, Sure Do is the eighth horse Hanes has owned since the partnership began, and she has turned into quite the competitor. Last season, she won six of her 10 attempts and finished off the board only once. She triumphed in the $25,000 Governor’s Cup Championship at the Indiana State Fair, taking her 1:59 freshman mark in the victory. Sure Do closed out the year with $28,145 in earnings.

This season, Sure Do has proven tough to beat on the fair circuit. After debuting at Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing & Casino with placings of fifth and third in back-to-back weeks, the sophomore moved to the fairs and has not tasted defeat since. Conditioned and driven by Cross, the John Bontrager Jr.-bred trotter has reeled off eight straight wins. Her latest victory, a 1:55.1 score Thursday (July 27) against the boys at Hoosier Park, displayed her determination. In that contest, Sure Do fought off multiple challenges late in the lane to reach the wire first by a quarter length, setting a new lifetime best.

“I didn’t go into it planning to get a win like that,” Jay said. “But that’s the way it worked out. She hasn’t been challenged that many times this summer. She was determined to win. They came at her on both sides late and she just dug in and fought them off. She’s just really sharp right now.”

The filly currently sits atop the fair circuit divisional point standings for her category. She needs one more start at the fairs to qualify for the Governor’s Cup Championships in mid-August. Cross said he is pointing to Portland on Aug. 5 to register her seventh fair start and make her championship eligible. Sure Do has earned $23,605 this season and has just shy of $52,000 on her card for her career.

“I’ve had good luck with her,” said Hanes, now in his early 80s. “Being inexperienced in horse racing, I’m tickled to death. I think Jay is too. He says she is easy to work with. She’s doing well. He’s happy with her, and I like what I see. That’s a thrill to win the championship. I’m hoping to do that again this year.”