Vivid Photo in search of a Crown

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Vivid Photo took Roger Hammer to the top of the harness racing world when they teamed to capture the $1.5 million Hambletonian.

“It’s certainly the thrill of lifetime,” trainer, driver and co-owner Hammer said of the victory at the Meadowlands Racetrack on Aug. 6. “Winning the Hambletonian is a memory that hasn’t changed these months down the road.”

Vivid Photo and Hammer return to the Meadowlands on Saturday in pursuit of another major prize: a Breeders Crown trophy.

The Meadowlands hosts eight Breeders Crowns worth a combined $4.3 million that night. Similar to the Breeders’ Cup, the Breeders Crowns are season-ending championship stakes.

Vivid Photo is back at the scene of his greatest triumph as the 3-1 second choice in the $610,000 Three-Year-Old Colt & Gelding Trot. He was supplemented to the race for $62,500 and drew post five.

This will be Hammer’s fourth Breeders Crown appearance. The 59-year-old self proclaimed “king of the county fairs” from Bedford, Pa. rarely gets to compete in the major races. His best Breeders Crown finish was third, with Keystone Luther in 1994 in the Three-Year-Old Colt & Gelding Pace at the defunct Garden State Park.

Vivid Photo has had an excellent year with 16 wins in 22 starts and earnings of $1.3 million. He has, however, been eclipsed late in the season by Strong Yankee, the 9-5 favorite starting from post three.

Strong Yankee beat Vivid Photo in the final of the Kentucky Futurity at the Red Mile in Lexington and in last week’s Breeders Crown eliminations.