Mare Breaks Record for Mile by a Trotter

Beat The Wheel set a world record for a mile by a trotter on Friday, circling the Meadowlands Racetrack in 1:51 4/5.

Beat The Wheel, a 4-year-old daughter of Defiant Yankee, broke the record of 1:52 1/5 set by Mack Lobell as a 3-year-old in 1987 at Springfield, Ill.

Beat The Wheel surged in the stretch to defeat Pine Chip. There was no wagering on the race because there were only five starters including Pine Chip, winner of last year’s Breeders Crown 3-year-old colt and gelding trot and the Kentucky Futurity, third leg in trotting’s triple crown.

“I never even thought about beating Pine Chip,” said Cat Manzi, Beat The Wheel’s driver. “Turning for home, though, she was full of trot. I moved her out and she just blew by.

“She threw a shoe at the quarter pole and it hit her and cut her a little bit on the stifle. She’s a little rocky (coming from) behind sometimes anyway, and losing the shoe made it worse. It’s amazing she stayed trotting.”

Pine Chip finished 1 1/2 lengths behind Beat The Wheel. Racing timekeepers equate one length to one-fifth of a second, meaning that Pine Chip also challenged Mack Lobell’s record. Only the winner’s time is official, however.