Dunn breaks Breeders Crown record

East Rutherford, NJ — Twin B Joe Fresh (Roll With Joe) and driver Dexter Dunn capped off the Breeders Crown harness racing weekend in style at The Meadowlands.

Dunn picked up his record-setting sixth driving victory of the weekend when he guided Twin B Joe Fresh to a 1:49 win in Saturday’s $400,000 Mare Pace, the last of 12 Breeders Crown events hosted by The Big M over weekend. Twin B Joe Fresh, harness racing’s No. 1-ranked horse, defeated Kobe’s Gigi by 1-3/4 lengths, missing the stakes record by one-fifth of a second. Sylvia Hanover was third.

TWIN B JOE FRESH REPLAY

The triumph was the fourth of the night for Dunn and followed his two-victory performance Friday. His six wins set the Breeders Crown record for the most driving wins in a year, breaking the previous record of five set by David Miller in 2015 at Woodbine Racetrack.

Dunn, a New Zealand native who moved to the U.S. in 2018, has won 21 Breeders Crowns since his debut in the series in 2019. His total is the eighth most in the 41-year history of the event.

“It’s a thrill,” Dunn said. “Not in my wildest dreams did I think that this weekend would happen when I moved over here. I’ve had so much support, so many good horses to drive. It’s just been a great ride.”

Dunn won Friday with 2-year-old female pacer Miki And Minnie and 2-year-old male trotter Maryland, then added Saturday wins with 3-year-old female pacer My Girl EJ, 3-year-old male pacer Mirage Hanover, 4-year-old male trotter Winner’s Bet, and Twin B Joe Fresh.

“I had a lot of great horses to drive this weekend, but it’s Breeders Crown, it’s not easy,” Dunn said. “It’s tough racing. You saw it tonight, there were a lot of tough miles. But the trainers had them ready and they performed.”

Twin B Joe Fresh, owned by a group that includes Dunn and trainer Chris Ryder, performed much like she has all season. The 4-year-old notched her 10th win of the season in 12 starts and upped her seasonal earnings to $827,062.

She came into the Breeders Crown final off a second-place finish from post 10 in her elimination last week but left no doubt about Saturday’s outcome after taking the lead at the half and opening a 3-1/2 length lead in the stretch.

“She felt so good tonight,” Dunn said. “Going to the gate, she was up on her tippy toes and that’s a sign she was ready to rock and roll. Coming around the last turn, she just felt so good. I called on her and she changed gears and sprinted off well.”

Twin B Joe Fresh opened this season with a second-place finish against male foes before reeling off nine consecutive victories heading into her Breeders Crown elim. With her triumph in the Breeders Crown, she has won seven of the eight richest races of the season for pacing mares, including the Roses Are Red, Dayton Distaff Derby, and Milton Stakes.

“I’ve been trying to take it one race at a time,” Ryder said. “Dexter has been looking after her, we really haven’t bottomed her out. Basically, we wanted to keep her good for this week. We had a hiccup last week, but we got over that. I was pretty sure she was a hundred percent tonight.”

In addition to Dunn and Ryder, Twin B Joe Fresh is owned by longtime Ryder assistant Peter Trebotica and Barry Spak.

“It means a lot,” said Ryder, who won two Breeders Crowns over the weekend. “It’s been very exciting all year. We started out the year and we were pretty confident with her. Then she started winning and kept winning and it’s just been fantastic. She’s got a lot of support. I just didn’t want to disappoint tonight. It’s a big relief for me.”

Bred by Brittany Farms, Twin B Joe Fresh has won 29 of 39 races and hit the board a total of 37 times. She has banked $2.26 million lifetime.

Sent off as the 1-9 favorite in the Mare Pace, she paid $2.10 to win.

BREEDERS BETTING A CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT: All-source handle on the 14-race card totaled $4,356,475, capping a record Breeders Crown weekend. Since the four races on Friday and eight on Saturday format went into existence, The Meadowlands total of $7,372,478 in 2021 stood as the standard.

Until last night.

When you add Friday’s total wager of $3,369,424 to Saturday’s action, you get the new mark of $7,725,899, an average per race of $275,924 for the weekend’s 28 total dashes.

“We want to thank our horsemen and employees for putting on such a great show at the 2024 Breeders Crown at The Meadowlands,” said track Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Jason Settlemoir. “And, of course, we want to send our appreciation out to all of the owners who had horses on the card as well as our faithful fans, who always show up in a big way on the big nights and create the big betting numbers.”

A LITTLE MORE: Not surprisingly, Dexter Dunn’s four wins on his historic night at the races led the driver colony. … Ron Burke led the trainers with three walks down victory lane. … Pick-4 betting was potent as both the early ($122,044) and late ($107,866) editions of the 50-cent base bet each sported pools in excess of $100,000. … Racing resumes Friday at 6:20 p.m.

For complete race results, click here: US Trotting results.

by Ken Weingartner, for the USTA