Miki And Minnie, The Last Martini dead-heat in Breeders Crown Filly Pace

October 26, 2025

Milton, ON — For just the second time in the 41-year history of the Breeders Crown, a pair of horses hit the finish line in a dead-heat for win. Hunteron Born Miki And Minnie and The Last Martini, after finishing one-two in last year’s 2-Year-Old Filly Pace, matched strides crossing the beam in a 1:49.2 mile to tie for the victory in the $822,000 (CDN) Breeders Crown 3-Year-Old Filly Pace on Saturday night at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

The Last Martini (Doug McNair), off at 68-1, pushed from post four and secured a pocket seat with Chantilly (James MacDonald) launching for the lead from post ten heading to a :27 first quarter. Miki And Minnie, the 1-5 favorite, landed in midfield and floated off the pylons through the first turn before advancing up the rim. She brushed towards Chantilly up the backside but stalled once in front, passing a :56.2 half, and eventually cleared control, moving for the final turn.

Miki And Minnie (Dexter Dunn) motored through the final turn as Unreasonable, who tracked the favorite’s cover, pressed the leader with Chantilly in the pocket, and The Last Martini shuffled to third at the inside. Unreasonable gave way after three-quarters in 1:23.1 while Miki And Minnie straightened and quickened for the finish. The Last Martini shook off the pylons and thrusted forward to narrow on Miki And Minnie’s advantage in the final eighth. Miki And Minnie reached for the line while The Last Martini surged in the closing strides, and the two crossed the finish inseparable by photograph. Skywalker Sea (Austin Hanners) emerged from off the speed to take third, beaten three-quarter lengths, and Rodeo Drive Deo (David Miller) rallied from the back for fourth.

“I thought we’re guaranteed second there late, and she just lunged right at the wire,” said Doug McNair, winning driver behind The Last Martini. “I wasn’t sure. Dexter thought I got her, but it’s a little anxious moments there. I said earlier, I’d take a dead heat if we get one, and we got one.”

“I knew it was tight,” said Chris Ryder, winning trainer of Miki And Minnie, “and it’s a long stretch when you’re in front, and I could see the ‘Martini’ filly coming. As a trainer, it’s a little nerve racking. I had an idea there may have been a dead heat. I was hoping for a dead heat. So we’re just thrilled here.”

The dead-heat for win between Miki And Minnie and The Last Martini came five years after the first dead-heat for win in the history of the Breeders Crown occurred when favorite Perfect Sting and 21-1 shot Summa Cum Laude hit the finish together in the 2-Year-Old Colt and Gelding Pace at Harrah’s Hoosier Park.

“To be honest, I don’t generally get very emotional watching the race. And that one I did,” said Jared Bako, trainer of The Last Martini, of winning his first Breeders Crown. “It’s a dream, like people dream of doing this, and I’m just fortunate enough that I’ve had the ability to train a horse like this.

“I thought she’d be very good,” Bako also said. “She drew a good spot, and we prepared her well in Lexington. Dougie’s [McNair] done a good job managing her, along with Jason [Bartlett]. Dougie set her up great for this in Lexington, and just worked out.”

Miki And Minnie added a second Breeders Crown trophy to her resume and became the 57th horse, as well as the 27th pacer, in the history of the series to win two titles. She won the 2024 2-Year-Old Filly Pace at The Meadowlands with a powerful first-over bid to beat The Last Martini by 1-3/4 lengths in a 1:50.2 mile.

“Sometimes she’s just awful lazy and doesn’t want to go, and then when she decides to go like when she did clear, she grabbed the bit and was away again,” Chris Ryder said after the race. “So, you know, it’s a little frustrating, but she picked it up, and it’s just great to have back to back to back Breeders Crowns in her 2 and 3-year-old year.”

Chris Ryder added a third victory in this event, winning in 2010 with Put On A Show and in 2013 with I Luv The Nitelife. Dexter Dunn, winning driver of Miki And Minnie, registered back-to-back victories in the 3-Year-Old Filly Pace after taking last year’s renewal with My Girl EJ for trainer Ron Burke.

