Streaking ‘Norway’ looks to retain respect at Big M
by Debbie Little
To slightly paraphrase Crash Davis in Bull Durham, “You have to respect the streak… because they don’t happen very often.”
In a second-leg division of the Graduate Series at The Meadowlands on Friday (June 12), the betting public showed plenty of respect to On To Norway, who came to town with a 26-race win streak.
Sent off as the odds-on choice at 4-5, On To Norway lived up to his press clippings, extending his streak to 27 with a 2¼-length victory in a lifetime-best 1:49.3.
“He’s pretty cool,” said co-owner Mark Weaver. “We’ve had a lot of good horses, and I’m not saying he’s the best one, but we’ve never had one win probably half as many in a row as he has, so it’s just crazy.”
Weaver, along with Sylvia Burke and Mike Bruscemi, comprise Burke Racing Stable, who co-own the 4-year-old gelded son of Muscle Massive—One Class Act with Frank Baldachino, Black And White Stable, and Michael Rosenthal.
Since On To Norway’s streak started on April 10, 2025, the start before Ron Burke became his trainer, Indiana’s 2025 Trotter of the Year had not left his home state until venturing to New Jersey, where he currently remains for this week’s third leg of the Graduate on Saturday night (June 20) and the Grade 2 Stan Bergstein Memorial Graduate final on Saturday (July 4).
“It’s a fun streak, and I’ll tell you, Indiana, they’ve got their chest pumped up pretty good, with On To Norway and [North America Cup champ] Odds On Mr Mamba,” Weaver said.
Although taking on Grand Circuit competition at East Rutherford’s mile oval is a step up, Weaver was quick to point out that On To Norway, who has banked over $700,000 lifetime, has faced some pretty good horses in Indiana, and even some on the Grand Circuit already, when he won the Grade 2 Carl Erskine Trot and Grade 3 Phil Langley Memorial at Hoosier Park.
“I liked visually how he did it,” Weaver said of the Graduate win. “He was going as fast as at any point in the mile right at the wire, and he took off after the wire, which was a good thing to see.
“He did it on the front last time, which he’s won on the front before, but I would say at least half the time he hasn’t been on the lead, so yeah, he’s done it all… A lot of times, he’s been first up, and that’s how he was driven. John De Long drove in Indiana; he did a great job, but I think he also did a good job to not put him on the front every week, which I think can happen sometimes when drivers are on the favorite.
“You get respect, and other drivers are more likely to let you go, but just from the horse’s standpoint, you have to mix it up… If this horse had been put on the front every time, I doubt he would have 27 [wins in a row]. I think part of the reason he has the winning streak is because he’s been driven properly, and it keeps him kind of fresh.”
Weaver also praised Hall of Fame driver Yannick Gingras who sat behind On To Norway for the first time last week.
“The thing that I liked with Yannick is at the top of the lane, he let whoever was first up [Meshuggah] get pretty close to him, and a lot of times that’s not really the best thing, but I could tell at that point I said, ‘He must be really confident for him to let a horse get right up beside him,’” Weaver said. “And then when they got to the top of the lane, and he just kind of asked him a little bit, and then the last 100 yards, when he really let him out, he just trotted away from them.
“This week, I would love to see him just get away third or fourth, and maybe move to the front, or if they’re going on enough up there, just kind of wait, and then come when they start coming back to you, but we’ll leave that up to Yannick. He usually makes the right decisions.”
Weaver also mentioned that Super Chapter, the 2025 Dan Patch 3-Year-Old Male Trotter of the Year, looked impressive, easily winning his second-leg Graduate division in a lifetime-best 1:49.3 as the 2-5 favorite.
Tomorrow night, On To Norway and Super Chapter again drew into separate divisions, races 3 and 8, respectively.
As for On To Norway’s competition this week, he faced three of his five competitors last week, but it’s his first time taking on Go Dog Go and Mr Mouton.
“I mean we may win, but I would have been okay if Go Dog Go was in the other division with Super Chapter this week,” Weaver said with a laugh. “Go Dog Go was really good last week, and he kind of made a huge move, and then just kind of tucked in behind Super Chapter in the stretch… he’s a fast horse when he minds his manners, which it looks like he does most of the time. He’s a very talented horse, fast horse, and On To Norway’s going to have to bring his ‘A’ game to be able to beat him, because he’s made almost $700,000, with a mark of [1]:49.3. My point is that it’s not a gimme.”
For Weaver, it would be great to see On To Norway’s streak continue for as long as possible.
“It’s a good story,” Weaver said. “Super Chapter is phenomenal, so I’m not looking to pick a fight with him, but when we get to it, if and when that comes, we’ll give it our best.”
