Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Odds On Racing's

Trainer of the Month
for July 2009

Doug Ackerman

One of the measures horsemen use in evaluating
their fellow trainers is the ability a man shows in developing young trotters. By these standards, Doug Ackerman must rank at the top, for he has been the trainer of a trio of 2 year old trotting colts of the year, Noble Hustle in 1979, Self Confident in 1981 and Chocolatier in 2005.

The “sweet seasons” enjoyed by Chocolatier was one of the greatest moments in Ackerman’s career.

Doug Ackerman

As a freshman in 2005, the son of Credit Winner was victorious in eight of his 10 starts and banked $508,250 on his way to a nearly unanimous selection in the Dan Patch Awards (he
captured 197 of the 199 ballots cast). Chocolatier was triumphant in the $507,600
Breeders Crown Final, the $150,000 American- National, a $93,650 Bluegrass split, a $77,250 International Stallion Stake division (in 1:54.4, a world record for a 2-year-old trotting colt on a mile track), the $70,000 Review Stakes and the $55,000 Hanover Colt Stake.

Returning to the racing wars as a sophomore in 2006, Chocolatier had six wins in 13 trips to the post and banked $816,550. His brightest moment came in the $530,000 World Trotting
Derby at Du Quoin, where he posted a straight heat triumph, including a lifetime best 1:53 score in the second heat. Chocolatier also won the $190,000 American-National final and an elimination for the Stanley Dancer Memorial. He picked up the second place check in the $1.5 million Hambletonian Final, trailing Glidemaster by 1-1/4 lengths.

Ackerman has been successful with more than just trotters. He developed the pacer Happy
Chatter who had lifetime earnings of more than $700,000. He and his son, D.R., work together to train and drive their stock, and they both took turns getting their pictures taken with their prize colt in the winner’s circle at many tracks.

When Happy Chatter was a 2-year-old, Ackerman steered him to first place honors in several divisions of New York Sire Stakes. Ackerman and his colt came in third in the $1,344,000 Woodrow Wilson Pace. But the highlight of Happy Chatter’s 2-year-old season came when he won the Fox Stake at Indianapolis. D.R. was in the bike for that mile. Even though Happy Chatter didn’t win any of the major 3-year-old stakes in 1986, he was still able to earn over $300,000. Ackerman did guide him to a 1:53 victory in one of the Bluegrass eliminations defeating Telemon Hanover and Smartest Remark.

In recent years, Ackerman trained horses have been very successful on the Midwestern Grand Circuit stops. In fact, his horses won seven dashes during the four Ohio stops on the Grand
Circuit during 1989, earning him a truck as the state's top G.C. conditioner.

Ackerman grew into the sport with his brother Jack, as their father and grandfather had Standardbreds. He drove his first race while on summer vacation from school at Cassopolis,
Michigan in 1944, but he didn’t pilot his first winner until coming out of the Army, breaking his maiden at Aurora Downs in 1948.

Dan Patch Award Winners
TWO-YEAR-OLD COLT TROT (79) Noble Hustle (81) Self Confident (05) Chocolatier

Classic Races
AMERICAN-NATIONAL (86) Crown Starlet
BEACON COURSE TROT (82) Self Confident
COLONIAL TROT (80) Noble Hustle
HISTORIC-DEBUTANTE (88) Terri S
HISTORIC-HARRIMAN (87) Yankee Yankee (90) Wall Street Banker
INTER. STALLION STAKE (88) Hostile Takeover
LADY SUFFOLK (85) Super Samantha
NAT RAY (85) Crowning Point
TARPORT HAP PACE (82) Albaquel