Precious Bunny (May 6, 1988 - April 15, 2015) is a bay

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

pacer and

sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" an ...

Background

Precious Bunny is a bay horse bred in

Cranbury, New Jersey Cranbury is a township in southern Middlesex County, within the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 3,842, a decrease of 15 (−0.4%) from the 2010 census count of 3,857, which in turn ...

. He was sired by Cam Fella who won the

Cane Pace The Cane Pace is a harness horse race for standardbred pacers contested annually since 1955. The race was first run as the William H. Cane Futurity in 1955 at Yonkers Raceway in New York. In 1956 the race joined with the Little Brown Jug and the ...

and

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 ...

in 1982. His dam Bunny's Wish was a daughter of B Gs Bunny. He was trained to be a

harness racer Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australia an ...

. He was trained by Bill Robinson and usually driven by Jack Moiseyev.

Racing career

In 1990, Precious Bunny ran fourteen times, recording his only success in a New Jersey Sire Stakes. As a three-year-old in 1991 Precious Bunny won twenty of his twenty-five races. In June, he won the $1 million

North America Cup The North America Cup is an annual harness racing event for 3-year-old standardbred pacing horses which is held at Woodbine Mohawk Park in Campbellville, Ontario, Canada. The race replaced the Queen City Pace run from 1964 to 1983. From 1984 t ...

Greenwood Raceway Greenwood Raceway (originally Woodbine Race Course) was a horse racing facility in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. History Woodbine Race Course Inaugurated in 1874 as Woodbine Race Course at the foot of Woodbine Avenue and Lake Ontario, it was owned ...

in June. In the following month he was matched against Artsplace, the leading two-year-old pacer of 1990 in the $1 million Meadowlands Pace at

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, East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. The track hosts both tho ...

. Starting second in the betting, Precious Bunny overtook Artsplace on the backstretch and drew away in the straight to win by two lengths in a time of 1:49.4, one of the fastest times ever recorded in harness racing. He later won the Art Rooney Pace and the

Adios Pace The Adios Pace is a horse race for three-year-old Standardbred colts and geldings run annually since 1967 at a distance of one mile at The Meadows Racetrack and Casino, Meadows Racetrack in North Strabane Township, Pennsylvania. Historical race ev ...

. On September 19 the colt started favorite for the Little Brown Jug at

Delaware, Ohio Delaware is a city in Delaware County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located near the center of Ohio, about north of Columbus as part of the Columbus metropolitan area. The population was 41,302 at the 2020 census. Delaware ...

. Racing in front of a record crowd of 52,967 Precious Bunny won his heat in 1:54.1, before winning the final in 1:55.0, beating Nuke Skywalker by three quarters of a length. After the race, Moiseyev said "This is the first time I really started him up that fast. He felt good... He's done everything we have asked him to do and he proved himself today". In the Autumn of 1991, Precious Bunny added victories in the Cleveland Classic, NJSS final and Windy City Pace.

Stud record

Precious Bunny was retired to stud at Hickory Lane Horse Farm in

Findlay, Ohio Findlay ( ) is a city in Hancock County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The second-largest city in Northwest Ohio, Findlay lies about 40 miles (64 km) south of Toledo, Ohio, Toledo. Its population was 40,313 at the 2020 United Sta ...

. He was exported to New Zealand in 2000. He is the sire of Bunny Lake – the United States Harness Horse of the Year in 2001, Precious Delight,

Stout Stout is a type of dark beer that is generally warm fermented, such as dry stout, oatmeal stout, milk stout and imperial stout. Stout is a type of ale. The first known use of the word "stout" for beer is in a document dated 1677 in the E ...

, Bunny's Express Lane, and PB Bullville, who set a record for three-year old pacers of 1:48 for the mile.

Honors

Precious Bunny was voted

Harness Horse of the Year The Harness Horse of the Year is an honor recognizing the top harness racing horse in the United States. The award is selected by the United States Harness Writers Association (USHWA), which issues the annual Dan Patch Award, Dan Patch Awards. T ...

in 1991. He was elected to the

Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 to honour those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness racing, harness and Thoroughbred racing, Thoroughbred horse racing in Canada. It is located at Woodbine ...

in 2004, and the United States Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 2014.

Pedigree

*Precious Bunny was

inbred Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genetic disorders an ...

3 x 4 to Meadow Skipper and Bret Hanover, meaning that these stallions appear in both the third and fourth generations of his pedigree.

References

{{reflist 1988 racehorse births American Standardbred racehorses American Champion harness horses Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductees United States Harness Racing Hall of Fame inductees Racehorses bred in New Jersey Harness Horse of the Year winners Harness racing in the United States Little Brown Jug winners