Bret Hanover (May 19, 1962 – November 21, 1992) was an outstanding American Standardbred racehorse. He was one of only nine pacers to win harness racing's Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Pacers and won 62 of 68 starts. He was the first horse to be voted United States Harness Horse of the Year three times and remains the only pacer to have received that honor.

Breeding

He was foaled at Hanover Shoe Farms in Hanover, Pennsylvania, on May 19, 1962. Bret Hanover was by the leading sire Adios and out of Brenna Hanover by Tar Heel, a Little Brown Jug winner and a leading sire. At the yearling sales of 1963 Bret Hanover sold for $50,000 the highest priced yearling that year.

1964 season

Trained and driven by Frank Ervin in his 1964 debut season in racing, Bret won all 24 of his starts, including the Fox Stake, Battle of Saratoga, Goshen Cup, Review-Little Pat Stake, American National, McMahon Memorial, Roosevelt Futurity, Ohio Standardbred Futurity, Meadow Lands Farm Stake, Star Pointer Stake and Lawrence Sheppard Pace. He earned $173,298 and was named USTA Horse of the Year, the first two-year-old ever to have been given that honour.

1965 season

As a 3yo in 1965, Bret Hanover won the Cane Pace, Commodore Pace, Matron Pace, Hanover-Hempt Stake, Battle of Saratoga, Reynolds Memorial and Arden Downs Pace remaining unbeaten. The Arden Downs was this 35th consecutive win. His next start was at Springfield at the

Illinois State Fair The Illinois State Fair is an annual festival, centering on the theme of agriculture, hosted by the U.S. state of Illinois in the state capital, Springfield, Illinois, Springfield. The state fair has been celebrated almost every year since 18 ...

track in the Review Futurity, where he suffered defeat for the first time — in the first heat, he was beaten into second place by Adios Vic. However, he would win the second heat in a faster time, claiming the stakes. In the Horseman Futurity at

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, "Bret" won the first heat in 1:55.0 to equal the fastest race mile in history, but he'd again be beaten by Adios Vic in the second heat (1:56.3), forcing a race-off, which was won by Adios Vic. In September, Bret Hanover won the Little Brown Jug setting a world record in the first heat despite rain delaying the start of the race. His time for the two heats was 1:57 and 1:, which was also a two heat world record for a race on a half mile track. He beat Tuxedo Hanover by lengths in the first heat and 2 lengths in the second before a record crowd of 41,200. Adios Vic, the only horse to have beaten Bret Hanover was fourth in both heats. Bret Hanover then won 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 creat ...

Roosevelt Raceway Roosevelt Raceway was a race track located just outside the village of Westbury on Long Island, New York. Initially created as a venue for the 1936 Vanderbilt Cup auto race, it was converted to a ½-mile harness racing facility (the actual ci ...

to claim the Pacers Triple Crown. He won 21 of 24 starts as a 3yo, earned $340,975 and took U.S. Horse of The Year honors again.

1966 season

In his last year of racing, as a four-year-old, Bret Hanover made 20 starts for 17 wins. He lowered the world record to 1:54 and then to 1: at

The Red Mile The Red Mile is a horse racing track located in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. The track hosts harness racing, a type of horse racing in which the horses must pull two-wheeled carts called sulkies while racing. It is one of harness racing's ...

. He was defeated by

Cardigan Bay Cardigan Bay () is a large inlet of the Irish Sea, indenting the west coast of Wales between Bardsey Island, Gwynedd in the north, and Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire at its southern end. It is the largest bay in Wales. Geography Cardigan Bay ha ...

in the Pace of the Century 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, Ne ...

but beat him in the Revenge Pace. He also won his next four races against Cardigan Bay. During 1966, Bret Hanover won several major races, including the American National, Empire Pace and Realization Pace. He also made a start in Canada winning the Autumn Classic before a record Canadian crowd for a harness race of 24,454. In his last ever race, the American Classic at

Hollywood Park Hollywood Park may refer to: Places United States * Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California * Hollywood Park, Chicago, a neighborhood in North Park, Chicago, Illinois *Hollywood Park, Inglewood, an entertainment complex and ma ...

, Bret Hanover set a torrid pace reaching the half mile in 56 seconds and the mile in 1: before tiring. True Duane won with Cardigan Bay finishing second and Bret Hanover third. Trainer and driver Frank Ervin, who was unwell, later admitted he would not have driven Bret Hanover had it not been his last race. Bret Hanover was then retired with a record of 68 starts for 62 wins, 5 seconds and 1 third, and $922,616 in stakes earnings. He was named U. S. Horse of the Year again for 1966. Bret Hanover is one of only nine horses in history to win the Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Pacers. He retired as the fastest and richest Standardbred pacer.

Stud record

Bret Hanover sold to

Castleton Farm Castleton Lyons near Lexington, Kentucky, is an American horse-racing stable and breeding business best known by the name Castleton Farm. History The farm was established in 1793 when Virginian John Breckinridge, a future U.S. senator and attor ...

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

, for a record $1 million. He sired the winners of $64,380,702, including Little Brown Jug winners Melvin's Woe and

Strike Out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safel ...

. He is remembered as one of the best broodmare sires. After his death on November 21, 1992, Bret Hanover was buried at Castleton before his grave was moved to Lexington's

Kentucky Horse Park Kentucky Horse Park is a working horse farm, international equestrian competition venue, and an educational theme park opened in 1978 in Lexington, Kentucky. It is located off Kentucky State Highway 1973 (Iron Works Pike) and Interstate 75, at ...

. The bronze sculpture by Spanish sculptor

Luis Sanguino Luis Antonio Sanguino de Pascual (; born 1934) is a Spaniards, Spanish Sculpture, sculptor who is known for many monumental works, mostly in bronze, both in Spain and in the Americas. After living abroad more than once, including sojourns in ot ...

that had been erected for him at Castleton Farm today stands at his gravesite. In 1994 he was inducted into the United States Harness Racing Hall of Fame. Numerous stories have been written about the horse, including the book "Big Bum, The Story of Bret Hanover".The Story of Bret Hanover
/ref> Bret Hanover bowed to the crowd after every win, his driver Frank Ervin got out of the sulky, and Bret then crossed his front legs and bent over as the crowd responded.

Sire line tree

*Bret HanoverHarness Racing Museum: Bret Hanover
/ref> **

***

Hot Hitter Hot Hitter (foaled 1976), a bay Standardbred Champion racehorse, won two of the Pacing Triple Crown races in 1979 while on his way to setting a single-season earnings record of $826,542 for a harness horse. Purchased as a yearling by trainer Lo ...

**Warm Breeze ***Falcon Seelster **** Shady Character

Reference list

{{reflist, 2