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Desert Wind and Ned Bower
http://www.***/hof/0b0.html#NBower
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Eddie Wheeler
http://www.ustrotting.com/hoofbeats/wheeler-jl.htmhttp://www.ustrotting.com/absolutenm/anmviewer.asp?a=26429&z=1http://www.***/publct/drvinf/008drv.html
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Waycount Hanover and Wayne Nickells
from the Aug 1970 Mi-HHA magazine
Waycount Hanover Wins Motor City Pace
Waycount Hanover, invading from Ohio, won the $24,550 Motor City Pace, first of the stakes programs at Wolverine Raceway.
With 17 entered the event went in two divisions, five returning from each for the final dash.
Franklin Jewell, a three-year-old Sampson Direct colt won the first division with a 2:01 1/5 clocking, a time bettered by a fifth of a second by Waycount Hanover as he won in the second elimination division. In the final dash Waycount Hanover, also a three-year-old Sampson Direct colt, reached in 2:00 3/5.
Michigan-owned horses were much a factor in all three of the dashes of the Motor City Pace.
In the first division Sidney and Marguerite Lockhart's Timeaway was a closing third, beaten a bare length for all of it. Merritt Dokey had the drive. Fourth was Knight Desire, owned by Ervin Ross and Viola and Jack Foehr.
Following Waycount Hanover across the wire in the second dash were Adios Pole, owned by Bobby Conn and Johnny G. property of Angus McIntyre. The Gordon Norris-driven Adios Pole was time in 2:01 2/5 and Corky Hammel got Johnny G. across the wire in 2:013/5.
In the title dash it was again a pair of Michigan horses that finished second and third.
Scoring from the 9 post position Johnny G. was closing on the leading Waycount Hanover at the wire, and was beaten less than a length for top gold and glory. Shiaway Dream, the final qualifier in the second division, took third money for owners Meyer Frank and Leon Boring, after a particularly tough trip.
An excellent crowd of 10,295 turned out for the Friday-night renewal of the Motor City.
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Ted Turcotte
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Charlie Fitzpatrick
From Nov 2001 USTA Newsroom:
Remembrances of "Fitzie"
November 21, 2001
-- by Jerry Connors, for the USTA Web Newsroom
Mechanicsburg, PA --- I was very sorry to read of Charlie Fitzpatrick’s passing, for I had much fun with “Fitzie” early in my career.
Fitzpatrick was good friends with Charlie Christy, Liberty Bell’s electrician, and they might occasionally go out and have an adult beverage together after the races. Bruce Stearns was living with Christy at the time, as were Bruce’s assistants, Bob Lindquist or Billy Nader, and they often made the trip with their landlord and Charlie. (I would be there once in a while, too.) And no matter how much fun Fitzie had had the previous night, he was always the first one on the training track in the morning.
Charlie would usually wear back boots with his basically green driving colors and white pants, but Steve Wolf and I discovered a pattern at Brandywine that on those rare occasions when Charlie wore white horsemen’s boots, he would wind up in the winner’s circle a large part of the time. I never asked Fitzie about it.
Charlie probably never paid for a racing program in his life -- he was an expert, a master at wheedling one from the racing office. Fitzie would finish training and come into the Liberty Bell race office and Jim Lynch, Mark Lydon, and Charlie Bishop, the three men in the race office, would scatter in three different directions, but Fitzie always managed to find one of them and get the last program in their drawer.
Fitzpatrick certainly deserved his reputation as an impish Irishman, but let’s not forget that he was a very good horseman, too. The one way to get on Fitzie’s bad side was to say anything remotely derogatory about his beloved Speedy Pick, who was a top Free For All pacer in his day. And when Delvin Miller sent Arndon, then the world’s fastest trotter, to Liberty Bell, under whose shedrow did he reside? Fitzie’s, of course.
Now Fitzie’s up with Saff and Billy and Delvin and some of the boys, teasing Jimmy Lynch, doubtless enjoying himself and still with a little twinkle in his eye.
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Arcadia Jake and Jack Ackerman
from the 1974 USTA Handbook:
ACKERMAN, John M. (Jack) BIRTHPLACE: LaPorte, Indiana
Pompano Beach, Fla. BIRTHDATE: 1-18-26
A graduate of Three Oaks (Mich.) High in 1943; class president, junior year; member Student Council, basketball and baseball letterman, Jack Ackerman and his brother Doug, were both headed for harness racing from birth.
Drove first race in 1938, winning with Lady Three Oaks, at Ludington (Mich.) Fair. His dad told him to warm the mare up "pretty good" as there were some tough ones in the race. "I went the last mile in 2:12" Jack recalls, "then won it in 2:28." Jack has raced such 2:00 stars as Arcadia Jake, Scotch Valley, Russet Hal, Royal Melody, Dorman Creed, Record Time, Poplar Mark, Time Honored and Gay Skipper in 1973.
A cryptographer with the Air Corps in WW 11 (1943-46) he served in Africa and Italy, discharged as Cpl. Through mix-up in papers was sent to front lines, saw two days action and says, "didn't miss many drills, or Church services after that."
Married Naomi Kaufman, of New Castle, Ind., in 1947; two children, Jacqueline Lee and Beth Joan.
Gay Skipper, broken, trained and driven by Ackerman, was sensational in 1973. With Jack always in the sulky, Gay Skipper won $114,124 in 34 starts with 7 wins, 3 of them in sub-2:00, 8 seconds and 7 thirds. He was timed in better than 2:00 on 17 occasions and took his mark of 1:58.3 in winning $31,000 American-National at Sportsman's Park over Ricci Reenie Time, Keystone Smartie, Otaro Hanover and others. He also won for Ackerman in 1:58.4-2:00.1 at Indianapolis and 2:00.2-1:59.4 at Du Quoin, Ill. Not always completely sound, much credit goes to Gay Skipper's trainer for keeping him near top form over a gruelling Grand Circuit schedule.
Year Starts 1sts 2nds 3rds UDRS Money Won
(a) 259 52 ---- ---- ---- ----
1952 99 6 18 18 .222 6,869
1953 122 24 30 16 .377 28,294
1954 129 30 23 16 .373 32,220
1955 139 22 24 28 .321 52,902
1956 101 36 17 16 .503 54,692
1957 204 69 36 27 .480 99,654
1958 157 23 26 29 .300 589557
1959 139 24 19 is .285 43,334
1960 160 21 28 31 .293 45,496
1961 183 26 20 26 .25O 45,842
1962 190 26 26 22 .251 22,107
1963 160 16 25 26 .241 26,335
1964 159 18 24 25 .249 31,288
1965 336 51 39 54 .270 43,096
1966 304 51 39 46 .289 54,031
1967 364 77 59 54 .351 119,277
1968 326 57 42 43 .290 172,287
1969 359 45 49 40 .238 149,034
1970 352 45 39 43 .230 168,787
1971 351 47 42 33 .232 1549657
1972 373 50 38 39 .225 144,217
1973 304 34 44 32 .227 187,908
850 1,740,884
(a) total recorded prior to 1952 2:00 Miles (16)
