The Record
Nickels Way appears in the surviving Plainridge programs across 2 seasons, 2003 to 2004, with 12 starts for which the official chart records a finishing position. None of those starts produced a win in the charts held here, though the horse reached the frame on 2 occasions.
The fastest mile recorded here is 1:58.1, set on Monday, July 14, 2003. 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 an oval of five-eighths of a mile like Plainridge a horse turns four times in a mile, which costs ground against the bigger tracks and makes direct comparison of raw times misleading.
The classes Nickels Way was entered in run to FMNW300PS, FMNW200PS, 3000CL, FM3000CLHC, AMATEUR, FMNW250PS. 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 Nickels Way most often were Greg D Bowden (6), Ronald L Cushing (3), Gregory J Annaloro (1). 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
Questions about this horse
How did Nickels Way finish in these races?
Not in the charts recovered here. Nickels Way shows 12 starts without a win, though there were 2 placings — 1 second and 1 third — in the first three.
What was Nickels Way's fastest mile?
1:58.1, on 2003-07-14. Harness times are read as minutes, seconds and fifths, so 1:58.1 is 1 minute and the rest in seconds — the final fifth is the digit after the last point.
Which drivers sat behind Nickels Way?
Greg D Bowden (6), Ronald L Cushing (3) and Gregory J Annaloro (1), plus 2 other drivers taking the remainder. The figure in brackets is the number of drives.
Was Nickels Way 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 Nickels Way race in?
FMNW300PS, FMNW200PS, 3000CL and FM3000CLHC, plus 8 other conditions. 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 Nickels Way?
The shortest price in the recovered charts is 1.60 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 starts does the record show for Nickels Way?
The record shows 12 charted starts for Nickels Way, 2003 to 2004. The name appears on 22 race days in all once entry sheets are counted, because a horse can be drawn into a race and then scratched before it is run. 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.