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Louisville, KY --- He might not receive as much press as the sport's top rated horse Bee A Magician or Elitloppet bound Wind Of The North, but Obrigado's harness racing connections feel he possesses the ability and class to be one of the top older trotters of 2015. "He's staked up to everything and is such an intelligent horse," said Paul Kelley, who co-owns and conditions the 5-year-old gelding. "He never does anything wrong and is a cool horse to be around." After an extended winter vacation, Obrigado will be making his third start of the season on Saturday (May 23) at Yonkers Raceway in a $42,000 Open Handicap. He will commence his journey from post position seven with Mark MacDonald at the lines in the fifth race on the card and is the 5-2 choice on the morning line. "He's done very well at Yonkers and always gives a good account of himself," Kelley said. "We are really looking forward to this season with him." A Maine champion at age 2 and 3, Obrigado was bred by Mike Andrew of Gorham, Maine, and is a son of Boy Band and the Malabar Man mare Malimony. He is a full brother to Kanalla Bella 3,2:01h ($81,025), A Cappella Bella 3,2:01.4h ($85,060) and Iza Bella 4,1:58.3h ($232,295) and was purchased by Kelley, Linwood Higgins, Bill Weaver and Stable 45 at the 2013 Standardbred Mixed Sale for $53,000. The gelding is a very handsome horse and that is initially what caught Kelley's eye. The fact that he reeled off 21 consecutive victories after finishing fourth and third in his first two starts certainly did not impair the acquisition either. Kelley always thought Obrigado would be a very nice addition to his barn, but was overjoyed by how well the gelding performed last year. He compiled a record of 21-9-7-1, set a track record of 1:52.3f at Tioga Downs and doubled his bankroll by earning $173,742. In his last race of 2014, the former Ivan Davies trainee illustrated he was a force to be reckoned with as he came home fourth behind Natural Herbie, Commander Crowe and Bee A Magician in the $250,000 International Trot Preview Invitational on Oct. 25 at Yonkers Raceway. "We were tickled to death to receive the last invitation and were anxious to see how he would perform against some of the top horses in the sport," Kelley said. "He did much more than show he could hold his own and that race gave us notice that he belonged with those horses. Being from Maine, you never knew how he was going to measure up and when we bought him it was with the intention of having a nice horse for the upstate New York circuit. He is just so much more than that and everyone that comes in contact with him ends up becoming a fan. He is that kind of horse." The gelding qualified twice this year on April 23 and April 30 before finishing second on May 9 in an Open Handicap at Yonkers. He was second again in the same class at the Hilltop on May 16. A triumph this weekend would bring his resume to an extremely consistent 47-31-9-2 and bring him closer to the $400,000 mark in career purse money (he is currently at $363,164). "We started off this year with some changes, as I am now stabled at Mark Ford's training center," Kelley said. "It is absolutely tremendous here and we made a great choice. Also, Mark MacDonald is at the barn every morning. He will be the one driving Obrigado now as he has done plenty of work with him and really likes the horse. I think he is an excellent fit and has definitely earned the drive by all the time he has spent with us. He also provides great feedback on how the horse is doing." Although it is not yet June, Kelley is very excited to see exactly what Obrigado will accomplish. "Everyone always asks how he is doing and where he will be going," Kelley said. "But we will just let him tell us how to proceed all year. It's all up to him, but I have confidence in him. He could never let us down as he is so smart and gives more than 100 percent every time you lead him over. You never know what can happen from year to year, but we think he can improve upon last year and we hope to have a lot more fun with him this year." by Kimberly French, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent
Louisville, KY --- He's traveled many miles and been a resident of many harness racing barns, but Boffin may have just finally discovered where he belongs. "It is so hard to tell when a horse has an abscess," said Tyler Tinch, the horse's conditioner. "This horse was sent to me just days after he popped several of them in his hind foot, so it took some work to get him right, but I really think we can get him back to the level where he went 1:52.1, which is his mark." A son of Donato Hanover and the Tagliabue mare Trace Anthem, Boffin, on a three race win streak with a track record performance of 1:53.4 at Miami Valley Raceway included in those triumphs, will take on the likes of Lady Blitz and her stablemate Natural Herbie in a $21,000 Invitational at Hoosier Park on Saturday (April 25). The gelding will have his regular pilot Tyler Smith in the bike and will leave from post position seven. "I've only had him for about six weeks," Tinch said. "He was delivered to me from Northfield Park and Miami Valley is only 12 minutes away, so I have not had to haul him, but generally he is a very quiet horse." Boffin was selected by former conditioner Charlie Norris and was purchased for $20,000 at the 2011 Standardbred Horse Sale for Jason and Doug Allen. He has collected the most purse money from his dam's seven foals with $213,767 in the bank, but also has a yearling full brother, Pompen Hapenstance, whose future career has yet to be determined. Although Trace Anthem only earned $30,278 in her racing career, her dam Astraea Hanover, by Valley Victory, was a top stakes-performer and winner. Astraea Hanover's older full sister, Accent On Victory, was a $100,000 yearling and black type is present in Boffin's female line all the way to Kimberly Kid, who was tops in his division for three consecutive years in the 1950s. The gelding only raced twice at age two, winning on both occasions, as he had to be put on the shelf after a knee injection caused an infection. Norris thought enough of him as a 3-year-old that he was staked to all the major races, including the Hambletonian. Although he did not compete in that contest, he was third in his Yonkers Trot elimination but had to be scratched from the $450,000 final. From 18 starts that year, Boffin accrued a record of 3-1-4 and earned $71,949. He was second in a $65,750 Old Oaken Bucket division at the Delaware County Fairgrounds and third in the $50,000 Earl Beal Consolation. In November of that year, the gelding was transferred to the barn of Julie Miller where he remained until January of 2014. That is when he took up residence in Kevin Lare's barn at Dover Downs after being purchased by Angela Coombs of Harwood, Md. Boffin was under Lare's care until September 2014 and then was moved to Julianne Bobby's shedrow. Racing primarily on the Pennsylvania and Delaware circuits, the horse won ten of his 27 starts, was second three times and collected just under $80,000. He began this season still with Bobby, but was sent to Kevin Ehrhardt to compete at Northfield Park in February. Ehrhardt was also the trainer of record for Boffin's first start, which was a victory, at Miami Valley Raceway in an $11,000 non-winners contest on March 15. Shortly after that he arrived in Tinch's barn. "He's not the biggest horse, but he is put together well and compact," Tinch said. "In my experience with trotters that is how you want them to be. I heard when he was at Delaware and Northfield that he would pull himself up and out in the middle races. Sometimes he would just come to a stop. They could not quite figure out what do with him and it had to be because his feet were bothering him. "We've been poulticing him and to be quite honest, I've never seen a horse pop gravels like that in his back feet. It normally happens in the front. We could tell when he started feeling good as he ran off on the guy that helps me one morning. He does like his own way. It wasn't too bad, as they only went about 20 seconds faster than I wanted him to go, but after that I train him myself now. Believe it or not, that was the week he set the track record. I guess he was letting us know he was ready to trot." In 2015, Boffin has amassed $37,947 in earnings and his resume stands at 10-6-0-0. After Saturday evening's race, the gelding will return to Miami Valley before transitioning to Scioto Downs. "I think he'll really like the track at Scioto," Tinch said. "I'm also very happy to have him. He's a horse with a lot of class that just had bad luck. Now that we have him healthy, I think he's going to be very competitive with this group. My girlfriend just loves him and has all kinds of pictures of him because she thinks he is so handsome. As long as we can keep the abcesses away so he is happy, that will be the key, but I think if that happens he will reward us throughout the year." by Kimberly French, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent
Louisville, KY --- When the ball dropped to usher in 2015, there probably wasn't a happier person on the planet than harness racing trainer / driver Daryl Bier to see 2014 come to an end. After enduring personal and professional tragedies throughout those 365 days, he was on the brink of walking away from the sport, but the optimism he experienced after purchasing world champion Wind Of The North late in the season is why he decided to stay in the game. "I tried to buy him for almost a year and was thrilled when I finally got him," said the Smyrna, Del., resident. "I think he can be a top horse and trot in 1:51. He and Bando (Bandolito) are the only reason I'm still going on. I only have a two horse stable and they are it, but I have so much faith in them both. I'm also very excited to see what Wind Of The North will accomplish this season. Bando too, but he doesn't owe us anything after what he has already done for us." Wind Of The North will make his next appearance on Friday (April 10) in the $27,500 Open Handicap Trot at the Meadowlands after his first score of the season in a sharp 1:52.3 in a $20,000 Open Handicap at Dover Downs on April 1. The waters, however, will certainly be a little deeper at the New Jersey oval with the red hot Melady's Monet leaving right beside him from post position seven; Lindy's Tru Grit on the other side in the five hole; and the horse he held on to defeat in a blanket finish last week, Tough Mac, in the second spot on the gate.The seven horse field in this Open Handicap also includes the always dangerous Master Of Law, Rolls Blue Chip and Il Mago. Wind Of The North will be in rein to Hall of Famer David Miller and is 4-1 on the morning line for what is carded as the 11th race. "I was very pleased with his race at Dover and think he will do well at the Meadowlands," Bier said. "He cut the entire mile and went :27.4 for the first quarter, then finished in :27.2 without ever extending himself. He was in the same gear the entire way around the track." A son of Cantab Hall and the Pine Chip mare Talk To The Wind, Wind Of The North is the only foal from five siblings to earn any purse money on the racetrack. He was purchased for $5,000 at the 2011 Standardbred Horse Sale and was co-owned by Glen Zimmerman and Clifton Green until Bier and Joann Dombeck brought him home last October. Conditioned by Green, Wind Of The North earned just under $16,000 as a freshman, nearly $100,000 as a sophomore and $105,150 in 2014. He trotted his world record mile of 1:51 on a five-eighths-mile track at Pocono Downs on June 28, 2014, with David Miller in the bike in a $21,000 non-winners contest. The gelding has a record of 56-14-11-6, collected $235,981 and his record this year stands at 5-1-1-1. "After I got him I just stopped on him and turned him out," Bier said. "I wanted to give him some time, then bring him back for a strong season in 2015. He's