Local Couple’s Horse Wins 90th Hambletonian

The community gathered to cheer on a local couple and their horse in the 90th Hambletonian Saturday evening.

Pinkman, a three year old Standardbred co-owned by Dick and Joyce McClelland, trotted his way to first place from post position two Saturday. We spoke to some of those in attendance at the Eagle Sticks watch party. Racing fan Phil Harris shared his thoughts on the big win.

“Oh its exciting. You know the golf course, it used to be the pasture for the harness racing horses in the area.” Said Harris, “The McClellands are rich in horse racing, you know, so it was exciting for us….Dick and Joyce are great people.”

Jimmy Takter trained and Brian Sears drove the favorite to win to the finish. Greg Ault who was also in attendance said he hopes for a bright racing career for the McClellands.

“It would just be great to see Dick continue to win races and everything.” He shared, “Hes spent a lot of time and effort and years into it and it’s just a really good thing for Dick.”

The Hambletonian is one of the most prized wins in the Harness Racing community. It’s the first leg of the Triple Crown for Trotters. The winnings for the race totaled one million dollars.