Huffmans' work pays off with record

Mi Amigo's training enables pacer to run 1-mile race in 1:58

Thursday, August 3, 2006

By NATHAN LINDQUIST

The Register-Mail

KNOXVILLE - Steve and June Huffman have spent countless hours raising and training Mi Amigo.

For the last three years, they jogged their young harness racing horse four miles a day and spent two days a week speed training the colt for six to seven miles at a time.

In all, Steve Huffman estimated his colt needed 700 to 800 miles of training before he could ever be raced.

But at the Knox County Fair Wednesday afternoon, all the work and sacrifice paid off as Mi Amigo set a track record with a one-mile time of 1:58 to win the 3-year-old colt pace. Of the day's seven total races, Mi Amigo's time was best by almost two seconds.

The Huffmans have been racing horses for about 30 years. They raised Mi Amigo's mother as well at their home in Batavia, Iowa. Though raising and racing horses is a seven-day-a-week responsibility, the Huffmans also work full time in order to support their hobby.

"If you do it, you do it because you love the sport," June Huffman said. "It's not so much the money you win because it's hard to really make a lot of money. You make a lot of money when you sell them. He'll hopefully set a better record later and then you try to sell him for a good price."

For Steve Huffman, the sacrifice of time, money and energy is worth it because horse racing is in his blood.

"Since I was a little boy, all my life," Huffman said about how long he has raced horses. "It used to be a pretty big sport, harness racing was. Now so many other things are out there for the entertainment dollar, it's not as exciting to most people as it was at one time."

In order to offset the $500 harnesses, the $1,500 race bikes and the innumerable other costs associated with harness racing, the Huffmans race their horses in eight to 10 county fairs every summer to win prize money. So far, Mi Amigo has flourished this summer and has set track records in two out of his last three starts.

Mi Amigo's driver on Wednesday was professional driver Tom Busse, who races full-time in Chicago as well as making trips to state fairs all over the state. Horse racing also runs through his veins after his dad started the family tradition 35 years ago.

After winning with Mi Amigo, Busse's day was not done. He ended up racing in six of the seven events and afterwards said he had to leave for Chicago right away for another race that night. The 49-year-old estimated that he raced in 18 fairs last summer.

With no clouds to disturb the blazing sun, the fairgrounds heated up to over 95 degrees, making the multiple races even more grueling for Busse.

"It's a lot less toll on [the horses] than on me," Busse said while wearing a soaking wet grey T-shirt after the races. "It's very hard on me. I can lose around 20 pounds on a hot day like this."

On a sweltering day like Wednesday, Mi Amigo's body also takes a pounding. The Huffman's said an 800-pound horse can lose up to 100-150 pounds in such conditions. When comparing the more glamorous and famous thoroughbreds to harness race horses, Busse said that the pampered thoroughbreds can't stand up to the constant punishment.

Afterwards, Mi Amigo was treated to a hose and sponge bath from his owners, who also add electrolytes to his water to help with recovery. Because of the total workload placed on harness race horses in training, Steve Huffman insisted that, "harness horses are the most finely conditioned athletes in the world."

Results

First Race Winner: 3-year-old Filly one mile pace - Josephine Bow - 2:02

Second Race Winner: 3-year-old Filly one mile pace - Fussie's Finale - 2:00.8

Third Race Winner: 3-year-old Colt one mile pace - Forever Mack - 2:00.2

Fourth Race Winner: 3-year-old Colt one mile pace - Mi Amigo - 1:58

Fifth Race Winner: 3-year-old Filly one mile trot - Hi-Tri - 2:04.4

Sixth Race Winner: 3-year-old Colt one mile trot - Tonbridge - 2:05.6

Seventh Race Winner: Free-for-all one mile pace - Filly Finale - 1:59.8