Doug McNair won for the first time in this event and collected his third Breeders Crown trophy. He won his first in 2017 in the 3-Year-Old Colt and Gelding Pace with Stay Hungry and piloted Grace Hill to a stakes-record-equaling 1:48.4 win in the 2022 Mare Pace.

A homebred for Craig Henderson, Robert Mondillo and Lawrence Minowitz, Miki And Minnie won her 12th race from 14 starts this season and her 18th race from 25 starts in her career, earning $2,490,270. The filly by Always B Miki-Thats The Ticket paid $2.10 to win.

The Last Martini, a filly by Huntsville-Martinique bred by Crawford Farms LLC, won her sixth race from 14 starts this season and her 10th race from 24 starts in her career, earning $1,506,872 for owner Glenview Livestock Ltd. She paid $26 to win.

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Market Share, It’s My Show move to Hunterton Farm

July 31, 2026

Hunterton Farm has welcomed two new members to its retirement community of accomplished equines. Market Share 5,1:502f ($3,792,101) and It’s My Show p,3, 1:46.4 ($1,541,620) recently arrived at the Paris, KY, farm. “It’s an honor to have horses like them on the farm,” said Steve Stewart, who owns and operates Hunterton with his wife, Cindy. “Market Share was babysitting yearlings at Southwind Farms,” Steve said, “and we’ll probably have him doing that here, and It’s My Show has recovered from a career-ending injury, so we’ll see how he is doing.” Market Share, a son of Revenue S, was born in Paris, KY, where he was raised by his breeder, Hayley Moore. In 2017, Market Share won the Hambletonian for owners Richard Gutnick, TLP Stable, and William Augustine, trainer Linda Toscano and driver Tim Tetrick. At age 4, he won the Breeders Crown, Maple Leaf Trot, and TVG final. When Southwind Farms decided to close its doors, Gutnick started looking for a new home for Market Share. “We wanted to place him at the Kentucky Horse Park,” said Gutnick. “Besides winning the Hambletonian, he was a blue- ribbon winner at the Standardbred Pleasure Horse Show and had been ridden regularly. But we couldn’t get him placed at the Horse Park because they wanted a different breed. Luckily, Steve Stewart said they would be happy to take him at Hunterton, and I’m very happy about that.” It’s My Show’s new home happens to be the place he was born. The 6-year-old gelding by Sweet Lou out of the great Put On A Show was foaled at Hunterton. He is settling in after a year-long recovery from a shattered pastern that required multiple screws to repair. Trained by Linda Toscano, It’s My Show had won the North America Cup, Little Brown Jug, and Canadian Pacing Derby before suffering his injury. “I was given the option to euthanize him,” said Richard Young, who co-owns the horse with Joanne Young. “The vets told me it was 50-50 if he survived. I’m in the business to race, but you have to be able to accept that bad things can happen. But I’m an animal lover, so I said `let’s try to save him.’ I’m very happy the surgery was a success. He was at Mid-Atlantic [Veterinary Clinic] in New Jersey for four months.” It’s My Show’s dam, Put On A Show, still resides at Hunterton and is owned by a partnership that includes Steve Stewart. Hunterton Farm will soon begin welcoming guests to inspect its 2026 yearlings and encourages visitors to ask to see Market Share and It’s My Show.

