Zeron, Balmer, Beach, NA Cup, and more
by Bob Heyden
This week we’re going to celebrate a couple of birthday boys (Scott Zeron and Somebeachsomewhere), look back at some early days at The Meadowlands with Dr. Rick Balmer, and then share some notes on the North America Cup and harness hodgepodge.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SCOTT ZERON
Scott Zeron has had quite a career for someone who just turned 37.
• He just went back-to-back in the Cutler Memorial with Periculum.
• He had his third Hambletonian win by 34 which is unmatched.
• He was the 2024 Dan Patch Driver of the Year.
• He passed $50 million at 27 and is now well into his second $100 million.
• If you bet on all of his Breeders Crown winners including Meshuggah, you have averaged over $70 per victory.
• He broke the post 10 Hambletonian jinx in 2023 with Tactical Approach.
• He turned away eventual Horse of the Year Confederate in the 2023 North America Cup with It’s My Show, four years after setting the then stakes record of 1:47.2 with Captain Crunch for Nancy Takter and 3 Brothers Stables.
• His dad trained Atlanta, who got her soon-to-be-recognized Hall of Fame career officially in gear in capturing the 2018 Hambletonian with Scott in the bike.
• He is the driver of the sport’s last Triple Crown winner Marion Marauder (2016).
• He remains the youngest driver to ever capture a Pacing Triple Crown race (Michaels Power in 2012) when he was just 23.
• He has won nine Triple Crown race before the age of 35, and only John Campbell can also say that.
• A $409 Breeders Crown winner at Hoosier Park in 2020 may be a record that lasts forever.
Did someone just whisper the words Hall of Fame?
THE LATE, GREAT SOMEBEACHSOMEWHERE
The great Somebeachsomewhere would have turned 21 on Memorial Day as he was born on May 25, 2005.
• He was Hip #268 and the first horse sold on Day 3 of the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale. He went for $40,000 and was the fourth foal out of Wheres The Beach.
• His racing and siring careers were legendary.
• We lost him in 2018 at just 13, but his sons and daughters are carrying on his legacy.
• His $153G plus per start remains the all-time pacing mark.
• His son Stay Hungry is the only colt to win two thirds of the Triple Crown in the past decade and a half.
DR. RICK BALMER
Retired vet Dr. Rick Balmer has indeed paid his dues.
“I drove up [to The Meadowlands] with Mike Gagliardi who was shipping in 20 horses, way back when,” Balmer said. “It was so early that the stall doors weren’t even installed yet. The next day they brought in hundreds of union workers and hung 1,200 stall doors in two days.”
What was racing secretary/director of racing Joe DeFrank like?
“It was opening week 1976. He called all the vets into his office for a meeting. He told us it was a great time for harness racing. He said, ‘No waves.’ and left the room. I got to become good friends with Joe through the years.”
Who were the most memorable horses that you worked on?
“Starchip Entrprise for Jim Doherty. Guts for Barry Abrams. I remember driving to Kentucky with Barry when they bought him. Gallo Blue Chip [2000 HOY] for Mark Ford. Fools Goal was the most aggravating. He made a lot of breaks one year and left $1 million on the table. That was when Jim Doherty made the decision to use Jackie Mo [Jack Moiseyev and then won back-to-back Breeders Crowns (2002-03)]. Rock N Roll Heaven [2010 HOY] for Bruce Saunders. Self Possessed was the hardest to keep sound. Cantab Hall and Continentalvictory also for Ron Gurfein. No Nonsense Woman [for Jim Doherty]. Magician was the toughest to work on. I even worked on Palm Peter for Ed Sabatini at Freehold in the 1970s.
Sounds like you were at The Big M a long time.
“Yes, I spent 40 years working in the backstretch at The Meadowlands seven days a week all year, from Opening Day, Sept. 1, 1976, until they closed the barn area in 2011. Myself, Ray Remmen, Jim Doherty, and Red Fazikas we were the only ones there throughout.”
THE NORTH AMERICA CUP
The Pepsi NA Cup is just right around the corner, so in order not to get overloaded that week, we’ll do some Cup notes now.
• Bud Fritz is the only winning driver no longer with us, as he passed in 2022 at 86. Had the 1990 winner Apaches Fame. Fritz is also the last trainer/driver to win on Cup Night.
• Of the last 30 winning trainers, 21 were first timers.
• Jate Lobell might have made the biggest impact in NA Cup history. Not only did he capture Canada’s first million-dollar race in 1987 he also sired three Cup winners from his first six crops: Safely Kept (1992), David’s Pass (1995), and Gothic Dream (1997).
• Dave Miller will miss the 2026 edition and is the last to go back-to-back with Betting Line (2016) and Fear The Dragon (2017).
• Six times the winner has been HOY in the States: Precious Bunny (1991), Cam’s Card Shark (1994), Gallo Blue Chip (2000), Rocknroll Hanover (2005), Somebeachsomewhere (2008), and Talk Dark Stranger (2020).
• Jeff Snyder is the leading owner with a four-pack: Cam’s Card Shark (1994), Red River Hanover (2002), Rocknroll Hanover (2005), and Well Said (2009).
• Louprint in 2025 with an effort for the ages in a 1:47.1 stakes mark.
• In the 21st century, 16 of 26 have had all or partial Canadian ownership.
• Odds On Mr Mamba has never left Indiana and will indeed be on “foreign” soil for the elims. Ironically neither had his ancestor, the great Hal Dale, who also competed in Indiana. They say that 98 per cent of every pacer racing in North America today can trace back, as we speak, to Hal Dale.
HARNESS HODGEPODGE
• Jason Bartlett at 44 last year became the fourth driver to capture his first national earnings title while in their 40s, joining Ron Pierce (48) in 2004, Mike Lachance (46) in 1996, and Clint Hodgins (42) in 1949.
• May 20 marked the 60th anniversary of the 1966 “Race of the Century” at Yonkers. Cardigan Bay won his 10th straight race over favored Bret Hanover in :28.3, :59.3, 1:30.4, and 2:00 flat a length apart on the wire. Cardigan Bay was in his third of five years in North America (37-87 here) and Bret Hanover successfully defended his two-straight HOY titles with yet another in 1966.
• Who are the last two U.S. Horses of the Year to not race that year in New Jersey? Savoir (1975) and Beau Jangles (2025).
