Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Odds On Racing's

Trainer of the Month
for April 2008

Virgil Morgan, Jr.

Virgil Morgan, 42, originally from Columbus, Ohio, is capping his first $4 million season and currently ranks fifth in the nation in wins. The bulk of his stable is based at Scioto Downs, with an additional 30 horses stabled at Gaitway Farms in Englishtown, New Jersey and 15 more housed in Canada.

Virgil Morgan, Jr.

Morgan's barn has become synonymous with pacing power for good reason in 2008.
It is home to recently crowned 2007 Older Pacer of the Year Mister Big and Mypanmar.

Mypanmar has banked more than $800,000 over the past two seasons, despite having reached the winner's circle only nine times. The 6-year-old son of The Panderosa races for owner-breeder Bob Glazer's Peter Pan Stables of Pepper Pike, OH.

"We thought about shutting down Mypanmar, but every time we think about it he comes back to redeem himself," Morgan said. "As long as he continues to race the way he is I see no reason to stop with him. This horse has so much natural gait speed that some drivers have gotten carried away with it."

Mypanmar's biggest win came when he defeated his stablemate in the $480,000 Monitcello OTB Final on July 24, 2007.

"Mypanmar cut it and Mister Big drew post five, and he was forced wide around dead cover," Morgan noted of their one-two finish.

Mister Big was named 2007 Older Pacer of the Year by the U.S. Harness Writers Association. Owned by Joseph Muscara of Huntingdon Valley, PA, Mister Big won 12 of 28 starts, $1,310,914 and took a mark of 1:47.4 for the season. He had major wins in the Aquarius, William Haughton Memorial and US Pacing Championship at the Meadowlands, along with the Allerage Farm and Willowdale in Canada.

"We bought Mister Big at Harrisburg last year for $255,000," Morgan said. "He had just raced in the Breeders Crown [finished second]. We started him off in the Willowdale at Woodbine because I tried to spot him in situations where he was just going to race against 4-year-olds instead of aged veterans. He also fit the Aquarius Series at the Meadowlands. We thought we could get a quick little return on our money.

"He can do it on the front end, but he definitely loves to pass horses and he proved that," he continued. "He drew bad posts early in the season and that dictated how we raced him. In the Aquarius Final he had post eight and closed from ninth with a :25.4 final quarter. That was kind of an unnoticed mile with the way he accomplished it. You don't win at the Meadowlands off a :57.2 half sitting ninth. That's a :52.1 back half! Even in the US Pacing Championship he had the 10-hole, floated out there, was parked and still won."

"With the Meadows and Indiana getting slots I'm in a neutral spot," he said. "I'll probably race more at the Meadowlands than ever."

While the Aquarius Series Final was neither his richest win of the season [it was the $650,000 William R. Haughton Memorial] nor his fastest [a 1:47.4 clocking in the U.S. Pacing Championship], Morgan considers it his brightest performance.

"The time [in the U.S. Pacing Championship] was flashy, but there were four or five races, and I keep going back to the Aquarius," Morgan said. "He also won in 1:48.4 and 1:48.1 at Lexington. He went first over in the Breeders Crown and lost by a nose to Artistic Fella. That was a hell of an effort.

"He stayed so good all year long because Joe Muscara really let me do my own thing with him," he continued. "Instead of racing him right away, we qualified him four times. We didn't beat him up in the Opens. He was a warhorse racing in January, all the way to Lexington and stayed good. He's getting a well-deserved break now. We'll bring him back in training in January and have him ready for the Meadowlands in May or June. Hopefully, we'll do it all over again."

Virgil Morgan, Jr.'s Career Statistics through April 1, 2008
Year     Starts/Wins/2nds/3rds     Earnings     UTRS
2008      233       41      33       22      $467,253      0.286
2007      1414      288 217      182      $4,123,162 0.332
2006      865        219 115      95      $1,750,135   0.364
2005      1344      320   191      140      $2,494,784 0.352
2004      1254      263   187      123      $2,559,513   0.325
2003      1493      362   217      178      $2,487,244   0.363
2002      1469      374   222      176      $2,158,091   0.378
2001      1674      361 258      209      $2,257,007    0.343
2000      1743      409 295      213      $2,921,615    0.369
1999      1343      364 213      164      $1,978,218   0.400
1998      1082      314 143      143      $1,378,002    0.408
1997      752        193 105      89       $880,632      0.374
1996       541       155    84       54       $750,228       0.406
1995      417        114    61       48       $368,802      0.393
1994      176         42     24      26       $104,334      0.364
1993      124         26     18       20       $56,372       0.344
1992       22           6      6         1       $24,102        0.439
Total                 3,851                       $26,759,494