Numbers/facts about tonight’s Breeders Crown

by Bob Heyden

Before the final night of the 42nd edition of the Breeders Crown gets underway, here are a few numbers and facts about some of tonight’s participants:

1. At 7, Lexus Kody is set for his Breeders Crown debut, which is not unprecedented in this division. In 2011 7-year-old San Pail did the same in his one and only Crown appearance en route to HOY honors. In 2004, H P Paque, at age 7, won in his Crown debut, as did 8-year-old Bold Eagle in 2019.

2. Emoticon Legacy, the 8-5 morning-line favorite in the Breeders Crown 3-Year-Old Colt Trot looks to better his sixth place finish last year as the third choice.

3. Jason Bartlett is No. 9 on the all-time money list for drivers, making him the richest driver of all time without a Breeders Crown victory (10 0-2-1).

4. Burke has been first or second for 12 straight years in Crown money.

5. Fast Photo won the 2000 3YOCT as his first win of the season. Maryland will try to do the same, a quarter-of-a-century later, at the very same track.

6. Scott Zeron has eight Crown trophies, but his first two trotting Crowns came in the last two editions with Tactical Approach and Allegiant.

7. It’s the 10th anniversary of Jimmy Takter’s six winner Breeders Crown night, the all-time high-water mark.

8. Chris Ryder is trying for an unprecedented first, consecutive Breeders Crowns with a mare on either gait. He won back-to-back with trotting mare Mystical Sunshine in 2006-07, and looks to do the same this year with pacing mare Twin B Joe Fresh, who won in 2025 as a 4-year-old.

9. Chris Ryder is also the only trainer in the 21st century to train two HOY sires at the very same time: Art Major and McArdle.

10. Annie Stoebe, who trains Elista Hanover in tonight’s Open Mare Trot, is looking to add to the 34 Breeders Crown wins for female trainers since 2002 when Linda Toscano’s Molly Can Do It kicked down the door for the ladies to storm through.

DEXTER DUNN, SHOHEI OHTANI, TWO MEGASTARS, SAME NIGHT, SAME CITY

Dexter Dunn and Shohei Ohtani will both be in Toronto tonight, just 22 miles apart.

They will each be performing on their sport’s greatest championship stage, the Breeders Crown and World Series, respectively. Harness racing and baseball are once again united, this time with two generational standouts front and center.

• Dunn, 36, is 8,600 miles plus from his native New Zealand, while Ohtani, 31, is 6,400 miles from his native Japan.

• Ohtani started in the majors in 2018 with the Los Angeles Angels before going to the Dodgers. Dunn also made the North American commitment in 2018, at the urging of trainer Chris Ryder, before his 2019 explosion on the sports center stage.

• Dunn has been Driver of the Year in five of the last six years with another possibly looming. Ohtani has been the National League MVP three of the last four years which is about to be four out of five.

• Dunn comes into tonight off a mind-boggling six winners in the 2024 Crown, the highest single year total in 41 editions. Ohtani pitches too and comes off a game-for-the-ages in the playoffs with six shutout innings, 10 strikeouts, and three home runs.

• Dunn is part-owner of the 2024 Horse of the Year Twin B Joe Fresh, and Ohtani was fourth in the Cy Young voting the year (2022) he was runner-up in the MVP voting.

• Dunn has won 21 Breeders Crowns victories in 67 tries, a 31.3 percentage; the next highest win percentage all-time (40 or more drives) is Brian Sears at 18.6 per cent. Ohtani has had five-straight years of 35 or more home runs: 46, 35, 44, 54, and 55.

• Dunn is the first driver to 21 Breeders Crown wins in less than 70 drives (67), while Ohtani, this year, became the first ever 50-50 player (home runs and stolen bases).

• Ohtani did not allow a run in his three September starts, while Dunn comes off a September to remember in 2024 as the only driver to twice win a million-dollar race: Maryland in the Mohawk Million and Jiggy Jog S in the Yonkers International Trot.

• Ohtani hasn’t allowed a run since August, while Dunn hasn’t allowed anyone to lead in Crown year-end earnings since 2019 when he was third.