The Pacing Triple Crown is a series of three major harness races for three-year-old Standardbred pacers. It consists of the Cane Pace, the Messenger Stakes, and the Little Brown Jug. It was inaugurated in 1956, one year after the Trotting Triple Crown. A horse that wins all three races becomes a Triple Crown winner and is presented with the Pacing Triple Crown trophy.[1]
The Little Brown Jug is the oldest of the three races. It has been held since 1946 at the Delaware County FairinDelaware, Ohio.[2] The Cane Pace was inaugurated in 1955 as the Cane Futurity and was initially raced at Yonkers Raceway; it has been held at Meadowlands RacetrackinEast Rutherford, New Jersey since 2015. The Messenger Stakes was founded in 1956 at Roosevelt Raceway and has been raced at Yonkers Raceway in Yonkers, New York since 2006.
Adios Butler became the first Pacing Triple Crown winner in 1959.[3] There have been 10 Pacing Triple Crown winners: Adios Butler (1959), Bret Hanover (1965), Romeo Hanover (1966), Rum Customer (1968), Most Happy Fella (1970), Niatross (1980), Ralph Hanover (1983), Western Dreamer (1997), Blissful Hall (1999), and No Pan Intended (2003). Western Dreamer and Blissful Hall are the only living Pacing Triple Crown winners.
| Horse | Year | Driver | Trainer | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adios Butler | 1959 | Clint Hodgins | Paige H. West | Paige H. West and Angelo Pellillo |
| Bret Hanover | 1965 | Frank Ervin | Frank Ervin | Richard Downing |
| Romeo Hanover | 1966 | George Sholty | Jerry Silverman | Lucky Star Stables and Morton Finder |
| Rum Customer | 1968 | Billy Haughton | Billy Haughton | Louis and Connie Mancuso and Kennilworth Farm |
| Most Happy Fella | 1970 | Stanley Dancer | Stanley Dancer | Egyptian Acres Stable |
| Niatross | 1980 | Clint Galbraith | Clint Galbraith | Clint Galbraith, Elsie Berger, Niatross Stable |
| Ralph Hanover | 1983 | Ron Waples | Stewart Firlotte | Waples Stable, Inc., Pointsetta Stables, Inc. (Stewart Firlotte), Grants Direct Stable (Richard Dinner and Norman Keyes) |
| Western Dreamer | 1997 | Michel Lachance | William Robinson | Matthew J., Patrick J. Jr. and Daniel J. Daly |
| Blissful Hall | 1999 | Ronald Pierce | Benjamin Wallace | Daniel Plouffe |
| No Pan Intended | 2003 | David Miller | Ivan Sugg | Peter Pan Stables Inc. (Robert Glazer) |