Unreasonable wins Mohegan Cup in track record 1:48

July 26, 2026

Wilkes-Barre, PA — Hunterton Bred, Born & Sold Unreasonable won the inaugural $75,000 Mohegan Cup for free-for-all pacing mares Sunday evening (July 26) at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, tying Somwherovrarainbow’s 12-year-old track record for 4-year-old pacing mares with a powerful front-end victory in 1:48. That clocking is also the Pocono standard for females of any age. The early rush for prime racing position necessitated Unreasonable to zoom up four-wide to take the lead, with the 1-2 favorite looping three inside rivals, including second choice (6-5) Louies Girl N. The latter pressed on three- then two-wide in hopes of getting a spot near the leader, but with 75-1 shot Front Page Story taking full advantage of track geometry from the rail and maintaining the pocket, Louies Girl N had to back off to third in the wicked :25.2 opener. Just before the :54.1 half, 40-1 Champagne Room (the tote board co-third choice) started an uncovered move that put pressure on Unreasonable, forcing her to reach the three quarters in 1:21. The former’s big raw brush ended on the far turn, and with Front Page Story gapping a bit in the pocket and Louies Girl N locked behind her, Unreasonable was able to maintain a clear advantage with the mildest of coaxing – and the third quarter of :27 or less she paced in the race. Louies Girl N was able to find belated clearance deep in the Pocono Pike to take second, 1-1/4-lengths behind the winner and a half-length ahead of longshot Front Page Story, who in turn preserved third in a photo with fellow longshot The Last Martini. A daughter of Huntsville , Unreasonable had certainly been showing top form coming to Pocono, with two photo losses to Twin B Joe Fresh preceded by a third to Miki And Minnie in the best stakes company North America has to offer. In the Mohegan Cup (named after the Connecticut-based Native American tribe who operates Pocono), Unreasonable showed she can step with the very best of her division as she boosted her bankroll to $237,369 this year and $939,003 lifetime for the powerful combine of trainer Andrew Harris and Punisher 11 Stable LLC. Matt Kakaley had three driving victories to take honors on the Sunday card. Åke Svanstedt guided two winners, both of whom he trained; Brad Chisholm drove two winners, both of whom are trained by Brett Pelling. Racing will be held on Monday (July 27) at Pocono at 1 p.m., with the feature a $21,000 trot for the veteran fast-class performers. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org .

Deuce Pop wins Proud Series final for sophomore trotting males

July 26, 2026

Hunterton Born & Raised Deuce Pop (Andy McCarthy, 1:53.2; $3.30) rushed wide around the last turn to snatch command and hold to the finish for the victory in the Proud Series final for sophomore trotting males at The Red Mile. McCarthy landed toward the back of the pack to a :28.1 first quarter as Yo Billie (Verlin Yoder) climbed toward and then planted on the lead before a :56 half. Yo Billie cruised unfazed on the lead to three-quarters in 1:24.4 while Deuce Pop roared three-wide and rolled for the finish with steam. Deuce Pop ripped past Yo Billie and bore in through the stretch as Zillionaire Kemp (Tim Tetrick) stormed onto the scene from near last late, but McCarthy kept Deuce Pop to task to the finish for a half-length win. Gorilla Sighting (Atlee Bender) gave chase at the inside for third. Randy Jerrell trains and co-owns Deuce Pop, a colt by Tactical Landing -Atlantic Crest, with partners Atlantic Trot Inc. and Steve Stewart.

Redice won the second division of INSS at Hoosier Park.

July 25, 2026

Anderson, IN — Hunterton Born and Sold Redice snatched the lead on the final turn to win the second division of INSS at Hoosier Park on Saturday (July 25). In the second division, Bender scored with the pocket-sitter Redice as the 5-2 second choice for trainer Erv Miller. Leaving from the rail, Ridice secured the pocket-trip behind a revved-up Satin Serenade (John De Long) who took control of the field of nine to the quarter in :27.3. The lead duo remained the same to the half in :57, before 6-5 favorite Dance Remix (Jordan Ross) tipped to the outside from fourth. Anticipating that move, Redice moved to the outside on the far turn, snatching the lead from Satin Serenade before three-quarters in 1:26.4. Redice was gone from there, powering clear by five lengths in a dominant in the stretch to win in 1:55. Dance Remix got up for second, with Finish Big (Robert Taylor) third. It was the second win in four outings this season for Redice. The daughter of Rebuff -Fuzzy Dice was bred by Kjell Andersen, Lucas Wallin, and Pieter Delis and has banked $68,750 for owners Ervin Miller Stable, Anthony Lombardi and Stepbystep racing.

