Staying Together
Known as “Stanley” by those who worked with the Standardbred pacer, Staying Together retired from racing with remarkable credentials.
He was very sweet and was known as a teddy bear. He loved to be scratched and made funny faces if you hit the right spot. He also gave hugs. If his handler hugged him around the neck, he brought his head down on their back to return the gesture. Stanley was very trusting. He only had one eye and was completely blind, so he relied solely on his handler to guide him. Because of this, he wasn’t presented in the Hall of Champions shows, but was found in his paddock where guests could visit with him.
Staying Together packed a lifetime of achievements into the 1993 racing season. He won five races in a row, defeating the best older pacers on the continent. In the Driscoll Series at the Meadowlands, Stanley paced the fastest race mile in history, stopping the clock in 148.2.
He was voted harness racing’s Horse of the Year, as well as Aged Pacing Horse of the Year in 1993, and is a member of the Canadian Racing Hall of Fame.
Standardbred (Pacer)
Bay Gelding
Foaled April 16, 1989 at Kentuckiana Farm in Kentucky
Died October 28, 2019 at the Kentucky Horse Park
By Panorama out of Happily Involved by Armbro Alert
Owner: Robert Hamather
Trainers: Jack Parsons (as a three-year-old) & Bob McIntosh (as a four-, five-, and six-year-old)
Titles / Awards
U.S. Harness Horse of the Year (1993)
Canadian Harness Horse of the Year (1993)
U.S. Pacer of the Year (1993)
Canadian Pacer of the Year (1993)
U.S. Champion Aged Pacer (1993)
Canadian Champion Aged Pacer (1993)
Paced the world’s fastest race time on a one-mile track (1:48.2) (1993)
Paced the world’s fastest race time on a 5/8 mile track
Paced the world’s fastest race time on a 1/2 mile track (1:49.1) (1993)
First Standardbred to pace two sub-1:50 miles (he did it twice within 8 days)
Notable Wins
Canadian Pacing Derby
U.S. Pacing Championship
American-National Maturity (twice)
Breeders’ Crown Open Pace
Driscoll Series
Graduate Series
Des Smith Classic
Stewart Fraser Memorial
Frank Ryan Memorial
Mohawk Gold Cup
Harness Racing: Pacing
Harness racing is a form of racing only open to Standardbreds (in North America). This form of racing involves horses pulling carts with drivers controlling them. Standardbreds perform either at the trot or at the pace when they race. Pacing is a gait in which the horse moves his legs laterally (right front and right rear, left front and left rear). Pacing is slightly faster than trotting and horses who pace are less likely to break gait. Pacing is more popular than trotting in the United States.
Hall of Champion Resident
September 1995 to October 2019
