Cane Pace produces historic dead heat Timesareachanging, Western Terror clocked in 1:52.3 BY TIM MORRIS Staff Writer The real drama at Monday’s Cane Pace was the 10 odd minutes it took to determine if there was an outright winner at Freehold Raceway. To the naked eye, it appeared that stablemates Timesareachanging and Western Terror finished in a dead-heat tie. The camera at the finish agreed, and for the first time in the 50-year history of the Cane Pace and the first time in the history of the Pacing Triple Crown, there were two winners. Timesareachanging, driven by Ron Pierce, and Western Terror, with John Campbell in the sulky, were part of the Perfect World Enterprises-owned entry that delivered the historic one-two finish for both the stable and trainer Brett Pelling during the golden anniversary running of the first leg of the Pacing Triple Crown. The stablemates took different routes to their dead heat. The week before the $334,875 final of the Cane Pace, Timesareachanging did not go to the front at the start and had a tough trip getting park on the outside while Camelot Hall (George Brennan) led from start to finish. Timesareachanging closed with a rush, but came up short behind Hall’s track record 1:51.3. Pierce wasn’t going to let that happen again, urging his horse to the front early. It was rush hour out of the gate as Cat Manzi took Mantacular straight to the rail from the second post position. But before he could settle into the lead, Brennan put Camelot Hall on the rail in first. If that weren’t enough action for the first quarter, Pierce flew up on the outside and took the lead just after the quarter pole, which was passed in 27.0 seconds. Pierce said his original plan was to tuck in behind Camelot Hall, but he saw something in warm-ups that made him alter his strategy. “I decided to attack early,” said Pierce. “I didn’t like the way Camelot Hall was warming up. He didn’t look like himself. If he had looked good I would have dropped in behind him.” Pierce, just elected to the Harness Hall of Fame earlier in the week, proved to be very intuitive. While Timesareachanging was cutting the fractions at the top (56.0 for the half and 1:24.4), his stablemate, Western Terror, found racing room when Camelot Hall went off stride. The alert Campbell took advantage of the opening to move into second, tucked along the rail behind Timesareachanging. That set up a stretch run between the entry to see which one would join the likes of legends Bret Hanover (1965), Albatross (1971), Niatross (1980) and Cam Fella (1982) as Cane Pace champion. It was Timesareachanging trying desperately to hold off the charge of Western Terror. He surrendered ground grudgingly. However, Western Terror inched his way closer with each stride as they approached the finish line together, and together is how they would go down in history, with each clocking 1:52.3. Mantacular was the show horse. “We have two horses alive for the Triple Crown,” Pelling said after the race. Pelling also added that Western Terror got some overdue luck. “He’s [Western Terror] had horrible luck all year,” the trainer said. “He’s a very good little horse. He’s been a victim of pace. His strength is not getting out and attacking.” Western Terror, a son of Western Hanover, the 1992 Cane Pace winner, picked up his second win in 12 starts in ’04. Timesareachanging, the son of Cam’s Card Shark, won his seventh race in 13 starts. Each horse earned $125,577 for their dead-heat victory. For Hall of Famer John Campbell, it was his fifth Cane Pace victory, the most ever by a driver, breaking his tie with fellow Hall of Famer Stanley Dancer. Pierce collected his second Cane win. The other two legs of the Pacing Triple Crown are the Messenger Stakes, Sept. 14 at Harrington Raceway in Delaware, and the Little Brown Jug, Sept. 23 in Delaware, Ohio. For the first time, two horses will go to the Messenger with a chance to win the Triple Crown. The Triple Crown has been in existence since 1956, and in that time 10 horses, including No Pan Intended last year, have swept the three races last year.