NEWS AROUND THE OVAL

Some of Delaware’s brightest stars were honored on Friday evening, January 8th at the Sheraton Hotel in Dover. Hundreds, over 400 to be more precise, gathered together to celebrate the past year of great harness racing in the First State, mingle with friends and dance the night away.

The Claimer of the Meet for 2009 at Harrington Raceway went to In The Blue Corner. The pacer had 15 starts with 10 wins and four seconds at the half-mile track The son of Fake Left took a best of 1:55.3 during that meet and made $30,000. In The Blue Corner is owned by the husband and wife team of Lorie & Paul Davis.

"We bought him from New Zealand," said Lorie Davis, whose also the trainer. "He won a race right off the bat and then he went 23 months without a win. He was actually getting ready to find a new home, but when he got to Harrington on a smaller track, I guess he decided he liked winning after all."

There was a dead-heat for the Trotter of the Meet Award at Harrington Raceway. First, leading lady Allmar Surprise had 8 starts with 5 wins and a third. Her fastest win over the half-mile oval was in 1:55.3 and the Angus Hall mare made $69,000. Allmar Surprise is trained by Vic Kirby and also owned by Victor Kirby & Matthew Ivory Jr.

The other part of this dead heat for Trotter of the Year at Harrington was Fivedollarsforsox, who raced 19 times with five wins, five seconds and three thirds. His best during 2009 meet was 1:56.3 with $84,000 in monies won. The son of SJ’s Caviar is owned by two husband and wife teams - George & Tina Dennis and Guy & Janelle Winer of Ask W Stables. The high stepper also trained by George Dennis.

Wrapping up honors from Harrington Raceway was the Horse of the Meet award, which went to Artciano. The stand out Artiscape competed 14 times at Harrington in 2009 with seven wins, two seconds and one third. He paced in 1:54.1 and made $55,000. Artciano is trained by Don Brittingham and owned by Larry Hughes.

"When I bought him and brought him home, he had a bad leg and I couldn’t race him for 11 months," explained Hughes. "Don made the call to give him that time off. Don is the best there is and Artciano is what he is, because of Don."

The awards for Dover Downs recognized top athletes from the 2008-2009 meet. The winner for Claimer of the Meet was Dragon’s Blood. With nine wins out of 12 starts, Dragon's Blood was the winningest horse during that meet at the five-eighth mile oval. He swept all three legs of the Go The Distance series and equaled a North American record 1:09.1 for 5/8th mile distance.
Dragon’s Blood was owned by Greg Simendinger and trained by Eli Scott, but is currently racing for new connections in New York.

The Trotter of the Meet Award at Dover Downs went to Starsel. This son of Angus Hall usually started from post 8 in the Open Handicap Trot. He only had six starts at the meet, but won four with two seconds and nearly $80,000 in purses. Starsel is owned by Glenn Del Russo, Charles Dombeck and Daryl Bier, whose also the trainer.

Apache Dame grabbed the honors for the Horse of the Meet at Dover Downs for the 2008-2009 season. The daughter of Apache’s Fame was the dominate female pacer in the Mares Open as she competed 12 times at the five-eighth mile oval with six wins, a second and a third. Her earnings totaled $95,400. This leading lass is owned by Walter & Paul McDougall and trained by Peter Tritton.

"She is special," smiled Tritton "She’s a really really good mare to take two years off (to have a baby) and then come back and race the way that she has. She’s got a lot of heart and her baby looks very promising. She’s a badlands hanover filly and she’s being broke now and hopefully she’ll be like her mom."

Two awards were handed out to human recipients including the Horizon Award. Tim Crissman was the winner of this honor. He arrived to the First State mid-way through 2002 bringing just two horses and has gone on to build his roster up to 38 head. His stable has doubled in purses earned every single season since he’s come to Delaware. In fact, recently those green gold and white colors had a two million season. Crissman’s determination has helped him rise to the top of the training standings at Harrington Raceway.