done nothing wrong and I am very pleased with him. He'll tell us where to go all summer long." Last year at this time, Bier and his long-time partner and Joann's husband Charles, were anxiously awaiting what 2014 would bring for them with their stable star Modern Family and Dover Downs track record holder Bandolito. They thought both horses were poised for exceptional seasons and also had a new addition to the stable in December of 2013 with Punxsutawney, who had earned just over $300,000 in his first two seasons of racing with starts in a Hambletonian elimination and finals of the Kentucky Futurity and Canadian Trotting Classic. It was on Memorial Day weekend, however, when the black clouds rolled in and they did not just blot out the sun, but nearly obliterated it from the sky for Bier and the Dombeck family. It started out with Bandolito's eighth place finish in the Molson Pace on May 30. After a brutal trip against some of the sport's best, who he had competed admirably against in prior starts, the public's third choice just didn't seem to be the same after hitting the wire. "One trip like that can ruin a horse," Bier said. "He was so strong coming into the race and I thought we had such a good chance. For the rest of the season I kept trying to get him back to where he was, but I wasn't sure if I was ever going to be able to." Less than two weeks later, Bier was wondering if he was ever going to return to full health after a freakish four horse accident in a qualifying race at Pocono Downs on June 12. Bier, who was driving Punxsutawney, broke his pelvis in four places and the horse had to be put down on the track. "All I can remember was laying there thinking, who does this happen to?" Bier said. "It was just a training race, a qualifier, but I didn't have much time to think about myself as I could hear the vet yelled to me that the horse had a spiral fracture, he had to be put down right then because there was absolutely nothing they could do. I couldn't even move to go to him. I just had to lay there." Before he even had an opportunity to fully heal, the Grim Reaper arrived again on July 19 after Modern Family, the stable's pride and joy, and one of the top horses in training, died nearly instantly after a fourth place finish in the $560,790 Maple Leaf Trot after coming home in :27.3. The horse had an aneurysm that would never have been detected even with modern veterinary care. "It was devastating to everyone involved with the horse," Bier said. "I don't have words to describe it. I just don't. He was everything and for something like that to happen to him...Charlie (Dombeck) was demoralized and wanted to get out of the business entirely after losing Modern Family in that way. To have to see that horse on the ground in the paddock like that is something I can't erase from my memory." With his professional career in turmoil due to his injury and his stable nearly decimated, Bier received another staggering blow when his father, veteran horseman Arthur "Artie" Bier, passed away on Aug. 21, joining his wife who had died several years earlier. "That was when I decided I had enough," Bier said. "I wanted out so I packed my mother-in-law and family up to head off to Alaska for a week. I felt like Charlie did and I wanted to get out of the business as well. I am being utterly serious when I say I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Maybe I even had one." After Bier returned from Alaska, the opportunity to purchase Wind Of The North was available and he got on the horn to Charlie Dombeck. "I wanted to put all my stock in at Harrisburg and just get out," Dombeck said. "Even the Somebeachsomewhere foal from Higher And Higher was not something I wanted to keep. Daryl and I had a lot of luck and a lot of nice horses, for example Special T Rocks who was a world champion, but Modern Family was something special. "My heart just wasn't in it anymore after that loss, but Daryl kept telling me Wind Of The North could be just as good as Modern Family. He had all the faith in the world in him, so (my wife) Joann was telling me to buy a piece of him. She also owned Special T Rocks and that's when I told her, 'why don't you buy him?' So she went in with Daryl and we are just going to see what he does this year. "We are also keeping Higher And Higher and her foal. He talked me out of putting them through the sale." So Wind Of The North is the primary reason Bier and the Dombecks did not just fold up their tent and leave for what they thought might be greener pastures, but their perspectives have certainly changed as Dombeck just takes things as they come now. Bier will be moving back to Florida to race before the end of the year, but he's come a long way from just six months ago. "Last year at this time, I had a top pacer and a top trotter," he said. "Now I have one of each again, although they are my only two horses. We've staked Wind Of The North to the Cutler and the Cashman and think he can do well enough to be invited to the Maxie Lee. Thankfully, I have Bando back as well and he'll tell us what to do, but Wind Of The North is the horse that kept Charlie in the business and gave me the hope to stay in it as well." by Kimberly French, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent
Louisville, KY --- He is not quite sure how all these harness racing agents tracked down his number, but Andrew Moore's cell phone began to ring incessantly on Jan. 9. Nearly 90 days later, people still have not received the message as Moore and his girlfriend, Dr. Tiffany Richards of Russell Equine in Ontario, have no intention of selling their stable star Maplelea. "I guess you should never say never," said the 35-year-old Prince Edward Island native. "But it would have to be a partnership and it would have to be the perfect situation. Believe me, my girlfriend picked her out and she said she is not going anywhere. Somehow or another, the woman always wins." The 3-year-old daughter of Sportswriter and the Run The Table mare Maple Lady is one the hottest horses in harness racing and will seek to make it five wins in a row when she competes in the second leg of the Blossom Series at Woodbine Racetrack on Monday (April 6). She will commence her mile from post six, with regular reinsman Rick Zeron in charge, as the 4-5 morning line favorite after a facile triumph in 1:57 in the first leg of the series on March 30. A $7,000 yearling purchase at the 2013 Standardbred Horse Sale, Maplelea's seasonal record now stands at a sparkling 8-6-2-0 with just under $60,000 in the bank and a mark of 1:53.4s in a dominating performance in the second leg of the Horseplayer Interactive Series on March 13. The filly took those first two legs by a total margin of 14-1/4 lengths before cruising home in the final by 4-1/4 lengths in 1:55.3. As a 2-year-old, however, she only made it to the gate on three occasions, hit the board once and earned a mere $979. So how did Maplelea come home fourth at Rideau Carleton in a $3,870 non-winners race on Dec. 28 and pace to a maiden-breaking triumph in an $11,900 non-winners contest at Woodbine on Jan. 8? Well, it's pretty simple really. It involved a little bit of luck, a lot of class in the family tree and Zeron grabbing the lines. "To tell you the truth I was looking at her pedigree at the sale and her mother was a nice mare that made more than $260,000 going up against the best," said Moore, who is a schoolteacher by day. "Meanwhile Tiffany was looking her over and she was slightly off in one knee, as well as being on the small side, but not many people would notice the knee. Tiffany really wanted her, especially after her mother and brother went through the ring and the price was right, so we took her home. "She was easy to break and then right around the first week of December, before I could even put hobbles on her, we found her face down in her stall with one of her back feet stuck in the stall bars," Moore said. "Thank God we were able to get her shoes off and get her out of there. "She was sore in her back and hind end, but I was not sure what kind of racehorse she would ever be after that or if she did something that would not allow her to ever be a racehorse. So I just gave her time and did not even jog her for months after that. "Last year was just about giving her an education and she was racing against colts, as well as older mares. Also, I took care of her while I was driving. I just wanted her to learn what she was supposed to do and then was ever so fortunate she did not hurt herself too badly. We had a chiropractor work on her and now I always put a mat up in her stall. She goes nowhere without it because she's a good-feeling horse and does like to bounce around in there." Although her sire was certainly no slouch, Maplelea does hail from a high quality female line. All four of her siblings have made it to the races and collected purse money, with Storm The Beach (Somebeachsomewhere, p,4,1:50.2, $169,909) the most prolific to date. Her dam is a half-sister to College Student (Beach Towel, p,3,1:54, $117,563), Rusty's For Real (Real Artist, p,3,1:50f, $429,747), Takemewithyou (Artiscape, p,1:51.2f, $158,206) and Winbak Carl (Royal Mattjesty, p,1:51f, $101,948). Her second dam, the Cam Fella mare Cams Exotic, also amassed $618,585 on the racetrack and at the astonishing age of 27 has a 2-year-old Dragon Again colt in Cloud Speed. Her last two foals have both broken the $100,000 barrier in purse money. Also, Maplelea's third dam, Armbro Exotic, although nowhere near as superb on the racetrack as Maple Lady and Cams Exotic, or in the breeding shed, did produce a full brother to Cams Exotic in Exotic Earl p,4,1:50.2 ($412,165) and is by Niatross. "I did train a couple Run The Tables and one thing I noticed about them was they had a lot of longevity," Moore said. "Also, I was very attracted to her third dam and that pedigree. "Maple is just such a pleasure to be around; words cannot express it. She has great manners, is two fingers to drive and we are just lucky she did not hurt herself badly in her stall. To this day, we have no idea how she managed to do that, but we just know we don't want it to ever happen again and are so very thankful." As far as what awaits Maplelea after her participation in the Blossom Series, Moore and Richards will allow her to tell them. They are, however, pointing towards a prestigious race her dam was ninth in. "Because of that injury, I did not pay her into very much as I just did not know if she was going to come back from it," he said. "I did pay her into another series after this one and she is paid into the Fan Hanover. I know those are the very best fillies and we will see if she can go with them, but you will never know if you don't try. "Let's just say I don't think she could ever really disappoint us and she is just a very special filly." by Kimberly French, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent
