In Sweden one horse is, above all, responsible for the growth of harness racing. According to famed trainer Stig-H Johansson...
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When Juhani Lagerstam started the Laukko trotting stud farm at Vesilahti in Finland he needed a few stallions to use on his many...
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He may just be the American horse imported to Europe who has left the biggest and most impressive stamp on trotting history. He...
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When Soviet trainer Maria Burdova wanted to drive Apex Hanover in the Prix d’Amerique in 1965 she was denied with the...
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Throughout history, several early favorites have missed out on the Hambletonian. In virtually all cases, though, it’s been...
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Considered the great broodmare of her time, Evensong may very well be one of the best broodmares of all times. Her temperament...
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He set several world records, is one of few horses to beat Varenne fair and square and went on to become one of the best stallions the world has ever seen. To his trainer, though, Viking Kronos was more than just a spectacular racehorse and stallion. He was everything. “God has created him, he’s a phenomenon. Then I have been given the great honor of taking care of him, for which I am eternally thankful”, Kolgjini said after the horse’s win in the E3 final in 1998.
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He is often thought of as a backwater stallion who fluked one great son despite being a lame horse not good enough to race. However, nothing could be further from the truth when it comes to Pilot Medium, who was one of the best American sires toward the end of the 19th century.
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The third horse to win the trotting’s Triple Crown, Ayres, was always an great talent, but at 2 there were question marks surrounding the future of his immense ability. Could, and would, it be harnessed properly – or would he go into history as another could-have-been? Despite setting a rather extreme world record at two, Ayres had a mind of his own and had serious issues with authority. A trainer who laid down the law turned the unruly kid around an into a real superstar and Triple Crown-winner.
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A supremely fast trotter, he is most famous for stumbling shortly ahead of the wire in the Hambletonian with victory within reach. Sold to Europe not long after equaling a world record at 4, Brown Berry later likely became a clandestine stallion in France.
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He was the world’s first 1:56 trotter and a prized possession of Lawrence Sheppard’s fledging Hanover Shoe Farms. Peter Manning was a natural talent who improved quickly with little work. In fact, the legendary gelding was so good it required a horse of Greyhound’s caliber to beat his world record.
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He was a star on the track before escaping death after a life-threatening infection. When an even more deadly disease took hold less than a year later, Mystic Park displayed “a will to live that is stronger than any I have ever encountered in a standardbred.” The colt would then go on to sire one of the best trotters the world has even seen.
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He was the last superstar trotter bred by Yankeeland Farms, the legendary Maryland-based farm that closed its doors in 2006. Muscles Yankee commanded a high fee at the yearling auction in Lexington. However, the $200,000 shelled out turned out to be a massive bargain as the big colt developed into a legendary racehorse and stallion.
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She was a really good youngster in the US, winning the Hambletonian Oaks and Kentucky Futurity filly, and blossomed into one of Europe’s best aged mares. After a race in Italy on Boxing Day 1993 the speedy mare Park Avenue Kathy, who previously had equaled the world record for aged mares, was caught in a fire with no opportunity to escape.
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Volomite is generally considered one of the best stallions in trotting history. It’s important to remember, though, that Volomite was only the second best in his crop on the track. However, while Volomite proved his worth at stud in safe surroundings in the US, quite the opposite was the case with his superior, Walter Dear, who eventually was trapped in a war-torn Germany.. This is the story of the only Hambletonian winner in history whose fate is unknown.
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The gray mare Molly J was 3/4 thoroughbred, but her daughter Mary Bales was a trotter like her sire Montjoy. In fact, Mary Bales turned out to be one of the best trotters in Circleville, Ohio for her owner Jesse Jones. When her racing career was over, Jones gave the mare to Zack Brewer. The new owner bred her to Zombro and in 1905 she gave birth to the pacing mare Zombrewer. The grey mare was an excellent racehorse and an even better broodmare.
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