Muscles Yankee, Miss Easy heading to Goshen

January 15, 2009

Stanley Bergstein, chairman of the Living Horse Hall of Fame nominating committee of The Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame, has announced Muscles Yankee and Miss Easy have been elected into the Harness Racing Living Horse Hall of Fame.

Annual members (in good standing) voted for the two horses they felt exemplified greatness. Their choices are Muscles Yankee, who received 36 percent of the votes cast, and Miss Easy, who received 22 percent of the votes cast. Runners-up were Varenne with 18 percent of the votes, Real Desire with 13 percent and Presidential Ball netting 11 percent of the votes cast.

The 2009 Living Horse Hall of Fame inductees

Miss Easy
(Nominated as Race Horse)
p,2,1:51.2; 3,1:51.1 ($1,777,656) Bay Mare, 1988
(Amity Chef�Pleasure Seeker�Bret Hanover)

After Miss Easy retired from racing, she ranked in the top 50 leading moneywinning pacers for 14 years. During two racing seasons she amassed an amazing $1.77 million in earnings. The first 2-year-old filly to win over a million dollars, she had 32 starts, 25 wins and only missed hitting the board once. Miss Easy became the first pacing filly to break 1:52 at both 2 and 3 years of age.

In 1990, her freshman year, Miss Easy had 17 starts, with 15 wins and total earnings of $1,128,956. She tied Central Park West�s 1988 2-year-old filly record for the most 2:00 miles in a season with 16. She was named the USTA Horse of the Month in September and was awarded year-end 2-Year-Old Pacing Filly of the Year honors. She won four New Jersey Sire Stakes, including the final, and was the first filly ever to be named New Jersey Sire Stakes Horse of the Year. Other major wins for Miss Easy were the Sweetheart (in a stakes record 1:52.3), the Three Diamonds, a division of the Countess Adios (in which she set a new track record), the Lady Baltimore and the Breeders Crown, during which she set a season�s record for a five-eighths-mile track of 1:54.

In 1991, as a 3-year-old, Miss Easy won the Mistletoe Shalee (in a world and race record mark of 1:51.1), the Historic-Ladyship, and a division of the Tarport Hap. She also won the Breeders Crown in a world record 1:52.2f. She was named the USTA August Horse of the Month and at year-end was named the 3-Year-Old Pacing Filly of the Year.

Miss Easy retired at the end of her 3-year-old season. She is the dam of JFK p,3,1:52 ($252,930) and Easycrombie p,5,1:52.3 ($115,972).

Muscles Yankee

(Nominated as Race Horse and Stallion)
2,1:56.3; 3,1:52.2 ($1,424,938) Bay Horse, 1995
(Valley Victory�Maiden Yankee�Speedy Crown)

Muscles Yankee was the fastest 2-year-old trotter in 1997 and the fastest 3-year-old trotter in 1998. In 1998 he was voted 3-Year-Old Colt Trotter of the Year and New Jersey Standardbred of the Year.

As a 2-year-old, Muscles Yankee won six of nine starts with earnings totaling $166,327. He was victorious in the Champlain, International Stallion Stake, Standardbred and the Bluegrass Stakes and in eliminations of the Breeders Crown and the Valley Victory.

Muscles Yankee had 12 starts with nine victories during his 3-year-old season. In 1998 he accumulated $1,258,611 in total earnings, the most money won in North America regardless of age, gender or gait that year. Muscles Yankee won the Hambletonian by three lengths in 1:52.2, establishing himself as the fastest 3-year-old trotter of 1998. Additional wins included the Yonkers Trot, Breeders Crown, Beacon Course and the Bluegrass-Transylvania.

With seven crops of racing age in the record books, Muscles Yankee was the leading moneywinning sire by gait in 2003, 2004 and 2005. He has sired 577 starters with 305 in 2:00 and 58 in 1:55. Their earnings total over $46 million with 112 $100,000 lifetime winners, five $1 million winners and two $3 million winners. Exceptional progeny include Mr Muscleman 5,1:51.1s ($3,582,823), winner of the 2003 Kentucky Futurity; Deweycheatumnhowe 3,1:50.4 ($3,155,178), 2007 2-Year-Old Trotting Colt of the Year and 2008 3-Year-Old Trotting Colt of the Year as well as a winner in the 2008 Hambletonian, Canadian Trotting Classic and Kentucky Futurity; Strong Yankee 3,1:50.3 ($1,434,351), winner of the 2005 Yonkers Trot and Kentucky Futurity; Housethatruthbuilt 3,1:52.4 ($1,164,931); Blur 3,1:55.1s ($1,022,268); and Tom Ridge 3,1:50.2 ($886,144), whose 1:50.2 mile at the 2004 World Trotting Derby made him the fastest trotter in history at the time.

Induction ceremonies for these two extraordinary Standardbred racehorses will take place on Hall of Fame Day, Sunday, July 5, at The Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame�s annual dinner. For information on the Hall of Fame weekend and other festivities surrounding this important occasion visit www.harnessmuseum.comor call or write the museum at P.O. Box 590, Goshen, NY 10924. Phone: (845) 294-6330.

Standardbreds are only eligible for nomination to harness racing�s highest accolade if they comply with the following strict criteria: They must be retired from racing for five years and had a drug-free career. In addition, racehorses must have won 70 percent of their lifetime starts, or gone undefeated in a single season campaign of 12 or more races, or been the winner of $2.75 million lifetime or named Harness Horse of the Year (US and/or Canada).

Stallions must rank among the 10 all-time leading money-winning sires at their gait or have sired at least 100 $200,000 winners or been a leading money-winning sire at his gait in three or more seasons.

Broodmares are automatically elected if they have produced a $1 million winner and two other winners of $500,000 or produced a Harness Horse of the Year (US and/or Canada) and another $500,000 winner. (HOF)

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