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2020 Living Horse Hall of Fame election results announced
January 7, 2020, from the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame
Goshen, NY — The Living Horse Hall of Fame nominating committee of the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame has announced the results of recent balloting to determine the 2020 inductees into the Harness Racing Living Horse Hall of Fame.
Museum members voted for the three horses they felt best exemplified greatness. Their choices are racehorses Always B Miki and Sweet Lou and race mare Bee A Magician. The other nominees were Chapter Seven, Father Patrick and Peaceful Way.
ALWAYS B MIKI (racehorse)
p,5,1:46 ($2,715,368) bay horse, 2011
(Always A Virgin – Artstopper – Artsplace)
Always B Miki leads a trio of equine inductees into the Harness Racing Living Horse Hall of Fame. Chris Tully photo.
Foaled on May 10, 2011, in Gettysburg, Pa., two-time Breeders Crown winner and world champion pacer Always B Miki has a lifetime race record of 53-30-13-3.
In 2013, freshman Always B Miki finished on the board in nine of his 12 starts. In his 2014 sophomore year, Always B Miki won 12 of 19 starts with four second-place finishes, earning $791,482. Major wins included the Monument Circle Pace, Indiana Sires Stakes final and the Tattersalls Pace.
Due to a cracked pastern suffered in the spring, 4-year-old Always B Miki had only four starts in 2015 but won them all, including the Breeders Crown and American-National.
It was as a 5-year-old that Always B Miki made harness racing history. On October 9, 2016, he became the fastest Standardbred ever, winning the Allerage at The Red Mile in 1:46, shattering the one-mile race standard of 1:46.4 and shaving one-fifth of a second off the 23-year-old record that Cambest set in a 1993 time trial. Always B Miki is the only harness horse in history with four 1:47 or faster victories. Other wins that year included the Breeders Crown, Ben Franklin, William Haughton Memorial, TVG Free-For-All, Jim Ewart Memorial and the Hoosier Park Pacing Derby.
Always B Miki was voted 2016 Dan Patch Horse of the Year, 2016 Dan Patch Pacer of the Year and 2016 Dan Patch Older Pacing Horse of the Year.
BEE A MAGICIAN (race mare)
t,3,1:51 ($4,055,865) bay mare, 2010
(Kadabra – Beehive – Balanced Image)
Foaled on Feb. 1, 2010 in Allentown, N.J., world champion trotting mare Bee A Magician has a lifetime race record of 72-45-14-3.
Bee A Magician won 45 races and banked over $4 million in her career on the racetrack. Mark Hall/USTA photo.
Bee A Magician was the leading money-winning 2-year-old trotter of 2012 with $766,652 in earnings and a 13-10-1-1 record, including wins in the Peaceful Way and Ontario Sire Stakes Gold Super Final. She was voted 2012 O'Brien Two-Year-Old Trotting Filly of the Year.
Three-year-old Bee A Magician was undefeated in 17 starts. She set a world record 1:51 mile for 3-year-old fillies and was the year's leading money-winning trotter with $1,547,304 in earnings, a single-season record for Standardbred mares. Major victories included the Breeders Crown, Hambletonian Oaks, Elegant Image, Delvin Miller Memorial, Moni Maker and Simcoe Stakes. Bee A Magician was voted 2013 Dan Patch and O'Brien Horse of the Year, Dan Patch Trotter of the Year, and Dan Patch and O'Brien Three-Year-Old Trotting Filly of the Year.
As a 4-year-old, Bee A Magician earned $421,314 while finishing on the board in 12 of 17 starts, including a victory in the 2014 Breeders Crown Open Mare Trot. In 2015, Bee A Magician claimed the title of top money-winning older Standardbred of the year, garnering $980,845. With 10 wins and five second-place finishes in 18 starts, including victories in the Maple Leaf Trot and Armbro Flight, Bee A Magician was voted 2015 Dan Patch and O'Brien Older Trotting Mare of the Year.
Bee A Magician ended her racing career in 2016, earning $339,750 with four wins, including the Yonkers Invitational Trot and the Mack Lobell Elitlopp Playoff.
SWEET LOU (racehorse)
p,5,1:47f ($3,478,894) bay horse, 2009
(Yankee Cruiser – Sweet Future – Falcons Future)
Sweet Lou, jointly the fastest Standardbred ever around three turns, completes the 2020 Hall of Fame trio. Chris Tully photo.
Foaled on March 4, 2009 in Milton, Pa., two-time world champion pacer Sweet Lou has a lifetime race record of 74-33-11-10. He ranks as the eighth leading money-winning pacer of all time.
In 2011, 2-year-old Sweet Lou won 10 of his 12 starts with two second-place finishes, earning $686,647. Victories included the Breeders Crown in a still-standing world record 1:49 for 2-year-old pacing colts on a mile track, the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes final and the Elevation. He was voted 2011 Dan Patch Two-Year-Old Pacing Colt of the Year.
Three-year-old Sweet Lou earned $1,082,176 in 2012, finishing on the board in 15 of 20 starts. His major win was the Tattersalls Pace. In the following year, 4-year-old Sweet Lou earned $348,638 in 23 starts, including a victory in the Meadowlands Maturity.
In 2014, 5-year-old Sweet Lou won 11 of 19 starts, including a 10-win streak with six consecutive sub-1:48 times. Victories included the Ben Franklin in a world record 1:47f he shares with 2016 Horse of the Year Always B Miki and which still stands as the fastest Standardbred mile on a five-eighths-mile track, William Haughton Memorial, U.S. Pacing Championship, Dan Patch Invitational and the Roll With Joe. Sweet Lou wrapped up his racing career by winning the $500,000 TVG Pace. In addition to earning $1,361,433, Sweet Lou was voted 2014 Dan Patch Pacer of the Year and Dan Patch Older Pacing Horse of the Year.
Standardbreds are eligible for nomination to harness racing's highest accolade only if they comply with the following strict criteria:
AS A RACEHORSE:
• Must be retired from racing for two years.
• Must have won $2.5 million lifetime with two Dan Patch Awards or won $3 million lifetime or been named Dan Patch Harness Horse of the Year.
Horses over the age of 12 that are still racing and meet the criteria are also eligible.
AS A RACE MARE:
• Must have won $1.5 million lifetime WITH two Dan Patch Awards or won $2.5 million lifetime or been named Dan Patch Harness Horse of the Year.
Mares over the age of 12 that are still racing and meet the criteria are also eligible.
AS A STALLION:
• Must rank among the 10 all-time leading money-winning sires at his gait or have sired at least 100 $200,000 winners or been the leading money-winning sire at his gait in three or more seasons.
Always B Miki, Bee A Magician and Sweet Lou will be inducted on Hall of Fame Day, July 5, 2020. The ceremonies honoring these extraordinary Standardbred horses will take place during the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame's annual dinner. For information on the Hall of Fame weekend and other festivities surrounding this important occasion, visit www.harnessmuseum.com from April 2020 onward; write the Museum at 240 Main Street, Goshen, NY 10924; or call 845.294.6330.
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