When harness racing trainer Anthony MacDonald got to the boarder Sunday morning and was asked how long his stay in the US was? He paused; the answer was 6 days but it felt like many more. In a span of five days he raced at six different tracks in two countries.
His pace only to be out done by the performance of thestable.ca class of 2017. Winning races in four states and amassing just over $170,000 US dollars in earnings thus far.
When asked in an interview how he plans to keep this pace up? MacDonald answered quickly, "truthfully we have a lot of great clients, and I mean alot", said MacDonald with a smile. Its a great feeling having 278 people rooting for you, and it really puts a charge in your engine. But without my wife Amy none of this possible, running our Ontario operation and taking care of two kids while I'm gone? Now that's a real work horse."
"There is no shares of her for sale for sure" he laughs.
When asked about thestable.ca in the US MacDonald was clear, "there is no way to explain it, other than luck. Sure we work incredibly hard, but lots of other trainers do as well though. We bought these horses because we believed they were being undersold and they fit our program of affordible ownership.
People are seeing now there is quite a difference between undersold and cheap and value can be found in many yearlings for many different reasons. With a good eye and some good old fashion racing luck you will always have a shot to win."
One of those winners is lawmaker ($49,788.00). A $20,000 Lexington purchase last year who is undefeated in the sire stakes in Pennsylvania. A perfect 2 for 2 taking a lifetime mark of 1:56 at the Meadows on July 15th.
"We have had some offers, and we are looking at a couple right now, but these are very fluid situations and very dynamic groups. You almost have to be a politician sometimes." smirks MacDonald.
"We certainly didn't think we would ship into one of the toughest jurisdictions on earth and stay mowing down $350,000 yearlings, but that's part of the allure of horse racing, you really just never know.
Having Andrew Harris with us is also a real feather in our cap, he plays a huge role and has done an incredible job for us. We are certainly lucky to have him affiliated with thestable.ca"
"We row a pretty big boat right now, with 278 clients along for the ride of their lives. By the looks of the horizon we are going to need a bigger boat." said MacDonald.