Wendy J Stings among Kindergarten winners at Big M

July 25, 2026

East Rutherford, NJ – Hunterton Born & Sold Wendy J Stings was one of the 2-year-olds that walked down victory lane Friday night (July 24) at the Meadowlands when eight $25,000 second leg divisions of the Kindergarten Classic Series were contested for competitors of each sex and gait. In a split for filly pacers (race 2), Wendy J Stings picked up her first career win in three tries, but needed the judges to intervene to do it. The daughter of Perfect Sting -Paula’s Power, who was sent to the gate as the 5-2 second choice in the field of six, sat fourth to the half before mounting a superb rally first-over. The Chris Ryder trainee collared leader Perfect Body, the 2-5 favorite, at the sixteenth pole, but she bore out nearing the wire, bothering Wendy J Stings, who was elevated to first by the judges in the official order of finish. Perfect Body was placed second with Gift Of Faith third. The time for the mile was 1:52.2. “She is really good. She made a pretty good move up to the turn,” said winning driver Todd McCarthy. “There was a little contact just before the wire. We kind of got pushed aside. She’s got a really good attitude and did a really good job. I was very pleased with the performance.” Wendy J Stings paid $7.60 to win.

Topville Lucky wins Nadia Lobell for 3-year-old pacing fillies

July 19, 2026

Columbus, OH – Just before the four $100,000 Grade 3 events at Eldorado Scioto Downs on Saturday, storms rolled through the area, but after nearly an hour long postponement, the races did not disappoint with some exciting finishes. It was a mad dash to the wire in the Nadia Lobell for 3-year-old pacing fillies with Topville Lucky and Andrew McCarthy getting up to win in 1:50.2. I’m A Lou Lou and Tim Tetrick went to the lead midway through the first turn and set the fractions of :27, :55.4 and 1:23. Topville Lucky got the second over tow behind Sangria Summer (Brett Miller) and by the third-quarter was sitting fourth. At the top of the stretch, McCarthy fanned Topville Lucky wide to get up for her first victory of the season by a quarter length. Sangria Summer was second with Shacarri (Chris Page) coming up the passing lane to be third. “I’ve watched this mare race a lot; she’s got a lot of high speed if the trip works out,” said McCarthy after the race. “I was just lucky enough to get a decent trip in there and, you know, she did her job in the stretch.” Topville Lucky went off at 6/1 and paid $14.00 By Sweet Lou out of the Somebeachsomewhere mare Warrawee Winx, Topville Lucky was a $27,000 Harrisburg purchase from Jeremy Yoder. Owned by Punisher 11 Stable, Topville Lucky now has seven wins in 10 lifetime starts and $422,000 in earnings.

Fragment romps in NYSS leg at Tioga

July 18, 2026

Nichols, NY — Hunterton Bred, Born & Sold Fragment (Jason Bartlett) captured the $123,900 leg of New York Sire Stakes (NYSS) for sophomore colts and geldings at Tioga Downs on Saturday (July 18). Knoxville (Tyler Buter) was first to the quarter in :27.4, but Fragment ($2.24) wasted no time taking over the lead with a lap to go. On the engine, the favorite led to the half in :55.4 and cruised to three quarters in 1:23.2. As they reached the stretch, Fragment found another gear and left second second- and third-place finishers Knoxville and Fearless Partners (Colin Kelly) is his dust. Fragment stopped the clock in a lifetime best time of 1:49.3. Fragment is a 3-year-old colt by Huntsville trained by Per Engblom for owners Douglass Sipple, Peaceful Acre Farm, and Engblom Farm LLC. The victory was his third win this season and 12th career tally. Bartlett registered a driving hat trick while Dan Daley had a driving-training double. Kelly and Leon Bailey collected driving doubles and Jared Bako added a training double. Tioga Downs returns to live racing on Sunday (July 19) starting at 12:30 p.m. For more information visit www.tiogadowns.com .

