Double millionaire pacer Vintage Master was honoured on Saturday night in an official retirement winner's circle presentation following the Presidential Series Final at the Meadowlands Racetrack.
Vintage Master finished second in the first round of the Presidential Series on Jan. 14 and won his second leg division in 1:49.1 on Jan. 21. During the Jan. 28 program, he finished fourth in the 1:49.1 final, just half a length off the winner, Golden Receiver, after closing in :26.2 from third over.
The connections of the the six-year-old sired by Western Ideal out of Arts Vintage announced in late December that he will stand in Ontario at Winbak Farm of Canada for a $3,500 stud fee.
Vintage Master ends his career with a record reading 17-15-15 in 74 starts and $2,162,979 earned in purses. He is bred and owned by Brittany Farms and the Brian Monieson Revocable Trust, and trained by Jimmy Takter.
Vintage Master won the Adios, Cane Pace, and divisions of the Bluegrass Series and Tattersalls Pace as a sophomore. He was also second in the New Jersey Sire Stakes Final for the second straight year, New Jersey Classic and the Meadowlands Pace, and third in the Battle of the Brandywine and Progress Pace. At four, he earned his 1:48.1 mark in his Ben Franklin elimination and captured the final the following week. He also hit the board in the U.S. Pacing Championship that year. Vintage Master later placed in the Dan Patch as a five-year-old.
“He’s a very consistent horse and he had some really great moments,” said Takter in a recent interview withHarness Racing Communications. “Making $2.1 million, there’s not too many horses doing that. He’s had a good run.”