Georgia Pacific is a dark bay Standardbred race horse. Sired by Western Hanover and out of Armbro Savannah, the gelding was foaled on April 13, 2001. He is trained by Randy Bendis and driven by Tony Hall. He races at The Meadows Racetrack and Casino in Meadow Lands, PA. Life before racing Georgia Pacific was purchased by Randy Bendis for $32,000 at the Tattersalls sale. Bendis couldn’t be at the sale himself to see the colt, so he sent Doug Snyder to look at the horse. Snyder said that he was one of the Westerns that needed to become a gelding. Racing career Age 2 In his early 2-year-old races, Georgia Pacific finished second in his first Meadows baby race on June 5, 2003, he then reeled off three straight wins, capped off by a victory in a $20,474 Sire Stakes event on July 5, 2003. Georgia Pacific was scratched sick from his next start, but came back on August 9, 2003, for the $19,296 Arden Downs. He was roughed up from post 9 and finished 5th. Two weeks later, he won a Sires Stakes event at Pocono Downs in 1:54:3 and was second in his next PA stake at The Meadows after cutting the mile on September 5, 2003. On September 15, 2003, he won the PA All Stars at Pocono Downs in his freshman record at 1:53. With a break in state-bred action, Bendis sent his charge to The Red Mile for a pair of late-closers during Grand Circuit week. Georgia Pacific ended his freshman season finishing second in both the October 11, 2003, Keystone Classic and the October 18, 2003, PA Sires Stake final. Age 3 Bendis began 2004 early with a pair of March qualifiers for Georgia Pacific at The Meadows. While Bendis handled training duties at home, second trainer Dave Teed took charge of the horse. Georgia Pacific’s first test came in the Robert Suslow Memorial series where, paired with Dave Miller, the pacer was second in the first leg. He and Ron Pierce managed second as well in the second leg. For the final, however, the gelding was matched with a familiar driver, long-time Meadows reinsman Brian Sears. After finishing third in the Suslow final, Sears steered Georgia Pacific to a second-place finish from post 8 in the elimination for the Berry’s Creek, before a tough overland journey from post 9 in the final