Miki And Minnie wins Cleopatra Invitational

July 18, 2026

Hall of Fame driver David Miller picked up the drive behind Miki And Minnie and gave the 4-year-old mare a perfect steer to capture Saturday's $100,000 Cleopatra Invitational for older pacing mares at Scioto Downs in a sizzling 1:48 3/5 mile. Sent off as the heavy favorite, Miki And Minnie got away fifth in the early stages as Always B Naughty and Austin Hanners made two aggressive moves through a 26 second first quarter to secure command. Second choice Three Times Bettor left and took a tuck in third for Chris Page. Approaching the half, Miller moved Miki And Minnie and flushed the cover of Three Times Bettor. With a half in 54 seconds, the pace picked up noticeably on the backstretch as Always B Naughty protected the lead and Three Times Bettor applied pressure, reaching three-quarters in 1:21 1/5. Miller sent Miki And Minnie three-deep late on the final turn, and the Chris Ryder-trained mare took off and rolled home powerfully. Yannick Gingras steered Louies Girl N from well back in the pack for the place spot with Three Times Bettor settling for third. It was the fifth win in seven starts this year for the Chris Ryder-trained mare owned by Craig Henderson, Robert Mondillo and Lawrence Minowitz. As the 1-5 public choice, Miki And Minnie returned $2.60 to win.

Jula Florence in NYSS at Buffalo Raceway

July 15, 2026

The second division, worth $55,750, saw Jula Florence ($4.66) take the victory over Wavy Xavier by a half length in 2:00.0 with the tempo setting Little By Little (Jason Bartlett) finishing in third at Buffalo Raceway on Wednesday afternoon (July 15). Little By Little was able to take the battle for early control with splits of :30.0, 1:00.4 and 1:31.0. But with a quarter mile to trot, the action picked up as Jula Florence and Wavy Xavie got into contention. Around the final bend, Jula Florence pulled to the outside while Wavy Xavie made her closing bid in the passing lane, sandwiching Little By Little. In the stretch, Jula Florence got on even terms then was able to slowly pull away to score with Wavy Xavie taking a solid second place and Little By Little finishing in third. Co-owned by the Andy Miller Stable, Inc., Windsong Stables and Domain Haven Farms, LLC, Jula Florence ( Chapter Seven -Jula Shes Magic) is conditioned by Julie Miller. The victory was worth $28,750 and pushed her career earnings to $31,750.

Dame Frances Rips Track Record in Oak Grove KYSS Final

July 13, 2026

Oak Grove, KY — In just the second start of her career, Erv Miller trainee Hunterton Born & Sold Dame Frances fired first up on the rim to the last turn and kicked by pacesetter Banana Beach to win the $80,000 Kentucky Sire Stakes (KYSS) final for 2-year-old pacing fillies under wraps in a track-record 1:50.4 mile on Monday (July 13) at Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel. Leaving from post 6, driver Atlee Bender landed into fourth with 3-5 favorite Dame Frances while Banana Beach (driven by Ronnie Gillespie) grabbed command from an inside draw to a :26.1 first quarter. Gillespie settled on the lead but kept the pace strong to a :55 half as Bender readied his charge for an attack in the backside. Dame Frances edged off the pegs in the backstretch and punched forward to match strides with Banana Beach past three-quarters in 1:23.2 before crisply disposing of that rival in the lane while pulling clear for victory by a widening 3-1/4 lengths under a hand drive. Banana Beach held second from Sweet As Silk (Todd McCarthy) in third with Bordeaux Station (Scott Zeron) rallying from last for fourth. A filly by Pebble Beach -Coronet, Dame Frances remains unbeaten from two starts with $60,000 earned for owners Ervin Miller Stable Inc., Andy Miller Stable Inc., Stepbystep Racing and Bryn Campbell. Her 1:50.4 mile, a lifetime best, lowers the track record for 2-year-old pacing fillies set last year when Caviart Daisy won the KYSS final. She paid $3.44 to win.