Special Appreciation Award went to State Representative Clifford G. "Biff" Lee. The Sussex County Legislator has helped the many horseman and women who live in his district. He’s been a lifelong fan of harness racing and has even owned a horse, but, more importantly, he has supported the horse racing industry and horseman's positions during his years in the General Assembly.


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	THE FOLLOWING STORY IS ABOUT DELMARVALOUS - A THREE-YEAR-OLD PACING DE SIRED CHAMPION! On April 18, 2004 Howard Dorfman was on his way back home from Saratoga Raceway to enjoy a few days with his wife. The Virginia Beach resident had been spending the weekdays in New York helping train horses with friend Fern Paquet Jr. and had just started qualifying horses. However, every Saturday after the last race Dorfman would jump in his truck for a nine-hour drive south. Just 25 miles from his house, Dorfman fell asleep at the wheel and found himself in a ditch. "I’ve gone through six operations," said Dorfman. "My most recent was two weeks ago and I still can’t walk. After the accident I was unable to work and I couldn’t pay my bills and lost all my horses, but one, and that was Prymetyme Scootie" The daughter of Scoot Herb first caught Dorfman’s eye in 2002 when she was a five year old competing at Rosecroft Raceway in Maryland. He claimed her on November 8 for $10,000, but only had her for a couple starts before she was claimed back by Roger Hans. Although, Hans raised her up in class, it didn’t keep Dorfman from spending the extra cash to get her back, but it did keep Prymetyme Scootie from going back into a claimer. In 2003, the speedy sidewheeler equaled the world record for a pacing mare on a five-eighth mile track with a 1:51.4 mile at Rosecroft. Then, in 2004 her racing career came to an end. "She had torn a tendon and I was really hoping that her leg would heal, but it didn’t," remembered Dorfman. "I called several stud farms and explained to them that I was busted up and things were bad financially for me. I told them about her bloodline and how nicely built she was and asked if they would work a deal with me to breed her. Finally, I approached Joe Thomson and he looked her up and said, ‘You’ve got a terrific mare. If you can put her on a truck and ship her up, we’ll use one of my stallions.’ It’s wonderful. She’s at a great farm and she’s well-taken care of." Prymetyme Scootie’s first foal was sired by Delaware stallion Badlands Hanover and born at Winbak Farm in Chesapeake City, Maryland on February 24, 2007. Dorfman had the honor of naming the colt. "Badlands Hanover lives in Delaware, the main Winbak Farm, where the mares lives is in Maryland and I live in Virginia so I came up with Delmarvalous," explained Dorfman. "While he was growing up I was able to visit him a couple times. He was beautiful. No matter what field he was in, he was always the best looking yearling out there and I fell in love with him." However, Dorfman wasn’t the only one who was captivated by Delmarvalous as a youngster. "What I typically do is go to Winbak and visit the farm before the sales to take a look at the yearlings and my focus is naturally on the foals of my horse (Badlands Hanover)," explained John Celii. "I saw Delmarvalous probably two weeks before the sale and everything about him reminded of his father. He has his father’s build and looked athletic just like his father. So I went to the sale with my mind set on getting him." When the NJ Classic Sale came along in 2008 and hip #162 came into the sales ring, Dorfman was hoping he might be the last person to bid on Prymetyme Scootie’s first born. "He sold for more than I had ($25,000)," Dorfman recalled. "Fortunately, a nice man named John Celii bought him. About once a month I would touch base with John and ask him how the colt was doing. I told him that I really wished I could be a part of the horse’s future and John ended up selling me 1% of the horse. John is a prince of a guy." "At the sale when I was in the Winbak booth, Joe (Thomson) introduced me to Howard," said Celii. "We stayed in touch and he asked me about buying a percent and I could see how emotional and sentimental he was about Delmarvalous and how much he loved the broodmare. Because of operations and being in and out of the hospital, he has been unable to physically get to the track to see Delmarvalous race, but he follows the horse’s every move on his computer and calls me after the races to discuss it. Having him as a partner and talking with someone who is as excited about owning a horse as he is, has been a rewarding