Hall of Fame

 



miss easy

Year of Induction: 
2009
Year of Birth: 
1988
Inducted as a: 
Racehorse
Immortal: 
Yes
Election Into Living Hall of Fame: 
2009
Year of Death: 
2014
Gait: 
Pacer
Record: 
p,2,1:51.2; 3,1:51.1
Earnings: 
$1,777,656
Sire: 
Amity Chief
Dam: 
Pleasure Seeker
Sire of Dam: 
Bret Hanover
Biography: 

Miss Easy, the eleventh foal of Pleasure Seeker, was bred by Stoner Creek Stud Inc. of New Canaan, CT. Early assessments of her abilities differed. Norman Woolworth, co-owner of Stoner Creek, observed that she did not impress everyone; however, that did not include co-owner Alice Johnston, who felt that this first crop Amity Chef filly “led the pack” from the beginning. When the farm released her yearling video, she immediately caught Hall of Famer Lou Guida’s eye. “She was the greatest filly I’ve ever seen,” Guida remembered. “I took one look at her, and I said ‘My God, she’s a monster; she looks like she could just eat up the racetrack. I’m buying her no matter what.’” He admits that he saw a lot of faults in her – so many in fact that he was reluctant to let his trainer, Bruce Nickells, see her – but he had to have her. Nickells was hesitant but consented to her purchase. Miss Easy was registered to Royal Palm Stables, a syndicate which included Lou Guida as the corresponding officer as well as John R. Champine, Charles E. Block, Samuel J. Cantor, Howard T. Clark, Jr., Edward E. Dean, and John F. Swanson.

Miss Easy began her training at Sunshine Meadows in Delray Beach, FL and quickly took to pacing. “She could do it so [easily]…she was so talented and could do so much more than the others at the time,” Nickells stated. Unlike other pacers who tend to swing their hind legs out when they race, Miss Easy kept hers in line and moving forward so that no motion was lost. In June 1990 John Campbell drove her to her first win at The Meadowlands in 1:59.4 and immediately knew there was something special about her. After that first victory, she began a winning streak of more than ten races and set two track records of 1:54 in the Countess Adios and 1:52.3 in The Sweetheart – which was also a stake record. Campbell remembered, “She did it so [easily]. She’d been awesome before, but that night she could have gone even more. She just cruised.” Impressed with the filly’s success thus far, Lou Guida’s wife Rose acquired a partnership in her just in time for the exciting second half of Miss Easy’s freshman season.

Although Miss Easy was already fast for a freshman filly, in late September she lowered her record again and this time set a world record of 1:51.2 for two-year-old pacers of either sex. She continued on with wins in the Three Diamonds Filly Pace, The Lady Baltimore and the Breeders Crown Two-Year-Old Filly Pace and closed her freshman season of seventeen starts with fifteen wins and total earnings of $1,128,956 – making her the first two-year-old to win over one million dollars. In addition, she tied Central Park West’s 1988 two-year-old filly record for the most 2:00 miles in a season – sixteen. She was named New Jersey Sire Stakes Horse of the Year (the first filly to have that honor) as well as the USTA Horse of the Month in September and USTA Two-Year-Old Pacing Filly of the Year.

Miss Easy kicked off her sophomore season with another long winning streak which included victories in a New Jersey Sire Stakes Final, the Miss New Jersey, the Historic Ladyship, a division of the Tarport Hap, the Meadowlands Consolation Pace, and the Mistletoe Shalee, in which she set a personal, race and world record mark of 1:51.1. This win gave her the distinction of being the only filly to take a sub-1:52 mile at both two and three years of age. After her strong summer performances, Miss Easy fell ill with a throat infection that caused her to take a short break from the track. However, Nickells was determined to bring her back to defend her title in the Breeders Crown. Although she faced some doubt when she returned in October, she proved her endurance with a world record time of 1:52.2f and the honor of being only the second filly to win consecutive Breeders Crowns at two and three, the first being Town Pro p,3,1:51.4 ($1.229 million). Miss Easy closed her three-year-old season with ten wins out of fifteen starts and total earnings of $648,700. She was named the USTA August Horse of the Month and at year-end was named the USTA Three-Year-Old Pacing Filly of the Year.

Miss Easy retired from her well-decorated racing career at the end of her three-year-old season. The first two-year-old filly to win over a million dollars, she had thirty-two starts, twenty-five wins and only missed hitting the board once. She also ranked in the top fifty Leading Moneywinning Pacers for fourteen years following her retirement due to her incredible $1.778 million in earnings. Now residing at Hanover Shoe Farms in Hanover, PA, Miss Easy has produced fourteen registered foals and seven starters, including JFK p,3,1:52 ($252,930) and Easycrombie p,5,1:52.3 ($115,972).

Miss Easy died in 2014.