RYDER LOOKING FORWARD TO 'FRESH' START
Twin B Joe Fresh, the 2024 Dan Patch Horse of the Year, will return to the races Sunday (May 25) for her 2025 debut when she meets seven rivals in the $100,000 Grade 3 Betsy Ross Invitational for older female pacers at Harrah’s Philadelphia ...
HIGHTSTOWN, NJ -- May 22, 2025 -- Twin B Joe Fresh, the 2024 Dan Patch Horse of the Year, will return to the races Sunday (May 25) for her 2025 debut when she meets seven rivals in the $100,000 Grade 3 Betsy Ross Invitational for older female pacers at Harrah’s Philadelphia.
Last year, Twin B Joe Fresh won the Betsy Ross by 6-3/4 lengths in a stakes- and track-record 1:48.2 for driver Dexter Dunn and trainer Chris Ryder. Overall last season, the daughter of Roll With Joe-Fresh Breeze finished no worse than second in all 13 of her races, winning 11 and earning $895,562 to lead all older pacers in money.
She captured eight of the nine most lucrative races for pacing mares, including the Breeders Crown Mare Pace, Dayton Distaff Derby, Roses Are Red, Milton, FanDuel Mare Championship, Lady Liberty, and Dorothy Haughton Memorial.
Dating back to November 2023, Twin B Joe Fresh has won 12 consecutive stakes or invitational finals. Only two of those victories were by less than a length.
Twin B Joe Fresh heads to the Betsy Ross off victories in three qualifiers at The Meadowlands. She won over a surface labeled “good” in 1:53 on April 26, in 1:51.3 (last quarter in :26) on May 2, and in 1:51 (middle half in :53.4) on May 10.
“She qualified well, and Dexter is happy with her,” Ryder said. “It’s hard to get ready to race without any overnights, but that’s the reality of it. Last year, I put her in against the boys at (Philly) and she was all right, but I didn’t really want to do that again.
“Like I’ve said before, we’re trying to do what we did last year, take it one week at a time. She’s nice and strong and doing really well. We’re anxious to get racing. It seems like a long time since we’ve raced. Soon enough, we’ll be there.”
The most recent horse to be voted Dan Patch Horse of the Year in consecutive years was the Hall of Fame trotting mare Moni Maker, in 1998 and 1999.
Twin B Joe Fresh is the eighth Horse of the Year recipient to return for at least one more season of racing since 2012. Five of the previous seven are Hall of Famers: Bee A Magician, Wiggle It Jiggleit, Hannelore Hanover, McWicked, and Shartin N (elected this year). All but one of the seven earned better than $360,000 in the season after their Horse of the Year campaign, led by Wiggle It Jiggleit ($1.71 million), McWicked ($1.03 million) and Test Of Faith ($820,043). Each of those three received divisional honors in the U.S. or Canada.
For her career, Twin B Joe Fresh has finished outside the top three only twice in 40 races, winning 30 and finishing second on seven occasions. She has earned $2.33 million.
“She’s done a great job,” said Ryder, who owns Twin B Joe Fresh with Dunn, Peter Trebotica, and Barry Spak. “I know it’s a lot to ask her to do it again, but why not? I think it’s the best thing to do with her. You’re always a little bit anxious, but everyone has got a lot of faith in her, including us. It’s going to be fun to watch her.”
Noted Dunn after Twin B Joe Fresh was named Horse of the Year in February, “Hopefully, she comes back great and races great again. I’m looking forward to it. In my mind, everything she does now is a bonus, she’s done everything that’s been asked of her. For me, it’s not pressure, it’s more like just enjoy it. This is probably the ride of a lifetime.”
Twin B Joe Fresh will leave from post five in Sunday’s Betsy Ross. Among her foes will be My Girl EJ, who was the 2024 Dan Patch Award winner for best 3-year-old female pacer and is making her seasonal debut, and recent Grade 1 Blue Chip Matchmaker Series winner Aardie B Miki N.
Sunday’s card at Harrah’s Philadelphia also features the $100,000 Joseph Auger Memorial Invitational for older male pacers and $100,000 Maxie Lee Memorial Invitational for older trotters. Both are also Grade 3 events.
The Auger Memorial field includes 2024 Dan Patch Award winner Abuckabett Hanover, 2023 Dan Patch Award winner Bythemissal, two-time defending race winner Ruthless Hanover, and recent Grade 1 MGM Borgata Pacing Series winner Mossdale Ben N.
The Lee Memorial field includes millionaires Amigo Volo and Aetos Kronos S, last week’s Arthur J. Cutler Memorial third-place finisher Antognoni S, and multiple-stakes-winner Sir Pinocchio.
Racing begins at 12:40 p.m. (EDT) at Harrah’s Philadelphia. For free TrackMaster past performances for Harrah’s Philadelphia, visit the Pennsylvania Harness Horsemen’s Association website here.