experience." Dorfman, who became a partner on Delmarvalous in August, now is a co-owner with Celii, Elmer Fannin and George Teague Jr., who is the trainer. The colt took a mark this year of 1:52.3 at Dover Downs finishing up his freshman season with 11 starts including eight wins and two seconds. He became a Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund champion winning two $100,000 sire stakes finals reaching $185,880 for the year. "I loved racing Scootie," continued Dorfman. "And, now, being a part of the colt’s life even though it’s just a percentage, has really given me something to look forward to." Harness racing is quite often a family business, with many members of the same family either working together or competing against each other. Fathers and sons train and even drive in the same races and, of course, there are some high profile brothers who sometimes go head-to-head like Tim and Trace Tetrick and Andrew and Luke McCarthy. However, it’s rare that equine brothers ever meet on the track, let alone finish one-two, but that’s what happened on November 24 in the first race at Dover Downs. Myrythmofthenight crossed the wire in 1:57.3 and just a half length back was his full-brother Night Of Glory N to pick up second. Probably no one knows either horse better than New Zealand horseman Bruce Hutton. Not only did Hutton train their dam Belday, but he leases her now as a broodmare with business partner Michael Taranto. Hutton, an owner, trainer and driver in his native country, is the reason that both Sundon-sired trotters are residing in Delaware. Hutton is well-known in the First State having been the bloodstock agent for several successful horses in the Delmarva area including Immortal Quest, Victor Vuitton, Fields Of Honour and Kamwood Raider. He’s worked with many top trainers like Bob Myers, Nick Callahan, Janet Davis and Sam Beegle. “Belday's first foal was Myrythymofthenight and we raced him in New Zealand and Australia until he was six years old,” said Hutton. “He won nine races and 150k here and ran third in the Inter Dominion Grand Final, which was a 250k race. With the contacts that I had with (horse owner) Al Carter and Bob Myers, we thought he would be better suited to the USA style of racing.” Myrythmofthenight, who began competing on the Delaware circuit in the Spring of 2008, is currently owned by Carter Racing Stable, Hutton and Taranto with Myers as the trainer. He has made over $57,000 since arriving to this hemisphere. Night Of Glory won two races Down Under for Hutton and Taranto, before the six year old was sold to Janet and Eddie Davis Jr. The trotter started appearing at Harrington Raceway in April of 2009 and has made over $31,000 this season. Belday’s other foals include a four year old named Night Of My Life, who recently won for Hutton and Taranto in New Zealand. “We also have high hopes for a two year old named Fire In The Night,” boasted Hutton. “And a yearling filly by Majestic Son, who is actually the first foal by Majestic Son born in the world and we are hoping it will be that stallion's first winner too.” With the warm summer months approaching in New Zealand, their breeding season has just come to a close. Belday did not have a baby this year, but she is currently in foal to Dream Vacation. “Both horses (Myrythmofthenight and Night Of Glory) being by Sundon have an excitable nature and are very competitive, but they also have gotten a friendly nature from their mother,” Hutton explained. “Sundon was brought down to New Zealand in embryo. He was the top horse in all his age group and has been leading sire of trotters down here. It would be nothing for a field of 15 in a race to have eight by Sundon. In most two year old races, 80% would be by him.” In America we have become accustom to seeing New Zealand bred pacers, but trotters have not been as popular of an import. “I have noticed that New Zealand trotters don’t seem to perform as well over there as the pacers do,” commented Hutton. “I think that our breed has not got to the levels of yours yet. The main reason is we have not had access to top stallions in the past, since Europe can afford to buy the better ones. With the advent of frozen semen we are now getting better blood and our breed is advancing at a higher rate.” WINNING HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE DELAWARE STANDARDBRED OWNERS ASSOCIATION AWARDS GALA (pictured here are Peter Tritton, trainer of Dover Downs Horse of the Year Apache Dame, along with wife Sandy & daughter Morgan) Some of Delaware’s brightest stars were honored on Friday evening, January 8th at the