Charlie Keller, III leaves legacy bonus for breeders

Charlie Keller III was a generous and benevolent man in life, who passionately supported the sport of harness racing. Besides carrying on the legacy of his father’s Yankeeland Farms breeding and racing empire, he was an accomplished athlete and a devoted supporter of the racing industry.

His many contributions included serving as a director of the Hambletonian Society for 20 years and as chairman of the executive committee, as well as his five-term tenure as a District 11 director for the U.S. Trotting Association (USTA) and integral member of that association’s Finance Committee. Coupled with the family’s Yankeeland Farm legacy, Charlie’s accomplishments and sterling character were acknowledged by his peers with induction to the Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 2016, where he also became a trustee.

Upon his passing in 2021, Charlie left an honorarium to the Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown to be gifted to the winning breeder of the Breeders Crown Mare Trot, a race that will bear his name on the memorial trophy.

For the next decade, the winning breeder of the Crown Mare Trot champion will receive the Charlie Keller Memorial Award, a $10,000 bonus.

The $350,000 Breeders Crown Mare Trot takes place on Saturday, Oct. 29 at Woodbine Mohawk Park in Campbellville, Ontario as one of 12 year-end championship series. The 2022 edition attracted eight of the top distaffers in North America, with total earnings of over C$9 million. The bonus will be presented after the race to the winning breeder in the Diamond Creek Winner’s Lounge by Keller nephew Dan Bittle.

“Most people who knew Dad were well aware of his deep love and passion for our industry,” said Charlie “Chaz” Keller IV.   “This award will not only recognize and reward the breeders of truly great trotting mares that become Breeders Crown Champions but will also carry on the legacy that Dad hoped to preserve by supporting and promoting our great sport of Harness Racing.”

The event choice stemmed from arguably the most famous “Yankee” that Charlie’s father bred in the early days of Yankeeland Farms of Frederick, Maryland.  A daughter of Hickory Pride-Pert Yankee-Titan Hanover foal, Fresh Yankee was a $900 yearling purchase from the Yankeeland consignment. She would go on to race until 1972 and earn $1,294,252.

Fresh Yankee was North America’s first “million dollar” trotter and second in the world list only to the famous French mare Une de Mai. Her awards and victories would fill pages. Fresh Yankee was the season or world champion for seven consecutive years and retired as the leading money winning American Standardbred of all time.

Prior to the farm’s dispersal, Yankeeland was responsible for the winners of nearly $70 million in purse money. In the Breeders Crown series their starters have banked more than $1.5 million, with Crown champions like Yankee Cashmere, Muscles Yankee, Strong Yankee and Yankee Slide. The Yankeeland-bred Hambletonian winner Muscles Yankee went on to be one of the most influential trotting sires in the sport, responsible for three consecutive Hambletonian winners in Deweycheatumnhowe, Muscle Hill and Muscle Massive.

To those who knew Charlie and his family and friends, it comes as no surprise that his legacy and generosity will continue to reverberate in the sport of harness racing long after his passing.

by Moira Fanning, for the Breeders Crown