Recently, two of harness racing’s longest standing records for two-year-olds were erased from the books. Last Saturday, filly trotter Honorable Daughter won her Matron Stakes final in 1:55.1, which bettered the mark of 1:56.1 for racing on a five-eighths oval set by CR Kay Suzie in 1994.
Seven days prior, pacer If I Can Dream won his Matron elim in 1:50.4, lowering the world record of 1:51.1 first established by Artsplace in 1990. (Badlands Nitro equaled Artsplace’s record in 2007.)
Entering this year, 19 of the 24 all-age world records (by gait and sex) were set since the beginning of 2000. The trend was particularly strong among trotters, with 11 of 12 all-age marks established in the 21st century. Of the 96 records for each age, gait and sex, 75 were first set since the start of 2000.
“The fact that the record stood so long in this day and age is amazing, there's no question about that,” said John Campbell, who drove Artsplace to his historic 1:51.1 mile in 1990. “But anybody that was there knows the wind conditions were not conducive to setting world records; for him to set a world record in those kinds of conditions that stood so long makes it even that more remarkable. But you had to be there to appreciate it.”
Artsplace set the record in the Breeders Crown final at Pompano Park on November 30. At the time, it was the fastest mile ever for a two-year-old on any size track. It also was the fastest clocking in the 78-race history of the Breeders Crown.
For Campbell, there was never any thought about a record prior to the Breeders Crown. His only concern was beating chief rival Die Laughing. The two, along with Tooter Scooter, reached the first quarter in :26.2 and the halfway point in :53.2. From there, Die Laughing went in reverse while Artsplace, trained by Gene Riegle, charged on. He won by eight lengths over Stormin Jesse.
“He was well within himself in the stretch,” Campbell said. “He was winning by open lengths; it wasn't like under an assault to go faster. He was well within himself doing it.
“He'd shown a lot all fall. I was very confident in what he could do. I wasn't thinking about a record at the time, I just knew we had to park Die Laughing to win the race. Die Laughing was an exceptional two-year-old. We drew inside of him and I had no intentions of letting him go, so it made for a serious first half. Artsplace was just a horse that didn't get tired. He just kept rolling along. He could've gone more if he was urged.”
CR Kay Suzie’s record came at Rosecroft Raceway in a division of the Kentucky Standardbred Sale Company Stakes on September 9. 1994. Starting from post seven with driver Rod Allen, she won by two lengths over Stanley Dancer-driven Lifelong Victory off fractions of :26.4, :55.1 and 1:24.2.
Part of CR Kay Suzie’s success was because she raced with a modified sulky model for the first time.
“She went some unbelievable fractions that day and that's because that bike was rattling and making so much noise,” Allen said with a laugh. “Stanley drew inside me and everybody told me I was in trouble because Stanley never gives up the front end.
“When we got through the first eighth (of a mile), I thought it was awfully nice of Stanley to let me go as easily as he did. When I came in, there were a lot of guys that said there were pacers that didn't go as fast in the first eighth. I didn't even realize she was trotting that much. When I talked to Stanley later, he said he was going as much as he could go and we had them by two lengths when we hit the turn.”
In her next start, CR Kay Suzie set the world record for a two-year-old filly trotter on a half-mile track, winning a New Jersey Sire Stakes event at Freehold Raceway by an astounding 23-1/2 lengths in 1:56.3. That record still stands.
“I remember going across the wire and seeing horses on the backstretch still,” Allen said, chuckling. “That was typical of her. She never had bad days. The bottom line is you've got to have the horse. I'm a believer they come out of the field that way. We don't make them world champions, they're born that way. I'd like to believe we had something to do with it, but it's very little.”
The philosophy of Allen’s father, the late Carl Allen, might have contributed, though.
“Dad was really big on world records,” Allen said. “He really enjoyed accomplishing that. Then when he broke them, he'd try to break them again with another horse of his, even though they were our world records. They don't pay anything extra, but he sure liked to break them.”
After all, that’s what they’re there for.
(HRC)