by Bob Heyden

Dexter Dunn that is. He put the capper on a season for the ages with a breathtaking Fall Final Four/FanDuel Night blitz at The Meadowlands never quite seen before.

Consider just some of his best moments from Nov. 30 at The Meadowlands:

1. He won over 33 per cent of every dollar offered on the better than $2.5 million card; $863G to be exact.

2. He was less than $2,500 from being favored in every race. His Nelsonbriteagle NO (1st) was the same 9-5 that Call Me Goo (4th) was just a couple hundred dollars off in the opener for the best female trotters. In the Goldsmith Maid he was 3-2 and finished third beaten less than half a foot for it all with Luna Lovegood, the slight choice and winner What A Bid Hanover was 7-5. In all others, Dunn was favored.

3. The closest margin in any of Dunn’s five pack was a length and a half (Miki And Minnie (1½ lengths); Nelsonbriteagle NO (2½ lengths); Twin B Joe Fresh (2¾ lengths); Abuckabett Hanover (3½ lengths) and Captain Optimistic (4 lengths).

4. He entered the night at $15.782 million and exited at $16.645 million. His 1,394 drives are the second lowest total of any of the top 30 money-winning drivers in North America in 2024 (Scott Zeron has 1,324).

5. He’s about to unanimously wrap up “Driver of the Year” for the fifth time in the six years he’s been here in North America full time.

6. He’s averaging $11,900 per drive for 2024, far and away the best ever for any driver past $10 million in any season.

7. He was in the money in all eight assignments: 8 5-1-2.

8. He’s part owner of the very likely Horse of the Year Twin B Joe Fresh, rarified air for a catch driver.

9. He’s past $16 million. The biggest driving season in seven years since Yannick Gingras’ 2017 campaign.

10. He comes in off a six pack in the Breeders Crown which was never done in the first 40 years of the series.

TONIGHT, WE’RE GONNA RACE LIKE IT’S 1999

Can you believe it’s been a quarter of a century since 1999? It was clearly one of the most influential years in the sport’s history.

Consider that it was the year that:

• Dave Miller made the move east and his impact was immediate. Remember that the second leading driver of all time was at $26,723,311 lifetime driving for 18 years, an average of about $1.5 million per. Since? An average of $11.1 million per.

• Tim Tetrick and Yannick Gingras were getting their bearings and learning their lessons in the second year on the track for both. Now? The third and fourth all-time leaders.

• Sam McKee and family made the move east full time. McKee had gotten his feet wet in a trial of sorts in 1998 at The Meadowlands, and for the next 18 years he made all of us, and most especially the sport, way better.

• Moni Maker won her second straight HOY title; not duplicated since.

• Gallo Blue Chip ran the table as a freshman in New York going eight-for-eight. Still, no one expected his season that followed, when he reset the single season earnings mark to past $2.4 million.

• Self Possessed waited until the very end of the century, in the 74th edition of the Hambletonian, to post the most explosive victory, a 1:51.3 world record.

• Eternal Camnation steps onto the track for the very first time. Six racing seasons and a bankroll over $3.7 million; her money mark still stands over two decades later

• Art Major and Kadabra were foaled. Both would go on to be stars on and off the track with their impact evident today.

“SWEET” AND “TREACHEROUS”

No matter what you do, it’s tough to separate these two fellas, Sweet Lou and Captaintreacherous.

Born a year apart, Sweet Lou a 2009 foal and Captaintreacherous a 2010 baby, they both were outstanding freshmen.

Sweet Lou dominated the Breeders Crown by a city block in Canada in world record time while Captaintreacherous exploded to win the Wilson in sub 1:50 by the largest margin in that storied race’s history.

Both made seven figures at 3.

They both raced last in 2014 when Sweet Lou was on his way to a Pacer of the Year title. Care to guess who was Pacer of the Year the two previous seasons? That’s right, Captaintreacherous.

Today they are still as close as ever with both a fixture in the siring ranks behind Bettors Delight. Sweet Lou in 2024 is past $18.6 million in the runner up spot and Captaintreacherous No. 3 at $17.3 million.

Oh, and even lifetime, they can hardly be separated with Sweet Lou (1:47) at $3,479,894 and “The Captain” (1:47 1) at $3,148,657.