Ohio reinsman Dan Noble is chasing the North American Driving Championships title, and thinks the best place to win it is at Northfield Park.
Dan Noble of Wilmington, Ohio, is tied for the lead in the North American Driving Championships this week, and he thinks the best place for him to win the title is at Northfield Park.Noble says he needs to race as much as possible, and keep posting wins if he's to beat George Brennan, one of America's richest drivers this season.
While Noble has been feasting on the lower-level races at Scioto Downs and Northfield Park, Brennan has major victories. On Aug. 6 at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J., Brennan won both the $1.5 million Hambletonian with Broad Bahn and the $1 million Hambletonian Oaks with Bold and Fresh.
Noble and Brennan were tied on Wednesday with 688 driving victories this year. While Noble's horses have earned $2.1 million, the high-profile Brennan has rung up $13.7 million in win nings.
To top the prolific Brennan, Noble plans to race five nights a week at Northfield Park through Dec. 31.
"It means a lot for the harness racing industry here to have an Ohio guy to win the driving championship," said Noble, 28, by telephone as he got ready to head to Maywood Park in Chicago. Noble will handle a couple of stakes stars there on Friday night's 29th annual Windy City Pace Night card. One of his rivals is Brennan. Noble and Brennan knock heads in the $70,000 Cinderella for 3-year-old pacing fillies. Noble is handling Crossthread, a winner last time out, while Brennan drives Fresh Idea. In the $127,800 Abe Lincoln Pace for 2-year-olds, Brennan has the rail with Dick McTracy while Noble drives morning line pick Caviart Key.
Brennan is chasing the night's biggest purse. He will be in the sulky for Breeders Crown champion Betterthancheddar in the $175,000 Windy City Pace for 3-year-olds, a strong 3-5 early pick to win his fifth in a row and 10th in 17 outings this season.
The son of Ohio Hall of Fame horseman Sam "Chip" Noble, Dan Noble is enjoying his best year of harness racing.
"A lot of that has to do with experience," said Noble. "These days, I choose the horses I race, greatly increasing my number of winners. The long, three-hour drive from my home to Northfield Park hasn't been any fun at all, but I'm starting to get used to it. I like driving at Northfield. It's a nice track, and I can keep really busy. The other horsemen have teased me a little, but they've been really supportive."
Noble had the lead in the national standings for months, but had an aching back recently and had to take a night off, and fell behind Brennan. Noble jumped back into the spotlight, winning seven of nine starts on the 13-race card on Nov. 9.
"I really wasn't satisfied," said Noble. "Winning seven races made it a fun night, but I thought I could have won with all nine horses I drove that night. The other two finished second."
Looking ahead: The final stakes race of the season at Northfield Park is the $150,000 Cleveland Classic on Dec. 10. It is also the country's last stakes race of 2011 for 3-year-old pacing colts, and Racing Secretary Dave Bianconi is still looking for supplemental entries.
"Last year, we had a couple of top 3-year-olds come in as supplemental entries for the Cleveland Classic," said Bianconi. "This is the last stake available for them, and some owners might want to get in one more race (before the horses become 4-year-olds on Jan. 1). There has been some interest from the owner of Mystic Desire, who'll be going in the Windy City Pace, a horse that has won in 1:50 this season."
The supplemental entry fee is $15,000.
Amateurs on the oval: Northfield Park is hosting the Midwest Regional Final of Saturday night's C.K.G. Billings Harness Driving Series, a competition for amateur drivers. The eight reinsmen will be matching their skills in a $6,000 trot, with the top four earning a spot in the season-ending Delvin Miller Memorial Gold, Silver and Bronze Championships at The Meadows in Washington, Pa., on Dec. 2.
Tops in October: After ringing up four wins in four starts in October at Northfield Park, Desired Entry has been named Ohio's Horse of the Month by the Ohio Chapter of the U.S. Harness Writers Association.
A 4-year-old son of Real Desire, Desired Entry paced a career best of 1:56.1 here on Oct. 10. Trained by Jack Fisher and driven by JD Wengerd, Desired Entry is owned by Sharon Kay Fisher of Circleville, Ohio.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: degan@plaind.com, 216-999-5158
Source: http://www.cleveland.com/horseracing/index.ssf/2011/11/noble_chases_national_driving.html
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