New Jersey Classic Pace
| Location | East Rutherford, New Jersey |
|---|---|
| Inaugurated | 1980 |
| Race type | Harness race for Standardbred pacers |
| Website | Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 1 mile (1,609 metres or 8 furlongs) |
| Surface | Dirt, 1 mile oval |
| Track | Meadowlands Racetrack |
| Purse | $150,000 (2016) |
The New Jersey Classic is a race for Standardbred racehorses run annually since 1980 at the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Open to New Jersey-sired 3-Year-Old Colt & Gelding pacers, it is run over a distance of one mile.[1]
Historical race events
1981 Classic winner Caramore was bred and owned by Father Thomas J. O'Connor, pastor at St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church in Freehold Township, New Jersey who owned and bred more than eighty horses.[2]
Records
- Most wins by a driver
- 5 – John Campbell (1980, 1989, 1994, 2006, 2007) & Michel Lachance (1990, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003)
- Most wins by a trainer
- 3 – William G. Robinson (1983, 1993, 1994) & Brett Pelling (1998, 1999, 2005) & James Dean (2011, 2012, 2015)
- Stakes record
- 1:47 2/5 – Panther Hanover (2012)
New Jersey Classic Pace winners
| Year |
Winner |
Driver |
Trainer |
Owner |
Time |
Purse |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Dontcallmefrancis | Yannick Gingras | Ron Burke | Burke Racing Stable LLC, Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Phillip Collura | 1:51 0/0 | $150,000 |
| 2015 | Split The House | Randy Waples | James Dean | James Dean, Scott Horner, Peter Milligan | 1:48 3/5 | $200,000 |
| 2014 | Sweet Rock | Brett Miller | Wayne Givens | Legacy Racing of DE Inc, Reginald Hazzard II, Gary Calloway | 1:49 4/5 | $225,000 |
| 2013 | Lucan Hanover | David MIller | Casie Coleman | West Wins Stable (Ross Warriner), Christine Calhoun | 1:48 3/5 | $250,000 |
| 2012 | Panther Hanover | Sylvain Filion | James Dean | James Carr | 1:47 2/5 | $275,000 |
| 2011 | Big Jim | Phil Hudon | James Dean | James Carr | 1:51 0/0 | $400,000 |
| 2010 | Bg's Folly | Brian Sears | George Berkner | Ginny Berkner, Martin Goldman, Chad Aaron, William Salmeri | 1:49 1/5 | $500,000 |
| 2009 | Passmaster Hanover | Tim Tetrick | Blair Burgess | Brittany Farms & Jeffrey S. Snyder | 1:50 2/5 | $500,000 |
| 2008 | McCedes | Catello Manzi | Christopher J. Ryder | Christopher J. Ryder & Jerry Silva | 1:49 4/5 | $500,000 |
| 2007 | Fresh Deck | John Campbell | Joe Holloway | Val D'or Farms, Ted Gewertz, Schoor-Racing Stable | 1:49 4/5 | $500,000 |
| 2006 | Feelin Friskie | John Campbell | Scott Bell | Wayne Whebby | 1:49 1/5 | $500,000 |
| 2005 | Rocknroll Hanover | Brian Sears | Brett Pelling | Jeffrey S. Snyder, Lothlorien Equestrian Center (Phyllis A. Campbell) | 1:51 0/0 | $500,000 |
| 2004 | Modern Art | David Miller | Joe Holloway | Val D’Or Farms, Milton & Martha Frank, & Ted Gewertz | 1:50 2/5 | $500,000 |
| 2003 | Artesian | Michel Lachance | Cosmo De Pinto | Cosmo De Pinto | 1:50 4/5 | $500,000 |
| 2002 | McArdle | Catello Manzi | Christopher J. Ryder | Norman & Gerald Smiley, Tip Stables, Sampson Street Stables | 1:50 1/5 | $500,000 |
| 2001 | Bettor's Delight | Michel Lachance | Scott McEneny | John B. Grant | 1:50 0/0 | $500,000 |
| 2000 | Riverboat King | Jim Morrill, Jr. | Steve Elliott | Paul L. Bordogna | 1:50 1/5 | $500,000 |
| 1999 | Art's Conquest | Michel Lachance | Brett Pelling | 1:50 0/0 | $500,000 | |
| 1998 | Shady Character | Michel Lachance | Brett Pelling | Sanford & Corinne Goldfarb | 1:51 1/5 | $500,000 |
| 1997 | Arturo | Luc Ouellette | Steven LeBlanc | 1:51 2/5 | $500,000 | |
| 1996 | Falcons Scooter | Ray Remmen | Larry Remmen | Leonard Kolschowsky | 1:52 0/0 | $500,000 |
| 1995 | Jenna's Beach Boy | William Fahy | Joe Holloway | L&L DeVisser Partnership | 1:50 4/5 | $500,000 |
| 1994 | Cam's Card Shark | John Campbell | William G. Robinson | Jeffrey S. Snyder | 1:51 0/0 | $500,000 |
| 1993 | Presidential Ball | Ron Waples | William G. Robinson | Antonio Chiaravalle | 1:51 4/5 | $500,000 |
| 1992 | Western Hanover | William Fahy | Gene Riegle | George Segal | 1:50 4/5 | $500,000 |
| 1991 | Die Laughing | Richard Silverman | Roger Goldstein | Alnoff Stable & Val D'Or Farms | 1:51 4/5 | $500,000 |
| 1990 | Too Good | Michel Lachance | Ronald Knigge | Ronald & Constance Knigge | 1:52 0/0 | $421,970 |
| 1989 | Dexter Nukes | John Campbell | George Gilmour | Thomas A. Dexter | 1:53 2/5 | $500,000 |
| 1988 | Matt's Scooter | William "Buddy" Gilmour | Harry J. Poulton | Gordon & Illa Rumpel, Charles Juravinski | 1:52 0/0 | $500,000 |
| 1987 | Jate Lobell | Mark O'Mara | Mark O'Mara | Joe McCluskey & Kentuckiana Farms | 1:51 2/5 | $500,000 |
| 1986 | Awesome Almahurst | Michael Gagliardi | Michael Gagliardi | Backcourt Stables, Art Phillips, Larry McAllister, Bob Vinecomb | 1:53 3/5 | $470,785 |
| 1985 | Markim's Pride | Bill O'Donnell | Fred Grant | Harold Housman | 1:54 0/0 | $500,000 |
| 1984 | On The Road Again | William "Buddy" Gilmour | Harry J. Poulton | Gordon & Illa Rumpel | 1:53 3/5 | $460,000 |
| 1983 | Allwin Steady | Bill O'Donnell | William G. Robinson | 1:54 4/5 | $537,000 | |
| 1982 | Pitt Boy | Jim Doherty | Frank Giangrande | Frank & Judy Giangrande | 1:54 4/5 | $519,000 |
| 1981 | Caramore | Catello Manzi | Howard B. Camden | Rev. Fr. Thomas J. O'Connor | 1:57 0/0 | $265,000 |
| 1980 | Bold Rush | John Campbell | Fern Paquet | Dr. J. Richard Feldman, et al. | 1:55 4/5 | $300,000 |