Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Mac Cuddy purchased Bonefish as a yearling at the Tattersalls in the fall of 1973 for only $27,000, and after the youngster won a baby race at 2, he rattled off a trio of second-place finishes for trainer-driver Stanley Dancer.

Dancer then piloted the 2-year-old to ten wins in 12 starts--all in wire-to-wire fashion, besting rivals such as Spearmint, Lapride Hanover, College Star and Surefire Hanover. The colt ended the season by being named 2-year-old Colt Trotter of the Year in the season-end balloting.

At 3, Bonefish was the winter book favorite to win the 1975 Hambletonian until the colt stepped on a nail at Syracuse in a near career-ending injury. The pain from the hoof injury caused the sophomore to break in his first heat at Indianapolis and finish ninth. In the second heat Dancer left hard but was parked from the nine-hole and finished eighth. This, only a start prior to his Hambletonian elimination at DuQuoin.

Despite that setback, Bonefish went postward in that year's Hambletonian as the pre-race favorite in the wagering. He cut the mile in the first heat, but tired badly and finished ninth. In the second heat he was first over and finished a game third. In the third heat, he triumphed with apparent ease and in the final heat of the '75 Hambo, it was Bonefish by a nose over Yankee Bambino at the wire.

That Hambletonian victory also cost Bonefish his career. He never made another start, but went on to score a successful breeding career at Castleton Farm in Kentucky--who had acquired the rights to him in a syndicate deal. His initial fee was $3,500, and his first year at stud--in 1976--he bred only 56 mares. His books increased steadily as his progeny began to carry on his legacy--from 62 mares in 1977, to 70 in 1978 and 99 in 1979 to 177 mares in 1980.

However, Bonefish never received the high accolades of his peers such as Speedy Crown or Super Bowl, and was subsequently exported to Sweden in 1987, where he produced such standouts as Winky's Goal and Nan's Catch--the 1988 Hambletonian Oaks winner. Bonefish died in Sweden at age 16, but his memory lives on in those sons and daughters who carry his bloodlines today.

Bonefish's Career Statistics
Year    Starts/Wins/2nds/3rds   Earnings    Record     Track/Date of Record
1975        12      7       1      0        $219,171     3,1:58.1M      SYCSM 08/16/1975
1974        15      11       3       0        $110.000     2, 2:00.4M     NA
Total       12       7       1       0         $309,375     3,1:58.1M