Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Sears & Croghan Nail Big M Titles

August 10, 2006

Driver Brian Sears and trainer Ross Croghan have locked up titles, while the leading owner race between Fred and Anita Fialkow and Richard Annunziata will come down to the wire as the Meadowlands conducts the last two programs of the January to August harness meet on Friday and Saturday.

Sears, 38, of Secaucus, New Jersey, ran away with his second January to August title and third overall--he also won the 2005 Fall Meet title. He will not compete at the Meadowlands this weekend due to driving commitments elsewhere and will end the season with 292 wins and $6.5 million in earnings. Sears dominated the free for all trotting ranks at the Meadowlands this season with Sand Vic. He steered Sand Vic to victories in the $800,000 Breeders Crown Trot, $300,000 Nat Ray Invitational, $200,000 Titan Cup and $175,000 Arthur J. Cutler Memorial. Sears also won the $375,000 Stanley Dancer Memorial with three-year-old standout Mr Pine Chip.

Other major wins for Sears were the $88,000 Junior Trendsetter with Fox Valley Appeal, $79,700 Aquarius with Jenna’s Choice and $65,000 Exit 16W with Deliver The Goods.

"I very happy with my year,” said Sears. “It is so important to have the right trainers behind you, especially at the Meadowlands. Driving for Mark Silva and Trond Smedshammer, for example, has helped me tremendously. I look forward to keeping it going and coming back in the fall for the best racing the Meadowlands offers."

Among the other highlights of Sears’ season was winning at least one race at the Meadowlands for 48 consecutive programs, eclipsing John Campbell’s 47-date streak in 1986. Sears’ skein came to an end on May 20, 2006.

Trainer Ross Croghan, 53, of Colts Neck, New Jersey, will earn his third Meadowlands training title in 2006. Through August 5, he has 70 wins and nearly $1.7 million in earnings and he will have the chance to add to those stats with three starters on the Saturday card. Croghan has consistently ranked among the top 10 trainers since 1995 and previously held back-to-back titles in 1999 and 2000.

A native of Sydney, Australia, Croghan has been racing in New Jersey since 1993 and ranks among the top five all-time leading trainers at the Meadowlands in both wins [nearly 800] and earnings. This summer, he became the fifth trainer to surpass $15 million at the track. Croghan’s stars of the meet were Easton Alliance and Corleone Kosmos. Easton Alliance won six races at the Meadowlands, including the $118,560 Overbid Final, and also finished third in the Breeders Crown Mare Pace. Corleone Kosmos won five races as he climbed his way into the free for all class and picked up checks in the Titan Cup, Breeders Crown Open Trot and Nat Ray Invitational.

“The highlight of the meet for me was ending up with the title,” Croghan said. “I never expected to win it. The biggest surprises of the meet were Corleone Kosmos and Easton Alliance, who both out-performed my expectations. I can thank everyone who works for me, but I also have to thank the horses. It is not easy to race at the Meadowlands at that level. They are amazing creatures, and I give them all the credit.”

Richard Annunziata of Mahopac, New York, and Fred and Anita Fialkow of Wellington, Florida, are tied in the owners’ standings with 23 victories each. Annunziata’s Hop Sing captured the $137,120 Four Leaf Clover and $106,800 Presidential, while one of the Fialkows’ most prolific performers this meet has been Eyes On Kassa. Hope Sing and Eyes On Kassa will square off on Saturday night in the sixth race, $35,000 winners over class.