Fox Valley a series force

A quartet of horses bearing Fox Valley as part of their names will be among the 10 sophomore pacers heading into Saturday night's $88,000 Junior Trendsetter final at the Meadowlands.



Fox Valley Appeal and Fox Valley Bigshot are both in a position to make a clean sweep of the Junior Trendsetter after victories in the series' preliminary legs, while Fox Valley Cruiser and Fox Valley Slam It each have a victory and a second in the prelims.



All four were bred at Dr. Kenneth and Patricia Walker's Fox Valley Standardbreds of Sherman, Ill.



Fox Valley Appeal, the 6-5 morning line favorite in Saturday's second race, is by Sportsmaster, while the other three contenders are by Richess Hanover. Dr. Lon, another Fox Valley-bred, finished behind the Top 10 money-earners and was not eligible for the Junior Trendsetter final.



"We're rooting for them all," said "Doc" Walker. "I feel really fortunate to be the breeder of this many horses in a stakes race. Of course, you aim to be the breeder of all of them. Our foals have been racing well. They've been racing in Illinois, but they're starting to get out there and that's what we like to see. We have a pretty good sire stakes program in the state (of Illinois), but the overnight purses have been low and some of the trainers have been coming to New Jersey."



Dr. Walker and his wife, Patricia, have been breeding Standardbred racehorses for more than 30 years. The veterinarian sold his practice in 1977 in order to devote his full attention to their budding breeding operation.



"My wife and I have always named our foals Fox Valley," he said. "We began breeding horses in 1974 and each year we got a little more involved in it. We moved to our farm, which is near Springfield, in 1990. Now we're at the point where we think we have enough mares."



The Walkers' 400-acre farm in Sherman is home to three pacing stallions: Richess Hanover, Sportsmaster and Incredible Finale; and recent trotting additions Vaporize and International Chip. The farm also hosts a select sale of yearling prospects every summer. Top Fox Valley producers include millionaires Million Dollar Bye and Ohyouprettything.



"We breed 400 mares a year to our stallions and keep about100 babies," he said. "It's certainly enough to keep us busy. We have a lot of 2 year olds that look promising. Of course, they better look promising at this time of year. We've been fortunate to be in the top five or six nationally in numbers of wins and money."



The $88,000 Junior Trendsetter is one of five Winter Series finals on tap this weekend at the Meadowlands. Also slated are the $100,000 Cape & Cutter and $64,000 Tender Loving Care on Friday and the $65,000 Exit 16W and $79,700 Aquarius on Saturday. (Meadowlands)

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