Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Rocknroll is here to Stay

August 4, 2005

He's in the first of two Oliver Wendell Holmes divisions on Saturday afternoon. Rocknroll Hanover, who is doing something never before done in harness racing history--he's averaging over $200,000 per start as the sports leading money winner for 2005. Not only that, but he's threatening to do what has been done only once before--lead at years end in the money department by more than a million dolalrs over the next highest earner. Currently, he has double what the next richest horse in all the land has, $1.4 million to $700,000 for Ponder. NOTE: The ONLY time this has happened-2000-when Gallo Blue Chip's $2.4 million was $1.1 million more than runnerup Yankee Paco at $1.3 million. Brett Pelling trains the Meadowlands Pace winner, "He's real sharp-ready for a big effort. I am hoping there might be some pace in there-that would help him. He has a tendency to be a little complacent. But he's ready to go." There was a 21-year gap from 1980 (Niatross) to 2001 where a non-Pace winner came back and took the Holmes. Real Desire and Mach Three, in 2001 and 2002, ended that futility.