Freehold Raceway reopens today for fall/winter meet

BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

Freehold Raceway, the nation's oldest daytime harness racing track, swings back into action today afternoon. Post time is 12:30 p.m.

The highlight of the fall/winter 2007 meet will be the Cane Pace, the first leg of the Pacing Triple Crown, on Sept. 3. This year will mark the 53rd running of the event for 3-year-old pacers, which has had such legendary winners as Adios Butler, Bret Hanover, Most Happy Fella, Albatross, Keystone Ore, Niatross and Cam Fella.

Freehold has been hosting this prestigious event since 1998. This year's Labor Day race will carry an estimated purse of $300,000. If eliminations are necessary, they will be held Aug. 25 and carry a $100,000 estimate purse.

Many of the greatest pacers in harness racing history have won the Cane Pace, and the sport's best drivers have also had their names etched on the trophies.

The late, great Hall of Famers Stanley Dancer and Billy Haughton lead the list of great drivers who have won the race. That list includes John Campbell, the winningest Triple Crown driver of all time, with 29 total wins, including his record five at the Cane; Cat Manzi; Herve Filion; Ron Pierce, and Luc Ouellette.

The Cane Pace is named for William H. Cane, one of the most important figures in harness racing history. Cane competed on the Grand Circuit in the 1890s, beginning his driving career at the age of 16. He turned to construction, and his most impressive building was the 105,000-seat Boyles Thirty Acres, which was built in Jersey City for the Jack Dempsy-Louis Carpentier heavyweight championship fight. Cane was forced to retire from the construction business due to illness, and it turned out to be a gift to harness racing.

Cane founded the Good Time Park in Goshen, N.Y., which hosted its first harness meet in 1927. In 1930, he brought the sport's biggest event, the Hambletonian, to the New York racetrack and helped make the sport of harness racing huge in the Empire State. In 1950, Cane bought Yonkers Raceway and converted what was the Empire City Track from thoroughbred to harness racing.

The first Cane Pace was held in 1955, a year before his death.

Freehold Raceway's Labor Day card will also include the $160,000 Shady Daisy for 3-year-old filly pacers, in addition to the $130,00 Battle of Freehold final for 2-year-old pacers. That is $590,000 in purses on the line for those stake races.

Another major race on the stakes schedule is Freehold Raceway's own $275,000 (estimated) James B. Dancer Memorial Pace on Oct. 13. The race honors the patriarch of the legendary New Egypt harness racing family. This event began in 1976 and has become one of the biggest races of the year for 3-year-old pacers. Great champions like Niatross, Abercrombie, Nihilator, Artsplace and Cam's Card Shark have won this race over the years.

The $110,000 Molly Pitcher for 2-year-old filly pacers kicks the stakes season off on Saturday. Other major stake races include the $90,000 Helem Smith Final for 3-year-old trotting fillies on Aug. 17; the $100,000 Harold Dancer Final for 2-year-old trotters on Oct. 18; the $110,000 Charles Smith Final for 2-year-old colt pacer on Oct. 19; and the $140,000 Lou Babic Memorial Final for 2-year-old colt pacers and the $75,000 Babic Final for 2-year-old filly pacers, on Oct. 20.

A series of New Jersey Sire Stakes legs will be held during the meet, culminating with the $85,000 finals: for 2-year-old trotters on Sept. 5, 2-year-old pacers Sept. 8, 3-year-old filly trotters Sept. 13, 3-year-old colt trotters Sept. 14, 2-year-old colt pacers Sept. 22, 2-year-old filly trotters Sept. 25, 3-year-old filly pacers Oct. 13, and 3-year-old colt pacers Oct. 27.

The ageless Manzi is again the driver everyone else will be trying to beat. The Freehold harnessman, who has won multiple driving titles at Freehold, is the defending champion. He runs and lifts weights to maintain his competitive level.

The young guns looking to supplant him include Yannick Gingras, George Brennan, Jeff Gregory and Daniel Dube.

As the fall/winter meet begins, the track records include 1:51.0 for pacers, co-held by Dauntless Bunny, KF Pro Sam and Fancam; the fastest trotted mile is 1:551.1 by Mighty Moses; and in the 3-year-old gelding division, Arnold Plumstead and Armbro Copenhagen share the track and world record of 1:56.0.

Freehold Raceway dates back to 1853 and the formation of the Monmouth County Agriculture Society, whose goal was to hold an annual fair. In 1854, the first harness fair meet was held on a 10-acre plot of land on what is presently Freehold Raceway.