AHDC - Trottingbred Racing at Congress Hill

Trottingbred Racing, long dormant and thought to be all-but-dead in the state of New Jersey, has been re-awakened to begin a new chapter with a modest, but successful two-day race meeting at Congress Hill Farm in Monroe Township, New Jersey over the weekend of June 15^th /16^th.

With the support and participation from Pennsylvania’s Twin Maples and Penn Mar Racing Associations, Congress Hill Farms owner and proprietor, Sam Landy, rolled out the welcome mat to usher in a new era of Trottingbred Racing in the Garden State.

Congress Hill Farm is located about 10 miles from Freehold, New Jersey, just minutes from Exit 8 of the New Jersey Turnpike. It is a multi-functional training facility for Standardbreds as well as horses from many other riding disciplines. It comes complete with an all-weather 5/8 mile-banked stone-dust training track, indoor and lighted outdoor show arenas as well as several areas ideally suited for riding trails. There is even a lake for canoeing and fishing.

The hearty contingent from Pennsylvania came out to insure the success of the first Trottingbred race meet held in the state of New Jersey since the Reagan years. Dick Graybill traveled in from Spring Grove with two of his pacers, Golden Pond Jo-Boy and Golden Pond Add-A-Win as well as the trotter, Windy Hills Winnie. Dave McNew and Liz Glatfelter, also from Spring Grove, brought along their promising Black Jam colt, Raspberry Jam. The Schreibers - Jim, Sandy and Andrew, from Newport, PA, were there with their trotter C.C. Raider. Along with eleven year old Harry Landy’s quick pacer Ugo Pogo, two very competitive-three horse fields were cobbled together to create eight heats of racing over the two days.

After overnight showers and a gray, misty morning, the skies cleared in time for history to be made just after 4:00 PM on Saturday June 15^th when 15 year old Andrew Schreiber and his trotter, C.C Raider rocketed away from the start and stormed around the one-turn course to take the much anticipated first heat. C.C Raider’s time for the half mile was a flat 1:29. Raspberry Jam could not recover after throwing in some extra early steps and finished second for Dave McNew in 1:46.4. Dick Graybill’s Windy Hills Winnie had much the same luck and came in third, finishing the course in 2:06.

The order of finish was the same for heat two, but the Liz Glatfelter-trained Raspberry Jam was very game and shadowed C.C. Raider until deep into the long Congress Hill Farms home stretch. C.C. Raider’s time for heat two was 1:28.3 while McNew guided the son of Black Jam to a much improved 1:30.4 . Windy Hills Winnie was third in 1:57.2.

The pacers also put on quite a show on Saturday as Ugo Pogo, driven by his young owner, Harry Landy, dueled with Golden Pond Add-A-Win with Dick Graybill, with each taking a heat. Heat One went to Ugo Pogo in 1:14.3 while Golden Pond Add-A-Win was declared the winner in heat two as both came to the wire together in 1:10.4. Golden Pond Jo-Boy also competed and came in third in both heats , taking a 1:18.3 mark in heat 1 while being steered by Dave Krepow, then improving to 1:12.3 with a late driver change to Dave McNew in heat 2.

With the races completed for the day, the barbecue was fired up and everyone who participated in the day’s festivities were treated to dinner, courtesy of host Sam Landy. Then, some of the group took the one hour trip up the New Jersey Turnpike to see the Standardbreds race at The Meadowlands. Everyone had a great time, though no one mentioned anything about their winnings (or their losses, for that matter).

The weather on Sunday the 16^th could not have been more ideal and the track was lightning fast. The racing action was even better than the previous day, although the results were almost the same.

The Schreiber’s had C.C. Raider fit and ready to once again wire the field of trotters in both heats, scoring in 1:29.3 and 1:29.2 respectively. Liz Glatfelter and Dave McNew ‘s Raspberry Jam(or "Tazzie" as he is called) raced evenly, coming home in 1:39.4 and 1:40.2. Windy Hills Winnie was a very brave third in both heats for Dick Graybill, finishing in 2:08.3 and 1:54.2.

It was the pacer’s once again providing the fireworks for Sunday’s action. Harry Landy and Ugo Pogo thrilled a contingent of family, friends and a local newspaper reporter, by taking a narrow heat 1 victory over Dick Graybill and Golden Pond Add A Win in a time of 1:06.4 But in a repeat of Saturday’s action, Graybill came on late to take heat two in 1:06.3. McNew and Golden Pond Jo-Boy finished a very even third in both heats, stopping the clocks in 1:08.4 and 1:09.1.

To everyone involved, the inaugural race meet at Congress Hill Farm was an unqualified success. In fact, plans are already in the works to have another weekend of racing at the end of September of this season and, with any luck, be added as a stop in the ITPA schedule next year.