Louisville, KY --- He's earned $1.06 million, set his lifetime mark of 1:50.3f at age five, will be returning to the scene of his greatest triumphs on Friday night at The Meadowlands (March 20) and has the first stall in his barn. It's not a bird, it's not a plane. It's Sevruga. "The horse was sold in July to Joe Pennacchio and he really cares about him," said Julie Miller, the gelding's conditioner. "He realized he might not be doing as well as he should have been and he sent him back to us. It is so terrific to have him back home. Right when he got off the van, his ears were pricked and he took up exactly like he had never left." The 7-year-old son of SJ's Caviar and the Malabar Man mare Stunning Lindsey will compete in a $27,500 Open Handicap at the Meadowlands on Friday. It is race six on the card and Sevruga will leave from post position five with his regular pilot, Andy Miller, in the bike. The venerable trotter will take on six foes and is listed at 6-1 on the morning line. It is his second pari-mutuel engagement of 2015 after finishing sixth at Dover Downs on March 11. "I can qualify him three times, but he's just too smart and knows the difference between that and a real race," Miller said. "He knows when there is money on the line and gets much more out of his races. At Dover he came out of that race a little sick, but he's fine now. I expect him to take a couple starts before he is really fit." Sevruga has faced the starter on 85 occasions with 30 victories, 19 second place finishes and 10 thirds. Unraced at age two, the gelding earned just under $150,000 as a 3-year-old while only performing in two races around the $100,000 purse mark. At that time he was trained by Tyler Raymer and co-owned by Raymer and Jim Meittinis. He was first sent to Andy and Julie Miller as a 4-year-old and earned $244,000 from 21 races. He was also fourth in that year's Nat Ray and Maxie Lee Memorial behind champion Chapter Seven. It was as a 5-year-old, however, when Sevruga showed how classy he was. He banked $484,575, compiled a record of 22-9-7-2 and posted triumphs in the John Cashman Jr. Memorial and the Arthur J. Cutler Memorial and only failed to hit cash a check twice. "We were so tickled to death when he won those two stakes," Miller said. "Especially after all the opens he had been in and he proved he could go anywhere as he had won at Pocono, Chester and Yonkers. We were so happy for him that he was able to accomplish that." After failing to cash a check in the 2013 Breeders Crown and Allerage Pace at the end of his campaign, it was discovered the horse had a piece of bone jutting off the side of an ankle and after Dr. Patty Hogan removed the chip, Sevruga showed up for his 6-year-old campaign as good as new. He captured his first two starts, was second in the third, then third in the Arthur J. Cutler Memorial final and second in the Maxie Lee. Shortly after a fifth place finish in his Cashman elimination, Sevruga was sold and transferred to the barn of Kevin Carr. In his seven starts for Carr he won only one time. Pennacchio returned him to the Millers in the fall and in the six times he raced for them to end his season, he collected a win, two seconds and a third. For the 2014 season, the gelding added $186,870 to his bank account from 23 races. "We gave him some time off to freshen him up and now he is ready to go," Miller said. "I don't know if he can keep up with some of the top stakes horses out there, especially with the group of 4-year-olds we have coming out, but he still enjoys being out there. "We have been so lucky to have him and I can't say enough good things about Joe Pennacchio giving him back to us. When you are a trainer, it's a job, but there are some horses you really fall in love with and he is it." As for his personality, Sevruga is exactly what you would expect of a horse that has put together such an outstanding career. "There is not much to say about him because he is such a pleasure to be around in every possible way," Miller said. "He loves the attention he gets being in the first stall and he just always behaves like a classy, old gentleman. Like I said before, he might have lost a step, but he showed he can still get it done in his qualifying win at the Meadowlands on Feb. 26. We feel he can still do really well in the Opens, but no matter what he does, we are just so, so, happy to have him home." by Kimberly French USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent Courtesy of the United States Trotting Association Web Newsroom
Louisville, KY --- He doesn't have a clue why she is presently such a tough customer, but harness racing driver Mike Micallef is clearly thrilled Just A Bee has discovered her best stride. "I have no idea why she is so good right now," said her conditioner and pilot. "She is just a happy horse and I haven't done a thing with her other than just freshening her up before bringing her from Hoosier to Pompano." A daughter of dual hemisphere champion Mr Feelgood and the Camluck mare Tawnees Mark, the 7-year-old Just A Bee has earned $190,416 from 135 lifetime starts. She is owned by Anita Micallef, John Mc Goff and Greg Heath and has been reminiscent of her sire during her time in the Micallef barn. She has paced 15 miles for her current connections with 10 triumphs and when she hasn't hit the winner's circle it might very well be only Micallef's fault. "I don't want her to be too hard on herself," he said. "Everything she has done is all on her own and she is competing against some very tough company with Pertty Music and McFlirty. They are extremely nice mares. I can't say enough about how good she has been." Her dam has only dropped three foals, but Just A Bee is a half sister to A Regular Terror (Western Terror p,5,1:54.3h, $126,175) and has campaigned in Canada, New York, Indiana and Florida. The mare finished fourth in her only qualifying start at Mohawk Racetrack a 2-year-old, then went to the gate 22 times at age 3 at Rideau Carleton, Flamboro Downs, Kawartha Downs and Batavia Downs. As a 4- and 5-year-old she raced exclusively in the Empire State and only performed at Buffalo Raceway, Batavia Downs and Tioga Downs. She almost always brought home a check. After a barn change from Courtney Ohol to Charles Stewart and a six week vacation in early 2014, Just A Bee surfaced at Hoosier Park. While in Stewart's care she lowered her lifetime mark by three full seconds and caught Micallef's attention. "I thought she would fit in really well with our program down in Florida," he said. "But I never imagined she would do this well." But Micallef does admit there might be something to her new routine that she may relish. "I let her gallop twice a week," he said. "I just let her go around a mile." Just A Bee also seems to just enjoy life and may just be coming into her own as she matures. "She is funny," Micallef said. "She pins her ears back every time anyone comes near her, but the minute you pet her she is all over that. She is such a nice horse and once you pay attention to her, she loves it." The mare will remain in Florida for just a bit longer before she returns to the Midwest and commences the remainder of her season at Hoosier Park. "They just posted the conditions and they have a $21,000 Open back in Indiana," Micallef said. "That's where I base my stable. I want to see if she can compete up there, but I think she can. In her last start I literally was pulling the bit out of her mouth she wanted to go so much. She's been taking on good quality mares down here so I don't know why she can't do the same up there. "I don't think it's just the track with her. Believe me, no one is as surprised as me she is this good right now. She's just really enjoying herself out there and my job is just to keep her happy." by Kimberly French, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent
Louisville, KY --- His record stands at a perfect 14 for 14, he's paced in 1:51.2 at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield and ended his freshman season with a triumph in the $86,000 American-National Stake over Earndawg, the Orange and Blue victor, so it's pretty difficult to imagine getting Roland N Rock on stride was no simple task. "He always wants to trot and we just let him do it now," said his co-owner/trainer Duane Roland. "He'll even trot right up until the gate, but once he's racing he's all pace. We have never had one problem with him breaking so we allow him to do whatever he wants." Born in Iowa, a son of Rocknroll Hanover and the Cambest mare Hank's Chip, Roland N Rock competed primarily on the fair tracks in his native state and is the product of Duane and Connie Roland's Harrisburg excursion in 2011. The couple, whose entire family has been heavily involved in the sport since 1969, were hoping to cash in on the Perretti Farms dispersal of their broodmare band. After spending $6,000 for Hank's Chip, who was already in foal, it appears the Rolands did just that. "We have about 75 to 80 horses out here, with about 25 foals a year," said the Grinnell resident, who owns, conditions and steers all his own stock. "We were looking for some mares in foal to Rocknroll Hanover, but we have a budget as we own a 1,500 acre farm that produces soybeans and corn. That is how we make our living and our horses are just for pleasure. We were able to purchase two mares, as we paid $9,000 for another, but her foal turned out nothing like Roland." As Roland N Rock paced his way through the Iowa fair circuit, offer after offer came through to buy him, but there was not even the most remote possibility they would sell. "I am 47 years old and I've waited a lifetime for a horse like this," Roland said. "My entire family is in this business and we have had some nice horses. My father Roger sold Panaramic Art for $60,000 and that was one of them, but I think this one is even more special. "Ones like these sometimes never come along. I knew we had something different on my hands in July when he paced the fastest half in Iowa history (:57.2) at Oskaloosa. When John Delong got off him at Springfield, he said he could have went much faster and was very impressed with him. All the way back to the paddock after that race, people were asking me how much they could buy him for, while I just kept shaking my head." The Roland family certainly is a mainstay and/or cornerstone of the Iowa harness industry, as cousin Dan has grabbed headlines for his driving and brother Royal is no slouch in the sulky either. Royal is also a director for the United States Trotting Association and the treasurer for the Iowa Harness Horsemen's Association. Duane is the secretary and Dan is on the board. "We all have our own places, half-mile tracks and training facilities," Roland said. "We race against each other because when we tried keeping our horses together, no one could agree on anything. We all have our own ideas on how things should be done and no one is willing to change that." There is, however, an alteration in the Roland family's agenda for the summer of 2015. "We think he is the real deal and we are taking him out East to race against the best," Roland said. "We are coming with him as I want to do all the work on him myself. I could ship him out there to someone else, but this horse means a lot. Connie and I are looking forward to the journey. "In fact, I just finished staking him and he's in just about everything. There's the Meadowlands Pace, the Progress Pace, the Matron and the Messenger. He will have to earn his way into the Jug or Lexington, but I think he will give a good account of himself. We just used the money he made to give him the opportunity. I don't know about the Breeders Crown right now. That depends on how well he races. "We are just very excited to have this kind of opportunity with him and to be on the road all summer long. I can't explain the kind of thrill this horse has provided us with. He was so much better than these other horses, some guys were wondering if it would take the heart out of them having to chase him all the time and never being able to catch him. "Also, you just can't describe the feeling of holding a horse back for a half behind the entire field and just waiting for the chance to let them loose because you know he is going to go by them all. It's absolutely unbelievable." by Kimberly French, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent
