By: Kyle Moylan
There is nothing quite as satisfying for a harness racing driver as winning the Hambletonian for the first time.
The thing that made Saturday’s victory so sweet for two-time winner Ron Pierce, however, is that he was starting to forget the first one.
Mr. Pierce, a resident of Clarksburg, drove Donato Hanover to victory in the 82nd annual Hambletonian at The Meadowlands Racetrack on Saturday, in a time of 1:53.2. Mr. Pierce had previously driven American Winner to a Hambletonian victory in 1993.
"This one is better than the first because it took me so long to win it again," Mr. Pierce laughed. "The funny thing about the Hambo is winning it once makes you want it that much more.
"Winning it is tough. I’ve been in it almost every year," said Mr. Pierce, who raced in 10 Hambletonians. "I should have won it a couple more times. I had a great horse, but I’ve had other great horses. This year I had the best horse, but in horse racing you never know what will happen."
Fortunately, Donato Hanover was ready. He was trained expertly, driven professionally and cared for lovingly. The caring part came courtesy of Chesterfield’s Ann Christin Johnsen.
As the caretaker for Donato Hanover, Johnsen was in the winner’s circle to cheer her boy home.
"He’s very, very smart," Johnsen noted of Donato Hanover. "He never did anything wrong; he always did what you asked him."
This was good news for Mr. Pierce, who had the right horse and the right time for a Hambletonian win. If you’re only going to win the Hambletonian twice, might as well wait until the purse for the race got up to $1.5 million before getting the second victory.
Mr. Pierce’s ability to improvise on the track Saturday was a clear indication why he is in the Harness Racing Hall of Fame. It’s also why he went home and chewed down a victory steak on Saturday night.
"The speed hasn’t been holding out here (on the track) all day, and everybody knew it, so everybody wanted to take a shot from the back," Mr. Pierce said on Saturday after the race. "As slow as we were going, I even wanted to come from the back today. As slow as we were going, I had no choice but to go the front. I backed into everybody and I was surprised no one came sooner. I knew what I had. I did have to (ask him) twice. Not that I had to, because he was going to win anyway, but I wanted to make sure he kept trotting to the wire."
Pampered Princess, trained by East Windsor’s Jimmy Takter (a former Allentown resident) made a run at the top of the stretch, but she didn’t get a chance to do much more than nod hello to her brother (Pampered Princess and Donato Hanover were both sired by Andover Hal) before fading.
"It didn’t work out," noted Tim Tetrick, the driver of Pampered Princess, the lone filly in the race. "I was hoping there would be a lot of speed, but nobody left from the gate. There was just no speed in the race and there was speed all day. There were cheap fractions at the half. I took a shot at Donato in a speed duel. (Pampered Princess) was good. She got tired late because I extended her. I wanted to make Ronnie go for the whip. I tried to win. It just didn’t work out."
Adrian Chip made a strong late run to finish second and Laddie placed third. None of the horses were the match of Donato Hanover, who as a heavy favorite paid $4, $3 and $3.
"Ronnie went out with no preconceived notions," noted David Scharf, one of the owners of the horse. "He was going to play it by ear. He almost put the horse to sleep. When the filly (Pampered Princess) came out, it took him a bit to get the horse going again."
Even so, Mr. Pierce was confident with what Donato Hanover had in reserve.
"I knew my colt could do more if I had to," Mr. Pierce said. "I didn’t have to. I just had to give him a couple taps. "A lot of people said he hadn’t been challenged. He got challenged today and everyone saw what happened."
What happened was Donato Hanover won for the 13th straight race. Pampered Princess finished sixth. Don’t Blink Twice, also trained by Takter, placed eight. Great Success, driven by Millstone’s Mike Lachance, placed fifth.
This was a day for Donato Hanover and a couple of racing veterans to remind everyone how good they are at their jobs. The win even brought out tears of joy from trainer Steve Elliott, who had never won the Hambletonian before. His horse, Valley Victory, was a favorite for the 1989 race, but came down with a virus and had to be scratched.
"It’s always emotional when you win a race like this," Mr. Elliott said. "This is what trainers strive to win." And Mr. Pierce was happy to play his part in helping out his friend.
"It means a lot (to win this for Elliott). Steve and I were kids rubbing horses back in the 1970s," Mr. Pierce said. Now the two can rub the Hambletonian winner’s checks and trophies.
"I said early in the week that the trip would win the race and being that we got so slow to the half, we made it our trip," Mr. Elliott said.
And after one great trip, Mr. Pierce was planning another.
"I’m going to go home, have a steak and take a dip in the pool," Mr. Pierce said after the race. "I also have some packing to do because I’m going to Alaska on a fishing trip. I’m going to celebrate it that way."