Sheraton Hotel in Dover. Hundreds, over 400 to be more precise, gathered together to celebrate the past year of great harness racing in the First State, mingle with friends and dance the night away. The Claimer of the Meet for 2009 at Harrington Raceway went to In The Blue Corner. The pacer had 15 starts with 10 wins and four seconds at the half-mile track The son of Fake Left took a best of 1:55.3 during that meet and made $30,000. In The Blue Corner is owned by the husband and wife team of Lorie & Paul Davis. "We bought him from New Zealand," said Lorie Davis, whose also the trainer. "He won a race right off the bat and then he went 23 months without a win. He was actually getting ready to find a new home, but when he got to Harrington on a smaller track, I guess he decided he liked winning after all." There was a dead-heat for the Trotter of the Meet Award at Harrington Raceway. First, leading lady Allmar Surprise had 8 starts with 5 wins and a third. Her fastest win over the half-mile oval was in 1:55.3 and the Angus Hall mare made $69,000. Allmar Surprise is trained by Vic Kirby and also owned by Victor Kirby & Matthew Ivory Jr. The other part of this dead heat for Trotter of the Year at Harrington was Fivedollarsforsox, who raced 19 times with five wins, five seconds and three thirds. His best during 2009 meet was 1:56.3 with $84,000 in monies won. The son of SJ’s Caviar is owned by two husband and wife teams - George & Tina Dennis and Guy & Janelle Winer of Ask W Stables. The high stepper also trained by George Dennis. Wrapping up honors from Harrington Raceway was the Horse of the Meet award, which went to Artciano. The stand out Artiscape competed 14 times at Harrington in 2009 with seven wins, two seconds and one third. He paced in 1:54.1 and made $55,000. Artciano is trained by Don Brittingham and owned by Larry Hughes. "When I bought him and brought him home, he had a bad leg and I couldn’t race him for 11 months," explained Hughes. "Don made the call to give him that time off. Don is the best there is and Artciano is what he is, because of Don." The awards for Dover Downs recognized top athletes from the 2008-2009 meet. The winner for Claimer of the Meet was Dragon’s Blood. With nine wins out of 12 starts, Dragon's Blood was the winningest horse during that meet at the five-eighth mile oval. He swept all three legs of the Go The Distance series and equaled a North American record 1:09.1 for 5/8th mile distance. Dragon’s Blood was owned by Greg Simendinger and trained by Eli Scott, but is currently racing for new connections in New York. The Trotter of the Meet Award at Dover Downs went to Starsel. This son of Angus Hall usually started from post 8 in the Open Handicap Trot. He only had six starts at the meet, but won four with two seconds and nearly $80,000 in purses. Starsel is owned by Glenn Del Russo, Charles Dombeck and Daryl Bier, whose also the trainer. Apache Dame grabbed the honors for the Horse of the Meet at Dover Downs for the 2008-2009 season. The daughter of Apache’s Fame was the dominate female pacer in the Mares Open as she competed 12 times at the five-eighth mile oval with six wins, a second and a third. Her earnings totaled $95,400. This leading lass is owned by Walter & Paul McDougall and trained by Peter Tritton. "She is special," smiled Tritton "She’s a really really good mare to take two years off (to have a baby) and then come back and race the way that she has. She’s got a lot of heart and her baby looks very promising. She’s a badlands hanover filly and she’s being broke now and hopefully she’ll be like her mom." Two awards were handed out to human recipients including the Horizon Award. Tim Crissman was the winner of this honor. He arrived to the First State mid-way through 2002 bringing just two horses and has gone on to build his roster up to 38 head. His stable has doubled in purses earned every single season since he’s come to Delaware. In fact, recently those green gold and white colors had a two million season. Crissman’s determination has helped him rise to the top of the training standings at Harrington Raceway. Special Appreciation Award went to State Representative Clifford G. "Biff" Lee. The Sussex County Legislator has helped the many horseman and women who live in his district. He’s been a lifelong fan of harness racing and has even owned a horse, but, more importantly, he has supported the horse racing industry and horseman's positions during his years in the General Assembly. \| Return Home \| OUR STARS \| WHAT IS THE DSOA? \| WINNING LINKS \| CONTACT US \| POST TIME SHOW \| NEWS AROUND THE OVAL \|