Louisville, KY --- From Oct. 10 to Oct. 18, heading into the night of the Indiana Sire Stakes Championships, Matt Rheinheimer and Jackie Porter were darn lucky they didn't have to seek professional help. "Everyone kept asking me if I had heard from Matt and if she was okay," said Porter, who has owned horses for more than two decades. "I kept telling them I didn't want to hear from him. On the morning of the race I almost thought I would have to have someone drive me to Hoosier Park. And then when I got there Matt was so concerned about her. He would be working on his other horses and always go check on her. She was like, 'Why do you keep putting your hand in here? Really? You are bothering me.'" The she Porter is referring to is his 2-year-old Indiana champion Churita. The daughter of Airzoom Lindy and the Yankee Paco mare Stonebridge Volare compiled a record of 10-8-1-1, earned $263,225 and established her lifetime mark of 1:56s in her 11-1/4 length romp in the $220,000 Indiana Sire Stakes Championship for her age, gait and gender on Oct. 18 at Hoosier Park. That facility's leading driver for the 2014 meet and her regular pilot, Trace Tetrick, held the lines. Churita was not even on Rheinheimer or Porter's list when they selected yearlings. Porter became addicted to racing through a co-worker that brought him to the track and then was introduced to the barns shortly thereafter through a colleague of his brother's. He started hauling water buckets, mucking stalls and walking horses. It was official. He had the bug. "I've never had anything like her," he said. "I always had cheap claimers and fair horses. I love the fairs. You can take the kids right up to see the horses and the atmosphere is great. I've always had horses for fun and that kind of experience, but I guess you could say lightning struck with this filly. "The other horses we were looking at went for over $20,000 and I couldn't spend that much. Even if I did, then it would put pressure on Matt, who has been training for me for five or six years, to make them a good horse and sometimes they just aren't. I'm not in the business for that. "She is the first horse I've ever had in a sire stakes race like that. And that was not the plan for her because right after we bought her, Matt came back to me and said, 'I have bad news. She is not eligible for the fairs.' So there really was luck involved when it came to her. We weren't planning on the Indiana sire stakes for her." After the other horses Rheinheimer and Porter had their eye on went to other purchasers, Paul Webb from Ivy Lane Farm notified Rheinheimer regarding Churita's availability. "She had only been at the farm for three weeks," he said. "She was a short, fat, little thing but had plenty of room to grow. I knew if she had some grain and some tender loving care, she could be brought along. I never thought she would do this at two though. I was thinking she could be competitive in overnights when she was three." Churita was not impressive training down and always had to jog with other horses because she would stop at the half. She just wanted to go back to the barn and her comfort zone, so Rheinheimer debated about turning her out, biding his time for a sophomore campaign. He figured he would toss her in a qualifier and she would tell him. "She broke," he said. "And that's when I found out she popped a splint. I took care of that and when she was like that in the second qualifier, well, that's when I hunted Trace down." With Tetrick at the lines, the only time this lass has not posed for a photograph was a second placed third finish for breaking in the stretch in an Indiana Sire Stakes final on July 23. As Churita's season progressed, so did she. The filly only became stronger and more businesslike with each mile. The girl was transitioning to a woman. "She just transformed from an easygoing horse into a professional," Rheinheimer said. "Once she started picking up how to race and she started liking it, she started to get sassy after her last couple starts. "She has always been very nice to be around. In her last start she ran the girls out of the paddock because she was in the test barn too long. She knew what she had to do but she was ready to go back to her stall. She was aggravated." And then there was the growth spurt. "I only was able to see her race three or four times," Porter said. "There was one point I had not seen her for five weeks and when I went back to visit, I wasn't sure it was her. The only way I recognized her was she was next to Matt's other horse, so it had to be her. I couldn't believe she was the same horse." Currently, Churita is enjoying an extended vacation and will return to training around the first of the New Year. "We haven't really talked about what will happen next year," Rheinheimer said. "We are still enjoying and letting it sink in what she did in this one. We talked about staking her outside of Indiana. Everyone always wants to race in other places, but Indiana is a good place to be. "We'll see how she comes back, but I'll tell you I was just as nervous her first start as I was her last. I have had a lot of horses that showed promise and had year after year of being let down. You think something is good and then it doesn't turn out that way. "She was just an ordinary horse. I never thought she would do this. So I was walking on pins and needles all year thinking something was going to go wrong. When it doesn't you sit back and breathe a sigh of relief. I've chased a lot of horses, but it's not any easier on the other end when everyone is chasing you." by Kimberly French, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent
Without ever seeing the "rail" and parked out first-over the entire mile, Sumatra was able to grind it out for driver Brian Sears in capturing the $118,300 Old Oaken Bucket Thursday at the Delaware County Fairgrounds in Ohio. It was a bulky ten-horse field for three-year-old trotters on a half mile track and winning trainer Tom Fanning said this was going to happen. "I don't like everyone not having their nose on the gate," Fanning said Wednesday morning. We won't be able to take back if we don't leave or else we will be parked out the entire mile. I still think my horse is a contender in here. He has been doing great the last two weeks." Fanning was right on the mark with that pre-race comment. Uva Hanover (Tim Tetrick) were the first out of the gate and on the early lead with race favorite Datsyuk (Charlie Norris) grabbing the pocket trip. They went to the opening quarter in :28. Then Skates N Plates ( ) came first-over and cleared to the lead with Sumatra and Sears losing their cover and getting parked-out to the half in :56.4. Around the third turn, Skates N Plates was in command with Sumatra gaining ground with every stride. They passed the three-quarters in 1:26 and Sumatra was then able to clear to the lead as Skates N Plates began to fold. Down the stretch Sears urged Sumatra on and they held a two length lead as the field came at them but it was too late as Sumatra held on at the wire to score by a diminishing three-quarters of a length in 1:56.1. Datsyuk was second and Il Sogno Dream (Aaron Merriman) finished third. Sumatra went off at odds of 19-1. "It did work out," Sears said, "My horse was able to overcome it (first-over). He doesn't have the handiest speed in the world but he is honest and he tries real hard. I know that horse of Trond's (Smedshammer) would not hold the lead and my horse got by him on the last turn and that made the race for him. I didn't put any pressure on him. I let him do it on his own. He's not real quick but he keeps going and does not get tired and he showed that today." It was the second win this year for Sumatra. The gelded son of Muscles Yankee other win this year was the Dexter Cup Trot final at Freehold Raceway, once again on a half mile track. Sumatra is owned by Joseph Smith of Vero Beach, FL and paid $41.00 to win. Pinkman takes $59,445 Standardbred Stake Nothing was "breaking bad" for Pinkman in Thursday's $59,445 Standardbred Stakes for 2-year-old male trotters, as he overcame favorite Crazy Wow in deep stretch for the victory at the Delaware County Fair. Making only his second start, Pinkman and driver Yannick Gingras followed leader Crazy Wow -- who won the New York Sire Stakes championship last Saturday -- for nearly the entire mile before pulling out of the pocket and trotting to the win in 1:57. Crazy Wow finished second, followed by Ralph R and Walter White. The Jimmy Takter-trained Pinkman, racing as an entry with Walter White, went off at 5-1 and paid $12 to win. Pinkman and Walter White are named after characters from the television series "Breaking Bad." Pinkman is a son of Explosive Matter out of the mare Margie Seelster. He was purchased for $77,000 under the name Traffic Jam at the Lexington Selected Sale. His family includes stakes-winner Grassbed, who is the mother of 1990 Dan Patch Award-winner Me Maggie and grandmother of millionaire racehorse and top stallion Credit Winner. In his first start, Pinkman finished second from post eight in a conditioned race at The Red Mile. He has now earned $27,275 for owners Christina Takter, John and Jim Fielding, Joyce McClelland and Herb Liverman. On Thursday, Pinkman sat behind Crazy Wow through fractions of :29.4, :59.3 and 1:28.4. Walter White made a first-over challenge from fourth place at the half-mile point, but only was able to get within a half-length of overtaking Crazy Wow for the lead. Pinkman found room coming off the final turn and was able to overcome a 1-1/4 length deficit to win by a neck. "He is now a gelding rather than a colt," said Jimmy Takter. "We had some problems that resulted from the castration surgery that took some time for him to recover from so that is why he had a late start. We started him in Lexington last week and I was very happy with him so I decided to put him in here." By Steve Wolf, Ken Weingartner with Kimberly French
Delaware, OH --- Emerald Highlands Farm's Color's A Virgin won the 44th edition of the Jugette Wednesday afternoon at the Delaware County Fair. Color's A Virgin and Trace Tetrick used a perfect second over trip and edged past Beautiful Lady (Matt Kakaley) in the lane to score a 1 ¼ length victory in 1:52.4. Beach Story (Brett Miller) rallied for the show spot. The Jugette victory was the first for driver Trace Tetrick and trainer Brian Brown. "The (Jugette) is my best win," noted the 27 year-old driver. "I'm thankful to have the opportunity…She is a great mare." Brown didn't celebrate until his filly crossed the finish line. "Sometimes when she is on the front or she clears too early, she can lose her concentration and she runs on us." Bruce Trogdon has long admired the horses competing in the big events at the Delaware County Fair from his seat in the grandstand. On Wednesday, he got to admire one of his own from the winner's circle. Color's A Virgin, bred and owned by Trogdon's Emerald Highlands Farm in Mount Vernon, Ohio, won the $298,100 Jugette for 3-year-old female pacers by 1-1/4 lengths over Beautiful Lady in 1:52.4 at Delaware. "I've been coming here for 39 years and I love to watch the Jug and the Jugette," Trogdon said. "I just love to watch the beautiful horses. I never dreamed that someday I would raise and keep and have the winner of the Jugette. It is so special to me. Nothing could compare to this. It's super special to me." 2014 Jugette Final Color's A Virgin, Gallie Bythe Beach, Beautiful Lady win Jugette elims Color's A Virgin raced on the outside for more than half the mile and wore down favorite Lady Shadow in the stretch to win the first elimination of the Jugette in 1:51.3. Southwind Silence got up for second place and Also Encouraging was third to also advance to the final. Trace Tetrick drove Color's A Virgin for trainer Brian Brown and owner Emerald Highlands Farm. It was her seventh win in 11 starts this season. She paid $8.60 to win. Beach Body was scratched, leaving a field of six horses. Lady Shadow got the lead with an opening quarter of :26.3 and stayed on top through fractions of :55.2 and 1:23.2 until the field reached the final turn. Color's A Virgin, a daughter of Always A Virgin-Full Color, was in second place at that point and continued her first-over grind until she was in front. Gallie Bythe Beach stormed through the stretch to rally from fifth place at the top of the lane and nipped Allstar Rating at the wire to win the second of three eliminations for the Jugette. Gallie Bythe Beach was timed in 1:52.2. Allstar Rating and third-place finisher Beach Gal also advanced to the Jugette final. Allstar Rating grabbed the lead at the start and guided