Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Taser Gun & Andy Miller Color Me Best & Dave Magee

Old Timers Finish One-Two at Balmoral
Tough Ten-Year-Olds Still Love the Game

December 11, 2005
Saturday night at Balmoral Taser Gun and Color Me Best finished one-two in a high conditioned pace at the Crete oval. Taser Gun won in 1:52.2 in wire-to-wire fashion for driver Andy Miller while Color Me Best raced on Taser Gun's heels throughout the mile to finish a strong second with Dave Magee in the sulky.

While a number of trotters and pacers can race past age ten, there are few that can vie at the same level on which they competed as three and four year olds. There are exceptions, however, such as the hardy Color Me Best and Taser Gun, who continue to grind out tough miles in the highest ranks week after week.

Take Color Me Best. Owned throughout his career by David Yohe of Ohio and the Wilson Racing Stable of Illinois, this decade old Cambest gelding has been the model of consistency throughout his nine years of competition. From 206 starts, he’s posted 60 wins, 35 seconds and 22 thirds to the tune of $1,440,728. That means that the bay gelding has finished on the board in 57% of his starts.

Trained by Tim Wilson Jr., Color Me Best has a 6-5-2 record from 24 starts in 2005 alone, and $84,661 in earnings. In March of this year he took his ten-year-old record of 1:50.4 at the Crete oval. As well, he’s taken a record of 1:51.2 or faster every year since age three (he won in 1:56.2h at age two).

One of the gelding’s most impressive victories came in the $180,000 American National Aged Pace at Balmoral on August 31, 2002, when he paced to a 1:49.4 clocking. That time wasn’t that far off from his personal best of 1:48 that he took as a four-year-old in a Meadowlands Open test in July of 1999. At age eight (2003) he stormed to a 1:51.2 victory in the $100,000 Carey Memorial at Hawthrone.

Longtime driving partner Dave Magee says Color Me Best is a professional with a lot of class.

"With Color Me Best, you really don’t know what you’re going to get on any given night, because he goes about his work in such a relaxed fashion," Magee noted. "Until you ask him to go, he doesn’t give you any idea of what’s going on in his head. He’s got a ton of class and is just an awesome horse to drive."

According to his conditioner Color Me Best has never had major soundness issues throughout his career, however, he does have a problem with allergies from time to time.

"It can be so frustrating," Wilson said. "His allergy problems have seemed to escalate with his age and so it’s something that we’re constantly treating him for. When they’re not bothering him, he’s absolutely awesome."

Color Me Best was put through a series of allergy tests years ago, and Wilson made the necessary adjustments to his environment to ensure that the gelding would gain relief from the nagging problem.

The other decade-old Chicago campaigner is the indefatigable Taser Gun—another tough gelding who hasn’t missed a season in his nine-year campaign since he first set hoof on the Griggsville county fair track back in June of 1997.

A winner of $1,151,798 lifetime, the altered son of Henry Letsgo has—unlike Color Me Best—been plagued with lameness issues time and time again. Miraculously, he’s recovered in each instance to compete again at his previous level. He’s also paced in 1:52.1 each season with the exception of his freshman year (1:53.3).

Owned by the Cunningham Racing Stable of Medora, Illinois and trained by Bob Walker, Taser Gun has suffered through a pair of bouts of displaced intestines, a serious foot injury and a freak trailer accident that occurred after he won the 2004 Dan Patch Stake at Balmoral.

"We were moving him from the race paddock to one of the barns for the night and he slipped off the edge of the ramp, slicing his ankle and severely bruising the bone," Walker recalled. "I knew right away he had hurt himself pretty good." Taser Gun required 45 days of stall rest after the incident, and started back jogging in February of 2005. Walker took three months bringing Taser Gun back to the races.

"This year it took a little longer to race him into shape," Bob said. "And there’s a few reasons for that. First of all, his age, and secondly, the other horses. It’s not the same type of racing that we had here five years ago. All the horses now come last quarters in :26 and :27 seconds and most of the miles are going in 1:51 or better."

Taser Gun came back locked and loaded, finishing second by a head to Live Out Loud in the $35,000 Cook County Stake at Maywood in 1:52.4, and then pacing in 1:50.4 in his next start at Balmoral as runner up to Ohyoubetterbelieveit. His best victory of the year came in a $15,000 Invitational at Indiana Downs on October 29, when he paced to a 1:50.1 victory, besting his rivals by nearly three lengths.

Taser Gun’s best years came in 1998 and 2000 when he earned $262,003 and $252,962 at ages three and five. In that latter year he took his lifetime mark of 1:49.2 at Balmoral Park in late July.

The venerable gelding has career totals of 69-30-15 from 145 starts, and Walker says he is more careful with Taser Gun than in past years.

"We didn’t travel with him as much this season as we have in the past," Bob said. "We let Taser Gun tell us how much we’re going to race him—the bottom line is what he has to say about things."