by Bob Heyden

If Saturday’s (Oct. 19) Breeders Crown eliminations were any indication, this week’s finals could be a wild ride. Here is a look at a few things that stood out from the upset laden evening.

NO FAVORITES HERE

Dave Miller had another strong night without any favorites. He qualified 79-1 Asweetbeachhere, won with T C I (the second choice that paid $6.80), finished third with 7-1 Oaks favorite Elista Hanover, as well as 31-1 South Beach Star and 63-1 Greenspan. Miller is days from climbing to within $10 million of John Campbell ($299.8 million) on the all-time earnings list, the first time since March 1989 that anyone (Bill O’Donnell) was within $10 million ($73-$63 million).

BY THE NUMBERS

Ninety-eight tried to win and advance to Saturday night’s (Oct. 26) finals. Zero did so from posts 1 or 2; 24 of 98 were homebreds; 46 of 98 were six-figure yearlings (five won); eight of 11 winners actually had a better win percentage in 2023 than this year; one of 98 was a chestnut and, just like on Hambletonian Day, it was Hambletonian Oaks favorite Elista Hanover (third in her Crown elim); two of 98 entered were sons of Somebeachsomewhere who passed away in 2018 but both advanced (Ruthless Hanover and South Beach Star).

BELOW AVERAGE

Scott Zeron won with 8-1 Allegiant. That price is about $50 lower than his average Breeders Crown final payoff of $68.80 through the years. Last year he had his lone Crown favorite, Tactical Approach ($6).

THIS ONE’S FOR THE GIRLS

Linda Toscano started the female trainer Breeders Crown onslaught in 2002 with Molly Can Do It, and now 32 Breeders Crowns have gone to the ladies. She represented the ladies with Allegiant in the winner’s circle on Saturday.

PHOTO OPS

Six of Saturday’s 11 elims were bang-bang, with two won by a head and four by a neck.

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

Three of the ١٠ winning sires are no longer with us, and all three were Breeders Crown winners themselves. Cantab Hall won in 2003 to complete a Trotter of the Year season at age 2, Somebeachsomewhere won as a 3-year-old in 2008 in his only Crown appearance, and Bar Hopping won the 3YOCT in 2016. All three were favored.

TRIPLE DIGITS

There have been seven $100 Breeders Crown final mutuels. Incredibly, in Saturday night’s elims, there were two: 66-1 Disney for Todd McCarthy and Brett Pelling, and then a 79-1 shocker from Ake Svanstedt with Daiquiri Hanover.

ALL HAIL MUSCLE HILL

Muscle Hill moved into the No. 1 spot all time among trotting stallions in the Breeders Crown last year with 35 less starts than prior king Speedy Crown. Muscle Hill looks to add to that next week with Drawn Impression.

TOP BROTHERS

In a rarity of rarities, full brothers lead all of North America in earnings for a full year. It happened folks in 2001 with Bettors Delight at $1,776,800 and a full decade later with Roll With Joe in 2011 at $1,649,725. Both could have 2024 Crown winners as Roll With Joe’s Twin B Joe Fresh leads the Open Mares and Bettors Delight qualified all four of his: Collusion Hanover and Its A Love Thing were third, Nijinsky was second and his best of the night was 3YOCP champ Mirage Hanover, his fastest ever offspring at 1:46.3 at The Red Mile.

REPEAT MINDED

The Cancelliere Brothers’ Ruthless Hanover will try to repeat what their Bettor Sweet did twice in the Breeders Crown Open Pace. Bettor Sweet doubled up in 2011-12.

LADIES MAN

Dexter Dunn will try and go to an amazing five-for-six in the Mare Trot this weekend. He won it back-to-back with Manchego in 2019-20, then with Bella Bellini in 2022, and Jiggy Jog S last year.

SHOW ME THE MONEY

Todd McCarthy winning with a $100 horse at The Meadowlands? He did it twice on Hambletonian Day 2022 with both Kobe’s Gigi and Cool Papa Bell. It had happened only once prior to that in East Rutherford, and much like Hambletonian Day 2022, “brand names” were involved. It was July 31, 1991 when Cat Manzi did it with 95-1 Fake Left and 49-1 Hundred Kisses. Fake Left would capture the Jug the next year and Hundred Kisses would make her splash off the track as the dam of 1999 Triple Crown winner Blissful Hall. Hopefully the $100 plus twins — Disney (66-1) and Daiquiri Hanover (79-1) — from Saturday night can become equally noteworthy.

IT AIN’T ALL ABOUT THE MONEY

The 19 highest priced yearlings in the elims on Saturday did not emerge victorious. Three winners were homebreds, and the others had yearling tags of $150,000, $150,000, $175,000, $50,000, $135,000, $170,000, $57,000, and $75,000, respectively.

A FEW NOTES ABOUT TWIN B JOE FRESH

1. Dexter Dunn is trying to become the fifth driver who is also part owner of a Horse of the Year. The previous driver/owners to do it were Mal Burroughs in 1997 with Malabar Man, Rod Allen in 1995 with CR Kay Suzie, Tim Tetrick in 2019 with Shartin N, and Clint Galbraith in 1980 with Niatross.

2. Jiggy Jog S is Twin B Joe Fresh’s main competition for HOY. Dunn drives both. Females going 1-2 in the HOY ballot is not unprecedented. It happened just three years back when Test Of Faith got 97 votes to Niki Hill’s 24; the latter also Chris Ryder and Dunn just like Twin B Joe Fresh. It also happened in 2001 when Bunny Lake easily fended off the undefeated Syrinx Hanover.

3. In the first 67 years (1947-2013) of HOY balloting, just three times did a female pacer win HOY honors. All were sophomores. The aforementioned Bunny Lake in 2001, Rainbow Blue in 2004, and the trailblazing Fan Hanover in 1981. Yet, in just the past decade, a 2YOFP, JK She’salady, won it for the very first time in 2014, and a 6YO, Shartin N, for the first time in 2019. Twin B Joe Fresh would be the first ever 4YO pacing mare if she does it.

4. Can you watch from the sidelines and still be HOY? Yes. So, the recently retired Jiggy Jog S could. It happened first in 1991 when single season earnings-record setter Precious Bunny was ineligible. Then again in 1994 when Cam’s Card Shark did not race past Sept. 3 when he won the Dancer for $274G. He reset the earnings record nonetheless and was an easy HOY choice. Two years later Continentalvictory in 1996 was fifth in the Bluegrass on Sept. 25 and stopped there. But she had done more than enough and was named HOY. Moni Maker was out a while in 1999 with AFib and missed the first half of the summer. Fern and Supergrit won the trotting Breeders Crowns which were then contested mid-summer at The Meadowlands. Moni Maker returned with a vengeance and nailed down her second straight HOY title. The last time this occurred was in 2015 when HOY Wiggle It Jiggleit was not eligible and Freaky Feet Pete took the 3YOCP Crown.

5. Ryder is the only trainer to have a HOY runner-up three straight years: Bettor’s Wish (2019), Party Girl Hill (2020) and Niki Hill (2021). He has never had a Horse of the Year.

6. It’s been 54 years. For what you say? That is how long it has been since a trainer has gone into the Hall of Fame and had the Horse of the Year the same season! In 1970 Joe O’Brien went in the same year his Fresh Yankee was HOY. Ryder could duplicate this!