the field through fractions of :26.3, :54.3 and 1:22.4. She rebuffed a first-over challenge from Beach Gal and appeared to be heading for victory, but Gallie Bythe Beach and driver John Campbell never relented in their charge. Gallie Bythe Beach, a daughter of Somebeachsomewhere-Galleria, owned by Fashion Farms and trained by Jim Campbell, picked up her first win of the season in 12 tries. She won six of 10 races last season and never finished worse than third. "She was a very nice filly last year that didn't progress as nicely as we would have liked but we were really encouraged by her last race at Chester," said driver John Campbell. "Like Jim and I were talking about, there is a lot of money still on the table and she might be getting sharp at the right time of year when some of the others might not be on the improve." Gallie Bythe Beach Beautiful Lady and driver Matt Kakaley cruised to a win by open lengths in 1:52.2 in the third of three eliminations for the Jugette. Beach Story finished second and Candy's A Virgin was third to also advance to the Jugette final. Sandbetweenurtoes worked through a :26.2 opening quarter-mile to take the top spot from Beautiful Lady and remained in front until three-quarters, when Gettingreadytoroll came first over and stuck her head in front. No sooner there, though, Gettingreadytoroll went off stride and Sandbetweenurtoes reclaimed the lead. It was short lived, however, as Beautiful Lady and driver Matt Kakaley burst from the pocket and pulled away from the field around the final turn and through the stretch. Beautiful Lady, a daughter of Rocknroll Hanover-Love The Game, is trained by Ron Burke and owned by Burke Racing, Weaver Bruscemi LLC, and RTC Stables. Sent off at 14-1, she picked up her fourth win in 13 starts this season and paid $31.40 to win. Beautiful Lady Rock N Randall (Ronnie Wrenn, Jr.) went gate-to-wire to capture the final division of the $64,634 (div) OBC for freshman colt pacers. Rock N Randall defeated a late charging Danger Storm (Ron Pierce) and Dyno Mite Man (David Miller) in 1:58.1. Ollie Pop (Aaron Merriman) scored an upset win in the first $32,317 division in 1:56.4. It was a Miller family reunion in the winner's circle after the second division of the $60,134 (div.) three-year-old filly trot. David Miller guided Rose Run Princess to victory in 1:58.1. The Trainforthefuture lass is trained by David's daughter, Devan. Turbochargedroxie (Dan Noble) and Anniesbluejeanbaby (Greg Grismore) completed the trifecta. The first division went to upsetter Autumn Estelle (Hugh Beatty) who edged the heavy favorite Sandys Victory (Josh Sutton) in 2:00. Rompaway Galaxy (Mike Micallef) and Count Full Mac (Ronnie Wrenn, Jr.) took divisions of the $61,334 (div) Ohio Breeders Championships for three-year-old colt trotters. by Ken Weingartner with Kimberly French
Delaware, OH --- Lifetime Pursuit made it six wins in a row by dominating Wednesday's (Sept. 17) $89,475 Buckette for 3-year-old female harness racing trotters at the Delaware County Fair, crossing the wire in front by 12-3/4 lengths in 1:53.4. Driven by Yannick Gingras, the filly started from post six and raced three wide around the first turn to get the lead from Broadway Socks. Once there, she never looked back through fractions of :28.2, :56.4 and 1:25.1. The winning time was three-fifths of a second off Frau Blucher's half-mile-track world record for a 3-year-old female trotter, set last year in the Buckette. Sent off at odds of 1-9, Lifetime Pursuit paid $2.10 to win. Bikini So Teeny was second, followed by Yoga and Broadway Socks. "It definitely was a walk in the park today," Gingras said. "Since Hambletonian Day, she's turned from being a very good filly to a great filly. She was awesome that day and she's been awesome ever since." Lifetime Pursuit started her six-race win streak by winning the Hambletonian Oaks on Aug. 2 at the Meadowlands. Since then, she's added divisions of the Casual Breeze and Simcoe stakes, plus the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes championship. "She is amazing to drive but she is a filly where you can't hurt her feelings," Gingras added. "Before the Hambletonian Oaks I always drove her behind cover or made sure I got her out of the pocket. But in the Hambletonian Oaks she had the perfect trip, I just pulled the plugs and popped her out. Since then she has been so good she's been the 1-5 or 1-9 favorite so she's needed to be involved earlier. She's probably been on the front a little too much because of that but she really feels tremendous to drive right now." The daughter of Cantab Hall-Queen Of Grace is trained by Jimmy Takter and owned by Brittany Farms. She has won eight of 13 races this year and $652,054. For her career, she has won 14 of 24 starts and is nearing $1 million. by Ken Weingarter with Kimberly French
Delaware, OH --- Wild Honey trotted the fastest mile in history by a 2-year-old trotter on a half-mile racetrack Wednesday (Sept. 17) at the Delaware County Fair, winning the second $32,323 division of the Standardbred Stakes for 2-year-old female trotters in 1:55.2. The recently crowned Pennsylvania Sire Stakes champion left no doubt about the race's outcome, leading from start to finish at odds of 1-9. The fractions were :28.4, :57.3 and 1:25.4 with driver Yannick Gingras at the lines for trainer Jimmy Takter. Hot Start finished second by 7-3/4 lengths and Gee O'Keeffe was third. Wild Honey's performance erased one of trotting's oldest records from the books. She eclipsed the previous best time of 1:56.3 by a 2-year-old female trotter on a half-mile track set by CR Kay Suzie on Sept. 21, 1994 at Freehold Raceway. The only trotting record to stand longer is Pine Chip's 1:54 time for a 4-year-old male trotter on a half-mile oval, set on Sept. 18, 1994 at Delaware. In addition, Wild Honey bettered the mark of 1:55.3, set by colt Dontyouforgetit in 2012 at Delaware, for the fastest ever half-mile time by any 2-year-old trotter. Wild Honey is trained by Jimmy Takter, as was Dontyouforgetit. A daughter of Cantab Hall out of the mare U Wanna Lindy, Wild Honey is owned by Christina Takter, John Fielding, Herb Liverman, and Jim Fielding. She was purchased for $35,000 under the name Can Can Lindy at the Lexington Selected Sale. Her family includes 1994 Hambletonian winner Victory Dream. Wild Honey has won six consecutive races since finishing second by a head to Gatka Hanover in her debut. She has earned $271,031. "She won all of her (PA Sire Stakes) legs and had just one defeat by a (head) in her first lifetime start," said trainer Jimmy Takter. "She's just a tough filly. She's got it. She's the real deal." Takter said Wild Honey is on her way to Lexington for the Grand Circuit meet next week. "When I got a first quarter of :28.4, I thought it would be hard for anybody to beat her in here," said driver Yannick Gingras. "At the five-eighths I just let her roll along. I didn't really 'let her go,' I just let her do what she wanted to do. The 1:55.2 was all her. The plugs were still in. I didn't dig into her. She could have gone in (1):54 and change." Sweet Shurga and driver Ron Pierce charged through the stretch and overcame favorite Smokinmombo in the final strides to win the first $32,323 division of the Standardbred Stakes. Smokinmombo, driven by Aaron Merriman, led for nearly the entire race after vanquishing Avalon Hall in a battle for the top spot coming off the first turn. Sweet Shurga was third until the final turn when Pierce moved to the outside and followed Dancewithme Chuck into the stretch. From there, Sweet Shurga cruised past her foes to reach the finish line in 2:00. Sent off at odds of 17-1, the daughter of Donato Hanover-Sweet American paid $36 to win. Sweet American is a full sister to 1993 Hambletonian winner American Winner. Smokinmombo finished second, followed by Dancewithme Chuck and Yanks Ball Girl. The fractions were :28.3, :59.3 and 1:29.3. Sweet Shurga has won two of four races and earned $19,629 for owner Bob Key and trainer Norm Parker. "She's a green filly of Mr. Key's," said trainer Norm Parker. "She goes back to the family of American Winner. (Mr. Key) always liked that family. I liked her when I got her. Paul Reid trained her in Florida. When I got her she was really green. "Her manners are her biggest problem. She's very temperamental, but I think she's going to be a nice filly. "(Since her break on Aug. 20) we did some field time. In her last race at The Meadows, Dickie Stillings took good care of her. I just did the same thing -- gave her some field time and thought I'd bring her here and give her a shot." by Ken Weingartner with Kimberly French & TJ Burkett/USTA
Louisville, KY --- Even before they purchased him for $13,000 at this past January's Tattersalls Winter Mixed Sale, the 3-year-old trotting gelding Wheelsandthelegman had made quite an impression on Beth and Walter Carroll. Unraced at 2, Wheelesandthelegman jumped it off at the top of the stretch in his first qualifier as a 3-year-old on Jan. 10 at the Meadowlands, but still managed to come home third ahead of trainer Walter Carroll's horse Spectator K. Carroll took note of that performance and although Wheelsandthelegman broke behind the gate in his second qualifier the following week, he and his wife, Beth, still thought enough of the gelding to purchase him at the Sale last January. "Walter had his eye on him ever since he qualified and when we saw him at the sale, we both liked him," Beth Carroll said. "We didn't know why he had not raced last year but he had absolutely no issues." The Carrolls did not have super high expectations for the son of Donato Hanoverand the Malabar Man mare Carmita, but after two qualifying contents at Spring Garden Ranch in March and April, they brought him back to Pennsylvania to get his career started. That was when the couple began to realize their horse possessed some serious ability. "The winter was horrible here (in New Holland, Pa.) so we missed a lot of time with him," Carroll said. "So we sent him down to our good friend Jim Raymer at Spring Garden Ranch for five weeks. Then when he won his first race we started to get really excited about him." With Raymer in the irons, Wheelsandthelegman, named after the alter ego crime fighting duo from American Dad, captured his first three races, all non-winners events, before triumphing in a $74,900 Pennsylvania Sire Stakes contest at Harrah's Philadelphia on May 15. His next engagement, a third to Hambletonian second place finisher Nuncio in another Pennsylvania Sire Stakes race on May 30, would be his first time tasting defeat. After a little time off, Wheelsandthelegman got back to the winners' circle on July 17 in a $13,000 non-winners race at Harrah's Philadelphia prior to another victory in a $32,855 division of the Arden Downs stake at The Meadows on July 26, where he defeated Il Sogno Dream, the fourth place finisher in the Hambletonian, in 1.54.1. Although he did not compete in the Hambletonian, the gelding did make an appearance on that day in a $50,000 Townsend Ackerman division where he finished off the board for the only time in his short career. Wheelsandthelegman was sixth but placed 11th after leaving from the nine hole and he seemingly was not particularly fond of the Meadowlands oval. "It was a tough trip for him against some really nice horses and that fast first quarter (:27.1) certainly did not help him, but he does have really good gate speed," Carroll said. "He also didn't seem to be getting over the track very well and he had been sick the week before. He got stung by something and we don't know how or by what, but he was all swollen. That might have still been affecting him a little bit." The gelding, however, will attempt to return to his winning ways when he leaves from post position two in a $60,000 division of the Currier and Ives Stake on Friday (Aug. 8) at the Meadows. Dick Stillings will be holding the lines rather than Raymer for the card's eighth race. Wheelsandthelegman