Record Crowns for Pierce?

Ron Pierce was recently inducted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame. He is the fourth leading money-earner in history, with $116 million, trailing only John Campbell, Mike Lachance and Cat Manzi. Since the 2003 season, he has won at least two Breeders Crown trophies per year, and a total of 17, good for third place in the history of the series.

Yet don’t expect Pierce to feel satisfied.

“Not to sound greedy,” Pierce said, “but it never seems to be enough. It is the competitive nature of the business, you want to go out and compete and give your horse your best drive. And you want to win. And when you win one you want to win two.”

Pierce could be on the verge of something remarkable Saturday. In the 23-year history of the Breeders Crown, no one, not even the legendary Campbell with his record 41 Breeders Crown trophies, has ever won four on the same night.

With a trio of nearly prohibitive morning line favorites very early on the Crown card, Pierce could be in position for the first one-night “Grand Slam.”

“As drivers we always look forward to nights like Saturday,” Pierce said. “ You do everything a little more. You study the program a little longer. You think about not only your horse, but what every horse in the race is expected to do.”

Pierce has a full plate Saturday night. In addition to drives in all eight Breeders Crown events, he also will be driving Stonebridge Regal for Bob McIntosh and Burning Point for Steve Elliott in Classic Series divisions.

Pierce offered snapshots of his Breeders Crown mounts:

Donato Hanover -- $600,000 Breeders Crown 2-Year-Old Colt Trot:
“He is an outstanding colt, raced very well last week and should be the one to beat.”

Passionate Glide -- $500,000 Breeders Crown 3-Year-Old Filly Trot: “She is definitely the best filly I have ever sat behind. She could be one of the top trotting mares ever.”

Little Miss Dragon -- $600,000 Breeders Crown 2-Year-Old Filly Pace: “Pretty nice filly. I qualified her a couple of times but she’ll need a good trip against the two standouts.”

Global Glide – $500,000 Breeders Crown 3-Year-Old Colt Trot: “He should be much better. He was suffering with a quarter crack but they have that cleared up. He needed race and could be a factor here.”

Caviart Sydney -- $500,000 Breeders Crown 3-Year-Old Filly Pace: “Don’t know a lot about her but she appears to be a very consistent filly and drew well. She could get a piece.”

Kenneth J -- $600,000 Breeders Crown 2-Year-Old Colt Pace: “Linda (Toscano) has done a real nice job with him, he’s still a little green but has a lot of speed and he can win this division.”

Total Truth -- $610,000 Breeders Crown 3-Year-Old Colt Pace: “He is as good as anybody in the race. I just will have to be more observant with him and watch out for him bearing out.” (From BC)

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