East Rutherford, N.J. – Always B Miki ($2.10) will always be remembered as a harness racing champion.
The fastest pacer in the history of harness racing capped his career in triumphant fashion, using a sustained first-over bid to overpower All Bets Off and sprint off to a 1:48.2 victory in the $400,000 TVG Free-For-All Pace on Saturday (November 12) evening at The Meadowlands.
David Miller moved Always B Miki first-over out of midfield after patiently stalking sizzling fractions of :25.4 and :54.1, making gradual gains into pacesetter All Bets Off (Matt Kakaley) through the far turn. The 5-year-old Always a Virgin entire pushed to the fore in upper stretch, leaving All Bets Off well in his wake and evading eventual runner-up Mach It So (Tim Tetrick) by 4-1/4 lengths. Melmerby Beach (Marcus Miller) benefitted from the outer flow and saved third with a mild stand-side push over the tiring All Bets Off.
Miller and trainer Jimmy Takter had nothing but glowing reports of Always B Miki's curtain call.
"When I asked him, he took right off," said Miller. "Jimmy [Takter] has done a great job keeping him good all year, and I tell you what, he's good today as he's been all year. He's an incredible horse; he's a true champion."
"It's a wonderful feeling standing here at our home track," said Takter. "He's just a wonderful horse to be around. He's so personable, anybody working with this horse just would love him."
"It's nice to quit on the top, too," Takter concluded. "This horse has a future ahead of him, and it's going to be very, very exciting to train his offspring."
Always B Miki wraps up his racing career with 30 wins in 53 starts–12 of those wins coming this year–as well as $2,719,368 in earnings for the Bluewood Stable, the Roll the Dice Stable, and Christina Takter.
by James Witherite, Meadowlands