The Cane Pace is a harness horse race for

standardbred The Standardbred is an American horse breed best known for its ability in harness racing, where members of the breed compete at either a trot or pace. Developed in North America, the Standardbred is recognized worldwide, and the breed can trace i ...

pacers run annually since 1955. The race was first run as the William H. Cane Futurity in 1955 at

Yonkers Raceway Yonkers Raceway & Empire City Casino, founded in 1899 as the Empire City Race Track, is a one-half-mile standardbred harness racing dirt track and slots racino located at the intersection of Central Park Avenue and Yonkers Avenue in Yonkers, New Y ...

in New York. In

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, ar ...

the race joined with the Little Brown Jug and the

Messenger Stakes The Messenger Stakes is an American harness racing event for 3-year-old pacing horses. It was organized in 1956 at Roosevelt Raceway in Westbury, New York (on suburban Long Island) to join with the Cane Pace and the Little Brown Jug to create ...

to become the first leg in the

Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Pacers The Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Pacers consists of these horse races: # Cane Pace, held at the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, New Jersey #Messenger Stakes, held at Yonkers Raceway in Yonkers, New York # Little Brown Jug, held at ...

. The Cane Pace of 2004 resulted in the only

dead heat A dead heat is a rare situation in various racing sports in which the performances of competitors are judged to be so close that no difference between them can be resolved. The result is declared a tie and the competitors are awarded a joint ra ...

in the race's history and one where the two horses had the same trainer and owner. As of 2015, the Cane Pace is run at the

Meadowlands Racetrack The Meadowlands Racetrack (currently referred to as Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment) is a horse racing track at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. The track hosts both thoroughbred racing and harness ...

in New Jersey as part of the undercard for the

Hambletonian Stakes The Hambletonian Stakes is a major American harness race for three-year-old trotting horses, named in honor of Hambletonian 10, a foundation sire of the Standardbred horse breed, also known as the "Father of the American Trotter." The first ...

, the first leg of the

Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Trotters Triple Crown is a combination of three major races in harness racing. The term ''Triple Crown'' is mostly used in the US, but also in France. The term is also used in thoroughbred racing. United States The Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Trott ...

Distances

*2016–present: 1 1/8 miles (1810.5 metres, 9.5 furlongs) (If 12 horses start) *1963–present : 1 mile (1609.3 metres, 8 furlongs) (If no more than 11 horses start) *1955–1962 : 1 1/16 miles (1709.9 metres, 8.5 furlongs)

Locations

*1955–1997 -

*1998–2010 -

Freehold Raceway Freehold Raceway is a half-mile racetrack in Freehold Borough, New Jersey, and is the oldest racetrack in the United States. Horseraces have been taking place at Freehold Raceway since the 1830s. The Monmouth County Agricultural Society was fo ...

*2011 - Pocono Downs (Originally scheduled for Tioga Downs but had to be moved due to flooding) *2012–2014 -

Tioga Downs Tioga Downs is a county-fair-themed standardbred racetrack (5/8 mile) and commercial casino located on a site in Nichols, New York. History Tioga Downs originally was a quarterhorse track known as "Tioga Park" in 1976, closing down after its ...

*2015–present -

Records

; Most wins by a driver: * 5 – John Campbell (1985, 1989, 1990, 2002, 2004) ; Most wins by a trainer: * 4 – Stanley Dancer (1970, 1971, 1973, 1976) ; Stakes record: * 1:47 3/5 – Dealt A Winner (2015) ''Harnessracing.com'' August 8, 2015 article titled "Dealt A Winner upsets Cane Pace in 1:47.3"
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Cane Pace winners

References

{{Meadowlands Sports Complex, state=autocollapse Yonkers Raceway Meadowlands Racetrack Harness races in the United States Harness races for three-year-old pacers Recurring sporting events established in 1955 Cane Pace winners United States Triple Crown of Harness Racing 1955 establishments in New York (state)