Parley Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Local stable hits it big with Green DayBy JASON GUARENTE, Assistant Sports EditorLancaster New EraPublished: Oct 03, 2007 10:01 AM EST LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. - Trainers never know for sure.When they examine horses, they make educated guesses about which prospects will eventually grow into great racers. Trainers often swing and miss. Sometimes they connect.When Jim Raymer picked out Green Day in the fall of 2005, he was another horse with potential just like the many Raymer had seen before.Time has proven that Green Day is more than potential.He's a champion."When I bought him, I didn't believe he'd be this good," said Raymer, who was the only bidder and paid just $6,000 for Green Day at an auction in Lexington, Ky. "If I knew it, other people would have known it too."Green Day is stabled at Ginger Tree Farms in New Holland. He is harness racing's star of the moment. He won the Yonkers Trot — the second leg of the Trotters Triple Crown — last month and has tied the world record for fastest time in the half-mile.After 30 successful years in the training business, Raymer has hit the jackpot."Everyone seems to know me now," he said. "I get my face on magazines and I'm getting my 15 minutes of fame. It's like everybody is your brother all of a sudden."It can all be traced to that fateful day when Raymer bid on Green Day.Selecting standardbred horses is a crapshoot. They don't have the obvious pedigrees of thoroughbreds and — for that reason — they are less expensive.Raymer chooses his horses through traits that seem like vagaries to the outsider, but make perfect sense to people who have spent a lifetime in the business.Why did Raymer choose Green Day?"He had good confirmation, a good eye on his head," Raymer said. "He had the intelligent look."Green Day's sire wasn't fashionable and his mother was unproven. That's why there wasn't a line around the corner to buy him.What Raymer couldn't see two years ago were the intangibles. Race horses are often compared to athletes because they need to have the same desire and competitive spirit to succeed.Green Day obviously has it."He has the will to win," Raymer said. "When you pick a yearling out, you hope they have it. It's the one unknown. We can't define that. If we could, I wouldn't be able to afford to buy anything."Green Day has 10 wins, one second and two third-place finishes in 17 races this year. He has earned over $650,000 in his career.Raymer compared Green Day setting the half-mile world record to Carl Lewis winning the gold medal in the 100-meter dash. It's evidence that this horse has reached the pinnacle of his sport."For him to be the fastest is just evolution," Raymer said. "Someone will beat it a year from now or five years from now. But it is an accomplishment. It shows he is one of those superlative animals."Raymer is a native of Ontario, Canada who has lived in New Holland for the past three years. He has conditioned nearly 350 winning horses and has trained other significant winners, including Scully FBI — who won over $500,000 in prize money.Green Day has become Raymer's crown jewel."Jim has done a wonderful job training this horse," said Sam Beegle, who owns Ginger Tree Farms. "I've watched him throughout. This is a nice colt, but I never thought it would be the colt it turned out to be."Green Day, who didn't race in the Hambletonian, will face his next test at the Kentucky Futurity — the final leg of the Triple Crown — Saturday.It's another chance for this horse from Ginger Tree Farms to make national waves."We were known anyway," Beegle said of his stable. "But now everybody knows us." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randomness Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 i warn you, get ready for "what's it about?" and "as if i'm reading all that" sort of comments. but that is cool i guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trotsky Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Yeah, there are too many stupid people on this forum for you to post a story like this.But it was interesting to read anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted October 5, 2007 Author Share Posted October 5, 2007 i warn you, get ready for "what's it about?" and "as if i'm reading all that" sort of comments. but that is cool i guess.Or the ever-popular "I can't be arsed to read all that." My personal favorite from the semi-illiterate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*withoutadoubt* Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Haha, I get Google alerts about that horse every day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaraGD Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 i warn you, get ready for "what's it about?" and "as if i'm reading all that" sort of comments. but that is cool i guess.Yep, lotsa jerks gonna appear...Well in my opinion, only by the fact that the horse is called Green Day makes this a good thread to read Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurora Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 my friend ( who is a MAJOR horse person ) will be happy when I tell her tomorrow. the horse is obviously fast and the name is a great name for it. although I'm sure it doesn't have the same meaning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jose Luis Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 i read that earlier, but i didn't post it because it hasn't anything to do with the band... or am i wrong? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viva La Junkpile Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 That was an *interesting* read! I kept picturing the band whenever they said "Green Day" though!! XD "paid just $6,000 for Green Day" XD gives me the giggles! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randomness Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 i read that earlier, but i didn't post it because it hasn't anything to do with the band... or am i wrong? no you're not. i think it's just that the horse is called Green Day... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassie. Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 um....interesting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armatageshanks Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 best horse name ever:http://youtube.com/watch?v=Kqj2hkbDnyM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randomness Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 ^that is class i didn't get it until the commentator guy said it, i haven't laughed that much all day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtdscape Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 that is so cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaraGD Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 LMAO that was coolI pitty those commentators Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassie. Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 best horse name ever:http://youtube.com/watch?v=Kqj2hkbDnyM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Under_Fire Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 best horse name ever:http://youtube.com/watch?v=Kqj2hkbDnyMThat is hilarious. lmao. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holes Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 hey thats mildly interesting. hankyou Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
letterbomb_262 Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanah Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Yay for the horse.And yay for the fact that it mentioned Kentucky in the article. And SUPER-yay that it's name is simply awesome.best horse name ever:http://youtube.com/watch?v=Kqj2hkbDnyMThat was fucking rad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharmellow Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Haha, that's pretty cool to name a horse Green Day. :] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. Nobody Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Like the name 8) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sydneygirl Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 I wonder if this Green Day horse looks like Jose Luis' avator horse! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St. Guro Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 best horse name ever:http://youtube.com/watch?v=Kqj2hkbDnyMHaha, hilarious! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saurus Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 pretty good name Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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