EAST
RUTHERFORD, N.J._ Bob “Hollywood” Heyden ranks Art Official’s upset of
Somebeachsomewhere in 2008 as his greatest Meadowlands Pace moment.
Heyden
has seen them all, as a fan and as the Meadowlands Racetrack’s statistician,
television personality and unofficial historian.
Heyden,
inducted in the Communicator’s Corner of the Harness Racing Hall of Fame last
weekend, took a look back in the days before the 2013 Meadowlands Pace unfolds
on Saturday night.
Captaintreacherous
could be the next Pace legend with a mark of 13-1-1 in 15 starts against
nine rivals in the latest renewal of the Meadowlands Racetrack’s signature
event.
The
Pace is a prize that requires extraordinary effort, as was the case with
Heyden’s top Pace memory.
Like
Captaintreacherous, Somebeachsomewhere was an overwhelming favorite heading
into The Pace. A perfect 10 for 10, Somebeachsomewhere was the 1-10 favorite to
keep that streak going.
Art
Official and driver Ron Pierce had other ideas, nipping the heavy favorite by a
neck in 1:47, the mark that still stands as The Pace record.
“Pierce
drove a great race, forcing the undefeated Somebeachsomewhere wide at the half
and beyond to secure the top,” Heyden said. “He then stalked the favorite until
the stretch and then edged out to go by.
“The
end to end action and a huge favorite getting beat in his lone career loss
provided all the ingredients you want in one of the best, if not the greatest,
race ever in Meadowlands history.”
Pierce
will be bidding for a fifth Pace win on Saturday with Resistance Futile, 20-1.
Heyden
went further back for his next Pace memory to 1985, and Nihilator.
It
was an annihilation. Nihilator cruised to a 7 1-4 length win with Bill
O’Donnell at the lines for Bill Haughton, a teaming of Hall of Famers.
“He
secured the Horse of the Year title on this day and never looked back,” Heyden
said. “He used the Meadowlands Pace as more of a statement than anything
else.”
Precious
Bunny shattering the 1:50 barrier in The Pace is Heyden’s third moment. He
tripped the timer in 1:49 4/5 in 1991, beating Artsplace by two lengths as
another odds-on favorite lost in The Pace.
Heyden
then went all the way back to the beginning, to Escort’s victory in the
inaugural Meadowlands Pace in 1977.
Largely
overlooked in a field that included BG’s Bunny, Nat Lobell and Crash, Escort
and trainer/driver Carl LeCause kicked off a new era of big-money stakes and
hard-hitting action at The Meadowlands.
Finally,
Heyden calls Sonsam’s 1979 victory “the most electrifying win” in the 36
editions of the Meadowlands Pace.
“Sonsam
was a supremely talented colt who didn't always behave himself and occasionally
blew up,” Heyden said. “But when he was on his game, there was nothing like it.
He swept past the field from post 10 three and four deep and kept on going,
pulling clear of Hot Hitter in, at the time, a world record 1:53 2/5.”
Fresh
Pace memories will unfold Saturday night during a spectacular 14-race card that
begins at 7:15 p.m. Gates open at 5 p.m. with free admission and t-shirts for
all fans, while supplies last.
This
will be the final Pace at the grandstand where the race originated. The New
Meadowlands Racetrack, currently under construction across from the existing
building, will open on Nov. 23.