is the 3-1 morning line second choice. His lifetime mark of 1:53.4 and bankroll of just over $88,000 is tops in the field of six. "We are very good friends with Jim Raymer," Carroll said. "He and his wife Terry are wonderful people and we are very grateful every time Jim drives him for us. We also feel lucky for all they have done for us. Jim really likes this horse and I think he likes driving him more than some of his own horses." Named for a television character, Wheelsandthelegman definitely has some personality to him. "He's bossy," Carroll said. "But he's not mean at all. He's really just a very busy horse and is always in motion. He's always doing something and is never still for a second." After the Currier & Ives is in the books, the Carrolls will keep Wheelsandthelegman in Pennsylvania for the remainder of the year and then shut him down in the fall. "He has the PA Sire Stakes and hopefully he makes the final," Carroll said. "Then he has the Keystone Classic. After that we are just going to give him a nice, long break over the winter and take it from there. "We were really surprised by him and are just thrilled. Although we didn't name him, it is something to have a horse that even has his own ringtone." Below are the fields for Friday's Currier & Ives divisions. $60,000 Currier & Ives First Division Post-Horse-Driver-Trainer-Morning Line 1-Amped Up Hanover-Yannick Gingras-Ron Burke-5-2 2-Wheelsandthelegman-Richard Stillings-Walter Carroll-3-1 3-Jett Star-Dan Rawlings-Steve Owens-5-1 4-Choco Sun-David Miller-Orjan Torstensson-6-1 5-Frost Free Hanover-Brian Zendt-Leslie Zendt-7-2 6-Axios-Dave Palone-Rich Gillock-4-1 $60,000 Currier & Ives Second Division Post-Horse-Driver-Trainer-Morning Line 1-Tea Party Politics-Brian Zendt-William Zendt-5-1 2-Skates N Plates-Yannick Gingras-Trond Smedshammer-4-1 3-Sarcastic Man-Tony Hall-Rich Gillock-8-1 4-Il Sogno Dream-David Miller-Christopher Beaver-2-1 5-Southwind Spirit-Dave Palone-Ron Burke-7-2 6-Andover The Gold-Brett Miller-J C Miller Jr.-10-1 by Kimberly French, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent
Louisville, KY --- It wasn't exactly in the cards for White Birch Farms to be racing In The Arsenal, but after capturing his $25,000 Lawrence B. Sheppard elimination at Yonkers Raceway on July 12, in front running fashion, they have to feel vindicated after the colt came home from last year's Harrisburg Sale rather than being in someone else's barn. "He didn't reach his reserve," said Kelvin Harrison, the colt's conditioner. "So White Birch bought him back for $7,500. It was because he was small, but not real small. He was also absolutely correct. "I think it was because he was the 14th foal out of this mare (Ladyotra). A lot of today's yearling buyers will steer away from horses after they are the eighth foal for some reason. Also, the thing is they grow and that's exactly what he did. Even if he had turned out to be a small 2-year-old that wouldn't have bothered me as Direct Fight (a former Harrison trainee that earned $825,052 in his career) was and it never bothered him." The son of American Ideal and the On The Road Again mare Ladyotra, In The Arsenal seeks his second consecutive triumph and the second of his three race career on Saturday (July 19) in the $175,000 Sheppard final. In The Arsenal will leave from post position two with Eric Goodell holding the lines in race five. He is the 5-2 morning line second choice in a field of eight. The colt will face some stiff competition from 8-5 morning line favorite Cartoon Daddy, who is a perfect two-for-two with more than $31,000 in the bank and was the other Sheppard elimination victor. But back to In The Arsenal's family tree. The homebred's dam was 21 years old when she foaled him, but Ladyotra, who earned more than $115,000 in her racing career, has been as prolific as they come in the breeding shed. From her 14 foals she has produced Exquisite Art (1998, Artsplace, p,3,1:50.4, $578,544), Otra Sign (1999, Life Sign, p,1:54.2f, $115,458), Queen Otra (2001, Artsplace, p,4,1:51, $200,837) and Premier (2007, Artsplace, p,1:51.3f, $158,233). Ladyotra has dropped nine winners and the 12 yearlings that were sold to other buyers at public auction fetched the sum of $589,000. It is still early in his racing career, but In The Arsenal certainly possesses the genetic material to be a very nice horse. "I watched He's Watching last year in the final of the (New York) Sire Stakes," Harrison said. "He was a small horse but he has the same sire as In The Arsenal and he certainly could go fast. I watched him again this year in the eliminations for the Meadowlands Pace and he had not grown much from last year but was really muscled out. Then you saw what he did the night of the Meadowlands Pace. 1:46.4. That time speaks for itself. "In The Arsenal has actually grown and is now probably bigger than He's Watching. He is no longer a small horse but a medium sized one. He's very muscular and he's a well put together horse. He is also great gaited. The only thing that ever concerned me with him was he might get a little bit hot." The colt was sixth in his career debut on July 5, a $15,000 2-year-old race at Meadowlands Racetrack, after having the lead at the half. "It wasn't the greatest of trips," Harrison said. "Brian (Sears) chased him up a little bit out of the gate and then he got him going. He put him in the hole and then he didn't get out of the hole, then was a bit aggressive when he did let him go. He still paced nicely right to the wire. "For the elimination, I thought when the sheet came out, we would put him in the hole and race him from behind, but when I saw what was in there I told Eric (Goodell) to just not get him in trouble." After Saturday's engagement, In The Arsenal will appear in most of the major stakes races for his age, gait and gender. "We have him staked up to everything," Harrison said. "He just has real, real high speed. I think he's one of those that has enough speed to make his own race. He's also one of those horses that has never had a bad day. Even when he was training, I trained him with a group and put him behind, etc. He just always did everything so easily. I even worked him at White Birch in 1:59 before I even qualified him. Even then he was really handy." Here is the field for the Sheppard final, with drivers, trainers and morning line odds: 1-Rock N' Roll World-Eric Carlson-Nifty Norman-10-1, 2-In The Arsenal-Eric Goodell-Kelvin Harrison-5-2, 3-Perfect Bet, Jeff Dauplaise, Jeff Dauplaise-12-1, 4-Mystical Pacer-Brent Holland-Erv Miller-10-1, 5-Cartoon Daddy-George Brennan-Ron Burke-8-5, 6-Parklane Eagle-Jordan Stratton-Peter Foley-20-1, 7-Lone Survivor-Brian Sears-Sam DePinto-6-1, 8-Byby Landon-Jason Bartlett-Allan Johnson-8-1. Courtesy of Kimberly French, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent
Louisville, KY --- When freshman trotter Outburst stopped the clock in a world record 1:53.1 on Sept. 27 at The Red Mile, Noel Daley was not shocked that the gelding was on his way to get his picture taken, but he was incredulous with how swiftly the juvenile he co-owns and conditions trotted his mile. "I'm not delusional," he said. "He is definitely nowhere near as good as his father (Explosive Matter) was at 2, but now he's the fastest 2-year-old gelding of all time. "He is a nice horse and I never considered him to be of champion quality, so it was a bit of a surprise for us. The third horse (race favorite Southwind Spirit) went out and did all the work for the whole mile so it worked out perfectly for us. "I did actually think he could win the race, I didn't think he would do it in world record time, but I was confident he could win the race with the right trip and he got it." A son of first crop sire Explosive Matter and the Supergill mare Exquisite Lady, Outburst is also owned by Adam Victor & Son Stable and Mirva Bogucki. The trio purchased him for $33,000 at last year's Lexington Selected Sale and he is a half-brother to Highly Refined, who was a $70,000 yearling purchase that only made $120 during his brief career, Mr Exquisite, a $35,000 yearling purchase that never made it to the gate, and Sand Lladro, a $10,000 yearling purchase by Cantab Hall that has collected a little more than $7,300 during his time at the races. Although his sire was an outstanding individual, the performance of Outburst's siblings wouldn't have many people rushing to sign a check, but Daley selected the colt based on the advice of a colleague that believed quality did exist on his dam's side. Who his father was certainly factored into the decision, but was not the primary reason Daley brought him home. "All the foals ended up having issues and didn't show anything on paper, but he knew there was one in Sweden that had just started racing," Daley said. "He knew all the other foals would have been pretty sharp without those issues, so when this foal came along, he went and saw him in the paddock and he really liked him. Also, he was an Explosive Matter and we were looking to get a couple of his colts from his first year. He fit in perfectly." From seven pari-mutuel engagements, Outburst has a record of 4-1-1. He has earned just shy of $90,000 and his first performance after his world record will be on Friday (Oct. 4) in an $87,500 division of the International Stallion Stakes at The Red Mile. He will leave from post four in an eight horse field as the 2-1 morning line favorite with Ron Pierce grasping the reins. The race is the fourth on the card. "He's never really let us down anytime," Daley said. "I assume he will be good again in there. I'm not watching for him to break his world record or anything, but he is going to be the horse to beat." Outburst commenced his career on Aug. 7 in a $13,000 non-winners race at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. It has been his only off the board finish as he was second coming into the stretch and broke stride to finish seventh, but was placed sixth. He broke his maiden on Aug. 13 over the same oval in a division of the PA Stallion Series and was then second to heavy favorite Don Dorado in an $85,616 Pennsylvania Sire Stakes contest at Harrah's Philadelphia. On Sept. 4 he returned to Scranton-Wilkes Barre for another victory in a $13,000 non-winners race, before finishing third in a $10,000 first leg contest of the Kindergarten Series at The Red Mile on Sept. 12. Outburst captured his third triumph in the $10,000 second leg of the Kindergarten Series on Sept. 19 and kind of caught the harness world by surprise with his world record mile on Sept. 27. "We liked him right from the start," Daley said. "Then he went through a stage in February where he started doing things wrong basically and wasn't focused, so that is when we decided to geld him. He has always been pretty sound, but it was his attitude and he was just being a colt. "It wasn't like he was a $200,000 purchase and we were not worried about the breeding side of it, so we tried to geld him and carry on from there. "He should have won his first start. He was actually going good and went to the inside when they went into the straightaway at Pocono because he didn't know what to do. He had never been in that situation before and like a lot of other young trotters, it bit him off balance a little bit and he made a miscue." When Outburst completes his race on Friday, he will probably start only one more time this year before his winter vacation. "I paid him up to a lot of things to start with as far as the first payments, but when I had to geld him, I dropped him out of a lot of things," Daley said. "I put him in a lot of the better races next year, but all he has left this year is the Kindergarten. After that we will bring him back to the barn, check him out and that will probably be it for him. That will be good as long as he shuts down sound. Then we will bring him back next year and if he shows he can go the speeds, we will give a go in all the big things next year." by Kimberly French USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent
