Hall of Famer Charles E. "Chuck” Coon died Friday morning, Jan. 30, in Oxford, Mich., after a short illness. He was 86.

Mr. Coon became harness racing's premier innovator in racetrack design, construction and maintenance, and starting gates during his 40-plus year career in harness racing. He adopted such cutting-edge design features as super-elevated curves, which addressed both equine safety and competitive racing at a time when the focus was solely on speed. As the speed rapidly increased, the need for banking continued. Mr. Coon lobbied racetrack managers around the country and eventually rebuilt the majority of the harness tracks in... more...

We've got racing and football in the new and free HarnessRacing Weekend Preview. With this being the holiday of Super Bowl Sunday, how can we not? If you want to see who some horsemen and race officials like in the big game, we've got a page full of picks. Here's a hint though…..the majority like the Patriots.

Of course, our lead story is about Bell A Chick—the trotter, not the Patriots coach Bill Belichick. Owner-driver Steve Smith said Bell A Chick has gotten a lot of attention the past week and it could be even more if the trotter wins Friday night at the Meadowlands. Across the river at Yonkers on Saturday, Classic Gent looks to... more...

As the new year begins, so does foaling season at Winbak Farm. This year the farm is expecting around 300 foals that will be eligible to rich stakes programs in Delaware, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Ontario, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

For the second year in a row, a filly was the first to be born. This year, the
first to arrive was a Muscles Yankee filly out of the mare Call Me Hazel (sired by Call Toll Free), 1:57.2f ($57,916). She was born on January 17th. The filly is a half-sister to... more...

The public's top choice used last-second heroics to capture the Thursday evening finale at Woodbine Racetrack, and because she was so popular she played a key role in ensuring another carryover for the Jackpot Hi 5 wager. The carryover going into Friday evening's 10th race is $206,861.78.

Artistic Madison, who was sent off as the 6-5 favorite, overcame an outside post and a ton a traffic trouble to take home the win by half a length over B Santannas Love (9-2) in 1:56.3. Rounding out the top five finishers were Kiss Me Or Not (14-1), Peppermint Patti (7-1) and Wildcat Magic (3-1).

The winning combination of numbers 9-7-5-4-10 kicked back... more...

The first of the Dash For The "C" Notes mini-series this week at the Meadowlands got underway on Thursday night with the filly and mare pacers. It was contested in four divisions requiring a horse finish first or second to guarantee a spot in the $25,000 final next week. The word of the night was upset.

The first division saw a mild upset as SGT Molly Pitcher (9-2), who led early in the mile, yielded to pressure and re-rallied to score the win in a lifetime best 1:51.2 for driver Vincent Ginsburg. The winner was trained and owned by Robert Ginsburg Jr.

Next up was another upset as Antigua Hanover overcame post 10 to score a sharp first over... more...

Two individuals representing organizations at the forefront of the movement toward model medication rules in the horse racing industry will make presentations at the next meeting of the Ohio State Racing Commission on Feb. 25.

Ed Martin, president of the Racing Commissioners International (RCI), and Dr. Dionne Benson, executive director of the Racing Medication & Testing Consortium (RMTC), will speak during the meeting in Columbus. It will be held in Room South A on the 31st floor of the Riffe Center at 77 S. High St. The meeting will begin at 10 a.m.

The RCI is a... more...

The owners of A Piece Of The Action LLC got more than a piece of the action in a pair of lucrative "Claim To Fame” finals at Miami Valley on Thursday night…they got half of the action and a solid immediate return on investment. They claimed both Regil Tiger, the winner of the $15,900 championship division for $8000 claiming horses and geldings, and Carlina Hanover, the winner of the $19,600 split for distaff $12,500 claimers, just one week ago in the final preliminary leg of the respective series. Both winners were entrusted to new trainer Jeff Nisonger.

Regil Tiger (Josh Sutton) fought off constant pressure over a sloppy track and still managed to pull away to a 1:56.2 score over Orse Power (Tyler Smith) and... more...

On Sunday, March 8, a benefit event will be held in Bay City, Mich., for a horsewoman who is battling cancer.

Jeanne Duso Boudot, a lifelong harness racing participant and Standardbred breeder, was recently diagnosed with stage-four pancreatic cancer. Jeanne is known by many for her love of horses, kids and bulldogs. She is a native of Bay City and currently lives in Freeland.

The event from 12 noon to 6 p.m. on March 8 will include a spaghetti dinner, silent auction, live auction and bake sale to raise funds needed in the wake of the diagnosis. The location is the Bangor Township Hall, 180 State Park Dr., Bay City, Mich. 48706. The dinner,... more...