PR Harness the record of the oval

Pacer

Mike's Night

6 charted starts at Plainridge, 1 win, best mile 1:56.2.

The Record

Mike's Night appears in the surviving Plainridge programs across the 2004 season, with 6 starts for which the official chart records a finishing position. One of those produced a win, and the horse finished in the first three on 3 occasions altogether.

The fastest mile recorded here is 1:56.2, set on Tuesday, September 14, 2004. A harness time is written in minutes, seconds and fifths, so the final digit is a fifth of a second rather than a hundredth. On a five-eighths-mile oval like Plainridge a horse turns four times in a mile, which costs ground against the bigger tracks and makes comparison against the divisional marks misleading.

The winner's line in the chart gives the breeding as MAGICAL MIKE out of LORRYLAND NIGHT, herself by SKIP BY NIGHT. Harness pedigrees are quoted in that order — sire, dam, then the dam's own sire — because the maternal grandsire carries much of the weight in judging a standardbred family.

The classes Mike's Night was entered in run to 4000CLHC, 4000CL, 5000CL. These are condition races rather than claiming events, so eligibility rested on money already won rather than on a posted purchase price.

The drivers who sat behind Mike's Night most often were Ralph H Andersen (6). Driver changes matter more in harness racing than the bare numbers suggest, because the same horse can be driven for early speed or held for a late quarter depending on who holds the lines.

Every Start Held Here

DateRcFinPPTimeOddsDriverClass
Nov 2, 2004 6 2 4 1:57.1 10.00 Ralph H Andersen 4000CLHC
Oct 19, 2004 5 7 2 2:02.2 2.10 Ralph H Andersen 4000CL
Oct 12, 2004 12 3 5 1:57.1 9.00 Ralph H Andersen 4000CLHC
Sep 28, 2004 5 1 4 1:58.2 3.50 Ralph H Andersen 4000CLHC
Sep 21, 2004 9 6 8 1:57.2 31.80 Ralph H Andersen 5000CL
Sep 14, 2004 5 4 1 1:56.2 3.40 Ralph H Andersen 5000CL

All horses in the record

Questions about this horse

What was Mike's Night's fastest mile?

1:56.2, on 2004-09-14. Harness times are read as minutes, seconds and fifths, so 1:56.2 is 1 minute and the rest in seconds — the final fifth is the digit after the last point.

Which drivers sat behind Mike's Night?

Ralph H Andersen took every recorded drive — 6 starts.

Was Mike's Night a trotter or a pacer?

A pacer — every charted start is at the pace. A pacer moves its legs in lateral pairs, a trotter in diagonal pairs, and a horse is normally campaigned at one gait or the other.

What class did Mike's Night race in?

4000CLHC, 4000CL and 5000CL. Each code is a set of eligibility conditions rather than a grade — the class pages explain what each one admitted.

What were the odds on Mike's Night?

The shortest price in the recovered charts is 2.10 to one. Odds are the closing figures printed on the chart, so they reflect what the pool decided at the off, not a forecast.

How many times did Mike's Night race at Plainridge?

The record shows 6 charted starts for Mike's Night, 2004. Those fall across 6 race days. That is what the programmes and result sheets hold, not necessarily the horse's full career: starts made at other tracks are outside this record.

What is Mike's Night's win record at Plainridge?

Yes — 1 win from 6 starts, a strike rate of 16.7%. Adding 1 second and 1 third, Mike's Night finished in the first three on 3 occasions.