Long before he ever made his career debut at Saratoga Casino and Raceway on June 28, David Menary had some high hopes for He's Watching. A June 13 foal, the colt sold for $3,000 at the 2012 Standardbred Horse Sale, and was the last baby his conditioner and co-owner had in the barn to be broken. But when He's Watching finally got hooked to the cart he could already pace in 2:28 free-legged, which was well ahead of some of his more mature colleagues. The son of American Ideal and the Real Desire mare Baberhood, He's Watching is also owned by Brad Gray and Michael Guerriero. He was always in the first set and had impressed Menary by the time he could go in 2:14, as well as the week before he qualified on June 1 at Mohawk Racetrack. Naturally, the trainer was excited about his colt's first start in the New York Sire Stakes on that late June evening, but that quickly changed to abject horror, when He's Watching, who had never made a break while training down, spotted the field 20 lengths by going off stride shortly after he left the gate. "My heart dropped," Menary said. "I knew we might have to teach him how to race and there's always next week, but then when he was on the backstretch I said, 'he's still going to win if he doesn't run again.'" And win he did, crossing the wire in a time of 1:55, with a final quarter in :27.4. It's already been a quite a season for this youngster with tying a track record, setting a track record, and establishing a world record while remaining a perfect seven for seven, but Menary hopes He's Watching delivers in what the horse's goal has been all year and that is to triumph in the $225,000 New York Sire Stakes final for his age, gait and gender on Saturday (Sept. 28) at Yonkers Raceway. He will leave from post position one with his regular pilot, Jim Morrill, Jr., holding the lines. "When the sheet came out I had to give a little woohoo," Menary said. "The gods are smiling on us. I have another nice colt in there, Major Trick, and he drew right beside him in the two. Hopefully they get the job done and we have no bad luck. They have no excuses with the draw." But let's look back on what He's Watching has accomplished so far this year as frankly, it is beyond impressive and is more akin to spectacular. After his performance at Saratoga, the colt moved on to another $37,862 New York Sire Stake contest at Buffalo Raceway on July 10. Once again, He's Watching broke stride leaving the seven hole and was in last, but after a hair raising first over brush had the lead at the half in :59. He went on to win in 1:55.4, lowering the track standard of 1:56.2 set by Heston Blue Chip. The colt qualified at Mohawk on July 31 and made his next appearance at Tioga Downs on Aug. 9 in a $27,090 New York Sire Stakes race. Thankfully, he managed to maintain his gait and the result was a world record of 1:50 by a little more than six lengths. The previous record was 1:50.3 and was held by Rock N Roll Heaven. "Jim Morrill said live in his interview that night at Tioga that he probably could have gone in (1):49," Menary said. "He also told me in conversation he would have went better than 1:49 if he had asked him for speed, but you don't get paid for going fast. Everything he has done he has done it all himself and we have brought home a good horse every week. He even had a foot problem prior to Tioga and raced right through that. I think his speed is unreal and I don't think we have really topped the max yet." In his next four starts, all in New York Sire Stakes company, He's Watching has stayed pacing for the entire mile and collected four more wins. His bankroll now stands just shy of $180,000 and in his last start, a $78,629 New York Sire Stakes contest on Sept. 16 at Yonkers Raceway, he hung on by just a nose after drifting out a bit down the stretch. His conditioner does not see the issue as something problematic. "He had too much speed for his knowledge," Menary said. "He was like a 16-year-old kid driving a corvette that wanted to go from second gear to fifth. He's matured and is probably the best conditioned 2-year-old in my barn. He is all muscle with just a touch of fat. "We sure haven't taken anything out of him and I haven't even seen him blow. He has impressed me in stages and even though he was small as a baby, he was a flawless individual and I scored him high. "He has brought home a percentage of his purse every time and we were looking for a few good New York bred colts as we are just a stone's throw away from Buffalo, Batavia and Tioga. We have made the best of a good opportunity." After He's Watching completes his mile on Saturday evening, Menary isn't exactly sure what his future plans consist of, but is leaning towards turning him out and focusing on next year. "He's done from 20 lengths back, from the front, from first over and he has re-moved," he said. "He's done everything we have asked him to and that hasn't been very much. Hopefully we can end the year on a high note with this race because we are pretty excited about next year. "He was lightly staked because he was a late foal and $3,000 (yearling purchase) and the Matron is too late, too far and too much money for what they go for. "I think we will have the advantage on our competition by getting him into the green grass while they are in Lexington, the Breeders Crown, the Matron and the Governor's Cup. We have never pushed this colt and nearly every race he has been shut down without being asked for speed. "He's not just a good horse, he is a special horse, and winning the Sire Stakes final would be icing on the cake." by Kimberly French, for USTA


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The Cliché Gypsy Life Series is a fresh new collection ready for your shredding pleasure. With graphics done by the one and only Luda Crooks, aka Chet Childress—these boards are as much works of art as they are some of the meanest shred sleds out. The Gypsy Life series features Dwindle's Impact Support Technology, which means 8-ply hard rock maple construction with two carbon fiber discs at the truck mounts for a more durable deck and longer lasting pop. Check out the Gypsy Life Series over at Skate Warehouse and take a peep at our most recent Series Spotlights!
Cliche x Diamond Supply Collab Decks
The new Cliche x Diamond Supply collab decks just surfaced here at Skate Warehouse and they sure are pretty! There's a pro model for six different stunt miners on Cliche, including Andrew Brophy, Joey Brezinski, Lucas Puig, Daniel Espinoza, Flo Mirtain and JB Gillet.

subset: commoncrawl


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Arctic Ocean could be source of greenhouse gas—study
PARIS—The Arctic Ocean could be a significant contributor of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, scientists reported on Sunday.
Researchers carried out five flights in 2009 and 2010 to measure atmospheric methane in latitudes as high as 82 degrees north.
They found concentrations of the gas close to the ocean surface, especially in areas where sea ice had cracked or broken up.
The study, published in the journal Nature Geoscience, wonders if this is a disturbing new mechanism that could accelerate global warming.
"We suggest that the surface waters of the Arctic Ocean represent a potentially important source of methane, which could prove sensitive to changes in sea-ice cover," it says.
If so, the Arctic Ocean would add to several identified "positive feedbacks" in Earth's climate system which ramp up the greenhouse effect.
One such vicious circle is the release of methane from Siberian and North American permafrost.
The thawing soil releases methane that has been locked up for millions of years, which adds to global warming — which in turns frees more methane, and so on.
But this is the first evidence that points to a methane contribution from the ocean, not the land, in Arctic latitudes.
Levels of methane in the atmosphere are relatively low, but the gas is 20 times more effective that carbon dioxide (CO2) at trapping solar heat.
Scientists have been struggling to understand the movements of the methane curve.
There was a rapid increase in levels due to post-World War II industrialisation, followed by a period of relative stability in the 1990s and more recently, by another rise.
The new paper, led by Eric Kort at the California Institute of Technology Caltech), says measurements of methane over some parts of the ocean were comparable to coastal eastern Siberia where there has been permafrost thaw.
Noting that around 10 million square kilometres (3.86 million square miles) of the Arctic Ocean are subject to summer melting of sea ice, "the emissions rate we encountered could present a source of global consequence," it says.
The source of the sea methane is unclear, it stresses.
The gas is unlikely to have been belched from sediment in the continental shelf as it was found at locations over the deep ocean. One idea is that it comes from microbes at the ocean surface.
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Kelly Brook and Danny Cipriani may have only been back together for a matter of months, but they're apparently already planning MARRIAGE.
Now that is speedy work. Kelly Brook and Danny Cipriani dated for almost two years before splitting up in 2010. But they recently reunited and seem happier than ever.
So happy in fact, that Danny's apparently planning to pop the question.
A source revealed: "Danny and Kelly have got serious quickly. Because they were together before it's not really like a new relationship.
The source continued: "She is the love of Danny's life and he always hoped they'd get back together.
'He is so happy that they are now once again in each other's arms. He'll be hoping they have a long future together.'
We can believe it, based purely on the number of loved-up photos of the pair that Kelly has posted on her Instagram.
[Related article: Kelly Brook posts topless photo of herself online]
[Related article: Kelly Brook debuts new, darker hair before Celebrity Juice filming]
One snap showed the pair cuddling up together with the caption: "New beginnings."
The pair reunited just after Christmas following Kelly Brook's split from boyfriend of two years, Thom Evans.


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Everyday Rewards: Costco American Express vs. AmEx Blue Cash Preferred
Aw nerds! Looks like this page may be out of date. Head over to our Rewards Credit Cards page for updated info.
American Express now offers two new Blue Cash cards: the Blue Cash Everyday and the Blue Cash Preferred. The entire Blue Cash line-up is tailored towards family spending: gas, groceries, typical household purchases. We favor the Blue Cash Preferred over the Everyday, since you get a much higher rewards rate for a $75 annual fee that's offset by a Get $150 back after you spend $1,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months. You will receive $150 back in the form of a statement credit. signup bonus (the Everyday's bonus is Get $100 back after you spend $1,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months. You will receive $100 back in the form of a statement credit.. If you spend $50 a week on groceries, you'll more than make up for the annual fee.
Looking at these rewards categories, the question we had is how the Blue Cash Everyday and the Blue Cash Preferred compare to the issuer's other family-friendly card: the American Express Costco TrueEarnings, which in addition to being a great gas credit card, also privileges travel purchases.
The bottom line: Most people will do better with the Blue Cash Preferred: it gives a whopping 6% back on up to $6k spent on groceries and includes gas and department store purchases in its rewards categories, so you'll earn extra cash back when you shop for clothing/home furnishings/household items at Target, when you buy groceries for a family of four at Safeway, and when you fill up while running your errands.
