Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Bob's Bits

March 4, 2005

by Bob "Hollywood" Heyden

This year, both the North America Cup and the Hambletonian go to a $1.5 million purse. It's been 19 years since the sport has had a race that rich. Seven times a race--in the entire history of the sport--has gone for $1.5 million or better. Every one of them was for two-year-olds. Here's a look at the seven races--all but one held at the Meadowlands.
--1980-Land Grant-$2,011,000 Wilson-Del Insko at 69-1 odds-the longest shot to ever win a $1.5 million event. This was exactly $1 million more than the first million dollar race held three weeks earlier (Niatross-$1,011,000-Meadowlands Pace)
--1981-McKinzie Almahurst-$1,760,000. The richest win in the incredible career of Billy Haughton--his only million dollar driving win. He would train the winner of the richest race ever--Nihilator. Less than a year later, the sport lost Billy Haughton. But 19 years later, and he still is the man to have trained the winner of the sport's richest race ever.
--1982-Fortune Teller-$1,957,500 the third richest race ever held. Eldon Harner won it. Billy Haughton was second with Ticket To Ride, making him the only driver to both win and be runnerup in a $1.5 million contest.
--1983-Carls Bird-$1,700,000 Carl Allen at 32-1 odds. The only one decided by a nose-Trutone Lobell was second for Cat Manzi and trainer Jeff Lohmeyer. It would be an entire generatiob before Cat Manzi would capture his very first million dollar event, 21 years later. In 2004 Cat won the sports richest race of the year with Mantacular, in the NA Cup.
--1984-Nihilator-$2,161,000 the single richest event ever held--and the only time that the driver--Bill O'Donnell--had never previously driven the horse. The son from the first crop of Niatross won in world record 1:52.4 freshman time, and would go on to retire as both the fastest and the richest horse ever--the last horse to do this.
--1986-the last Meadowlands race for better than $1.5 million also went to the only horse to win it from the second tier--Cullin Hanover--from post 12. Buddy Gilmour was at his craftiest winning with the Richard Thomas trainee.
--1986-Redskin-$1,513,500 in the Governors Cup-2nd edition at Garden State Park (First year-won by Barberry Spur at $1,357,500) Jerry Smith trained the son of Storm Damage who set the single season freshman earnings record that still stands today. (1986-$1,407,263) Bill O'Donnell thus had the unique distinction of having won BOTH Governors Cups valued at over $1 million, and he became the first driver EVER to win TWO million $$ races at TWO different tracks (Meadowlands-1985 Hambletonian and 1984 Wilson and 1985 Meadowlands Pace)

Note the influence of Albatross on this list....He sired Cullin Hanover; He is the grandsire of McKinzie Almahurst (B GS Bunny); He is the grandsire of Nihilator (Niatross).
--The top two finishers from the sports first million dollar race each sired a winner of a $1.5 million race: Niatross and Storm Damage. (Nihilator and Redskin)
--The richest race since then? 1987 Wilson-$1,422,500 won by Even Odds. the only son of Bret Hanover to win a million dollar race. His grandson-Mantacular-won the richest race of 2004-the NA Cup.

Note the absence of John Campbell's name on this list. John is 49, but that is good news for this list. Five of the six winning drivers in these seven races (O'Donnell repeated) were 49-years-old or older:
49 Eldon Harner 1982 Wilson with Fortune Teller
57 Billy Haughton 1981 Wilson with McKinzie Almahurst
53 Carl Allen 1983 Wilson with Carls Bird
49 Del Insko 1980 Wilson with Land Grant
54 Buddy Gilmour 1986 Wilson with Cullin Hanover