by James Platz

The opening round of Indiana Sires Stakes competition for sophomore trotters and pacers kicks off Memorial Day (May 26) at Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing & Casino. Frank Baldachino, a long-time program supporter, will be busy following his racing interests that day. One of the entries, On To Norway is a newer acquisition making his sires stakes debut for the connections Monday afternoon.

Baldachino has been very active in the Indiana program over the last two decades, always observing the races and looking for the next good horse to buy. And he’s had success with finding budding stars that have gone on to greatness. In 2006, he purchased freshman pacer Go On BB privately for a moderate five-figure sum early in her career. She would go on to become one of the Indiana program’s most decorated horses while winning over $1.4 million in purses.

“I pretty much watch mostly all the Hoosier races whether it’s replays or watching them live,” he said. “If I like something, what is great about Hoosier, you can watch them on YouTube. So I can watch them three, four, five times and look for certain things and slow them up and just study them.”

Scouring races of the early 3-year-olds racing at Hoosier this spring, Baldachino noticed trotter On To Norway. The Muscle Massive—One Class Act gelding raced second in his debut for trainer Leander Schwartz on April 3, then followed that with a victory one week later, both starts coming in the Chad E. Carlton Trotting Series for Michael Detweiler’s Black And White Stable.

“I noticed him when he went in :56.2, and I said, ‘That’s a nice little start for that horse,’” Baldachino said. “I checked what he had done previously, and I saw that he had a pretty solid year on the fairs and racing a little bit in Michigan. I noticed that he did have one start at Hoosier, which he won and trotted in [1]:58.2, came home :28.1. I knew he got around Hoosier because he did have one 2-year-old start there, and he wasn’t too bad.”

As a freshman, On To Norway made nine starts, racing primarily on the Michigan fair circuit. He finished the year with three consecutive wins, the first coming at Hoosier Park in November. In that event, Marvin Luna steered him to a more than three-length victory in a time of 1:58.2. The fact that he handled the Hoosier configuration well and returned strong in his first two starts immediately made him a target for Baldachino and his partners.

“He was second in his first start, but he was coming, and that’s what I look for in horses, that coming off the pace and finishing strong through the wire,” Baldachino said. “I watched his next start, and he ran off in [1]:55. I was like, ‘I’ve got to reach out to Leander.’”

When the trotters lined up behind the gate in the $20,000 Carlton Trotting Series final, On To Norway did so with new owners. Ron Burke’s team assumed the training duties and shares ownership with Baldachino, Michael Rosenthal and Black And White Stable, which stayed in on the gelding. Since the ownership change, On To Norway has reeled off four straight, winning the Carlton Trotting Series crown before sweeping two legs of the Expresson Series and scoring the $25,000 final last week, a 1:54.4 clocking. He now takes a big step up into the Indiana Sires Stakes, drawing post 6 in a seven-horse field Monday at Hoosier Park, one of two $49,500 splits for sophomore trotting colts. John De Long will steer the five-time winner.

“Ronnie and Adam [Rucker] have done a great job now, continuing with him to keep moving forward,” said Baldachino. “On Monday, he steps into the fire a little bit with the sire stakes horses, but I think he can go with those horses. I think he can be right there with them, but it will be a little bit of a step up now, so we’ll have to see what he has in him. I’ve got 100 per cent confidence in him that he can race with the glamour boys out there this year. Hopefully he stays healthy and sound, and can last until October or November for us, and can be a real competitive 3-year-old trotter out there.”

Baldachino now has two racing interests in the division. He also owns Starlitfranknstein, already a two-time winner in three 2025 starts for the partnership that includes Burke Racing, Weaver Bruscemi LLC and Beasty LLC. Last season the Swan For All—A Southern Lily colt won three of nine starts and raced second to divisional champion Eugene The Genius in the $250,000 Indiana Sires Stakes Super Final. He finished the season with $191,827 on his card.

Having two horses in the division makes it advantageous when each sires stakes leg is drawn this season.

“I knew we wouldn’t have to race against each other in the sire stakes until hopefully they both make the final,” Baldachino said. “He’s staked up very similar to ‘Starlight,’ so they both have some Grand Circuit stakes at Hoosier as well. So they might have to battle somewhere down the road, but a majority of their starts would be avoiding each other. So that was a real appeal to me also.”

Starlitfranknstein has drawn post 4 in Monday’s eighth race, the second of the two divisions that includes six others. Trace Tetrick is slated to drive.

In total, Baldachino will have eight horses to follow on Hoosier Park’s Memorial Day program. Joining On To Norway and Starlitfranknstein are trotting fillies Miracle Maven and Classical Jane and pacers Freaky Feet Beast, CC Rockin Rosie, Angelatyourfeet and Big Al Derosa. He has had a solid track record of acquiring horses that have gone on to achieve success in the Hoosier State. He is hoping to repeat that in 2025.

“I just love watching my horses,” he said. “To buy them at a reasonable level for what we think is a reasonable price and then they turn out to be, hopefully, the next Indiana champion out there. I just hope that maybe one of them is the next Indiana Sire Stakes champion.”