However, frequent Costco shoppers – particularly those who buy most of their gas there – will prefer the TrueEarnings. Neither of the Blue Cash cards earn bonus rewards on Costco gas, while the TrueEarnings does. The AmEx Costco also pays out in once-a-year Costco vouchers, which have to be redeemed in-store, either for Costco goods or for cash.
So which one is best for you? Depends where you buy your gas
The deciding factor will be where you buy your gas: if you fill up primarily at Costco, you'll be getting 3% back on gas with the Costco AmEx rather than 1% with the Blue Cash. In fact, for all you Hummer owners out there, the Costco TrueEarnings is one of the best gas rewards credit cards around.
Beyond gas, the Costco AmEx also bonuses for spending on restaurants and travel, while the Blue Cash cards favor department stores and supermarkets. So a frequent traveler by land and air who dines out often might find the TrueEarnings to be a better deal. However, in order to make the Costco card worth it, you'd need to spend twice as much money dining out as you do on buying groceries, and spend $3 on travel for every $2 on department stores.
For those who don't spend as heavily on the gas-travel-restaurant trinity, the Preferred is a clear winner with its 6% back on up to $6k spent on groceries a year and unlimited 3% on department stores, which encompass everything from T-shirts to bikes to toilet paper. Unlike the Costco card, the Preferred offers a $100 signing bonus. And rewards are paid out in cold hard cash back, whenever you've earned $25, rather than Costco vouchers you'll only get once a year.
If you aren't driving an SUV, feeding your spouse and 2.5 kids, or buying sundries at Target, you should probably take a look at one of the rotating-category rewards credit cards, like the Chase Freedom. Alternatively, the Citi Forward is geared more toward the city life: restaurants and entertainment get 5% back.
|Blue Cash Everyday
|Blue Cash Preferred
|American Express Costco
|Signing bonus
|Get $100 back after you spend $1,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months. You will receive $100 back in the form of a statement credit.
|Get $150 back after you spend $1,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months. You will receive $150 back in the form of a statement credit.
|Earn cash back: 3% US gas stations up to $4,000 per year in purchases; 2% US restaurants & eligible travel; 1% other purchases. See details.
|Annual fee
|None, but $50 Costco membership required
|Base Rewards
|Gas (non-Costco)
|Gas (Costco)
|Department Stores
|Cash back
|Cash back
|Costco voucher, redeemable for cash
|Rewards redeemed
|Once a year
*Plus, get one year of Amazon Prime after you sign up for a new membership with your Card and meet the spending requirement in the same time period.
**Up to $6,000 spent annually; otherwise 1%
***Up to $4,000 spent annually; otherwise 1%


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Let's be grateful for peace accord–Deles
This Christmas, Filipinos should be thankful for the landmark peace negotiations the government brokered with the Moro and communist rebel groups in 2012, according to Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles.
Deles made this statement in her Christmas message Monday, even as it asked the public to continue extending assistance to individuals displaced by the recent killer typhoon that ravaged several towns in the Davao region.
She said helping those in need during the time of disasters shows "the true spirit of selflessness and solidarity."
"This season, I share with the rest of the Filipino nation the hope that the blessings of peace will continue to unfold and the faith that the gains of the peace process will finally bring us the permanent peace that we all look forward to," Deles said.
"As we reflect on our blessings, let us be reminded that Christmas is an opportune time to share these with our less fortunate brothers and sisters, especially those who have been heavily affected by Typhoon 'Pablo,'" she added.
"Apart from enduring the calamity, they have also been bearing the brunt of armed conflict which has been raging in their areas. It is during these times of disasters, whether natural or caused by human action, that we become more united as a people."
After signing the historic framework agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Deles said government peace negotiators were able to broker a 27-day ceasefire with the National Democratic Front, the political arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines.
She said the ceasefire was the "longest Christmas truce between the two parties."
"Both have agreed to continue discussions that will hopefully lead to an extended, indefinite truce," she said.
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Pronunciation: pyre
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DALLAS, Texas — Lincoln Memorial University head men's basketball coach Josh Schertz has been named the 2014 Red Auerbach Coach of the Year, the Jewish Coaches Association (JCA) announced during a ceremony at the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Final Four this past weekend.
Schertz beat out The College of Idaho's Scott Garson and Southern Methodist University's Larry Brown for the prestigious award, given annually to the nation's top Jewish college coach and named in honor of NBA Hall of Fame coach Red Auerbach, winner of nine NBA championships with the Boston Celtics from 1957-1966.
Under Schertz's guidance, the Railsplitters continued their South Atlantic Conference reign during the 2013-14 season, capturing the league's regular season and tournament championships despite losing four of the top six scorers from the 2012-13 SAC championship squad. It was the program's third regular season and second tournament title in a four-year stretch. Additionally, Lincoln Memorial broke the SAC single-season record for wins (28) and winning percentage (90.3 percent), posting the program's fourth-consecutive 25-win season.
The Railsplitters extended several other significant streaks in 2013-14. The Schertz-led Railsplitters made their fourth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance, while advancing to the semifinals of the NCAA Southeast Regional for the third-consecutive season. Lincoln Memorial also bulged its South Atlantic Conference record of consecutive weeks ranked in the NABC/Division II Coaches poll to 58-straight weeks, which stands as the third-longest active streak and the ninth longest in the 53-year history of the poll.
When Schertz arrived in Harrogate for the 2008-09 season, he inherited a program that had compiled a 33-77 mark in the four previous seasons. Since the 2010-11 campaign, the Railsplitters' propulsion into the national spotlight has come full circle as Lincoln Memorial has racked up 106 wins with only 18 losses, the winningest four-year stretch in South Atlantic Conference history.
Schertz nabbed the Red Auerbach Coach of the Year award on his second go-around as a finalist as he also earned that distinction at the conclusion of the 2012-13 season. Additionally, the Florida Atlantic University graduate is a three-time Clarence Gaines Division II Coach of the Year finalist (2010-11, 2012-13, 2013-14) and a two-time South Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year (2010-11, 2013-14).


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MPSC Recruitment 2015 329 Lower Grade Steno, Assistant
MPSC Recruitment 2015 MPSC Recruitment Board has been realized the recruitment Advertisement in various posts for Lower Grade Stenographer in Marathi or English language selected in these posts. All eligible candidates are apply online in as well as soon in this week. So candidates please check all the new and latest details for CRGB recruitment… Read More »


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Now I feel bad for saying he was ducking Diaz with a fake knee injury. Looks like it was real after all.
Bad news all you GSP fans. Dana White tweets,
GSP blown acl will be out for 10 mos. Now Condit vs Diaz for the interim welterweight title on Feb 4th in Las Vegas!!
The news of the French Canadians injury now puts the UFC welterweight division in scramble. Carlos Condit was scheduled to face Josh Koscheck on the same card, but will now fight Nick Diaz. No word on whether Kos will still be fighting on the card.
Nick Diaz's manager and trainer responds to bad the news,
"It's very disappointing," he said. "We were looking forward to the GSP fight. All of our training has been geared toward that type of fight, and things just changed around on us. It's going to be different type of fight with Condit. Either way, Nick's going to come in prepared."
"I believe he's better than GSP standing and not as good a wrestler, and [he doesn't have] as good of a top game," Gracie said. "I believe standing up, Condit is actually a more formidable opponent. So Nick is not known to force a takedown, so it's actually a harder fight, as far as standing."
Now I feel bad for saying he was ducking Diaz with a fake knee injury. Looks like it was real after all.
Haha. The GSP boring lay n pray era has finally come to an end!
Ok now what…seems awfully suspicious that all of a sudden GSP is hurt …whats this guy doing in his training sessions to get hurt? Supposedly he was one of the best in getting in shape for fight preparation. Just seems to me that he was to fight 2 of the most dangerous guys in his division and both fights were cancelled due to injury? Is this really a situation just to see how Diaz and Conduit fight each other? Anybody that follows UFC knows that Canada is a big money maker for UFC and there are politics involved in UFC. So is UFC trying to make GSP next fight some sort of super fight? and lets see if this fight is on FOX. If GSP next fight goes to FOX imho this GSP tweet was just a show me the money for UFC.
I definitely think GSP has been able to pick and choose his fights. He hasn't been forced to fight all of the time, he's been given large layoffs. Now I think it's backfired on the UFC and GSP. Now that he's hurt and going away for a long time. When he gets back he's going to have to earn his rep back because we'll have forgotten about him by then.
I wouldn't be surprised if it is on FOX. Seems like the right thing to do. If he comes back in the next 6 months then I'll call this a BS motive for withdrawing from a fight. But if he's out for almost all of next year then I'll believe that he's actually hurt.


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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Arkansas Business) -- A government slow down of housing in China wasn't enough to slow down Wall Street.
China's ghost cities
Modest gains on Wall Street coming even as China takes measures to avoid bursting the bubble that is its growing housing market.
The Chinese government on Monday raising minimum down payments for home purchases there. It also pledged to crack down on the number of properties a person can buy.
The massive build-up of the housing marketing has resulted in dozens of newly built, but virtually empty, cities.
Winrock International announces new president, CEO
Here in Arkansas, Winrock International of Little Rock announcing that Rodney Ferguson will become the nonprofit's new president and CEO on April 1.
Ferguson will succeed Frank Tugwell, who is retiring after leading Winrock for more than 14 years.
A former journalist, Ferguson has worked as a consultant on communications and strategy for nonprofits for the past 20 years.
At Winrock, Ferguson will lead a global staff of more than 1,100 with 70 projects currently underway across the globe.
Torii Hunter to help build Univ. of Ark. indoor baseball facility
And speaking of giving back, Pine Bluff native Detroit Tigers outfielder Torii Hunter, is pledging $100,000 to help with the construction of an indoor baseball/track practice facility at the University of Arkansas.
The athletic program is expected to break ground on the 40-thousand square foot project this year. The estimated cost tops out at around $9.5 million and it could take about eight months to complete.
Hunter, one of the highest paid athletes from the state of Arkansas, never played college baseball, but signed with Arkansas out of Pine Bluff high school.
He's been in the majors for 16 seasons.