Elmer Fannin A Man with a Plan - Lambeth Media
Elmer Fannin A Man with a Plan - Lambeth Media
Elmer Fannin A Man with a Plan - Lambeth Media
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ElmEr<br />
<strong>Fannin</strong><br />
a man <strong>with</strong> a <strong>Plan</strong><br />
Spurred on by the success of trotter Kadealia and pacer<br />
mr wiggles, homebuilder <strong>Elmer</strong> <strong>Fannin</strong> added 24 yearlings<br />
to his holdings this fall, all in the pursuit of fun. By Kimberly a. rinker<br />
• Photos by Karl richeson Photography<br />
<strong>Elmer</strong> <strong>Fannin</strong> has always been a<br />
man <strong>with</strong> a plan.<br />
This unassuming, 64 year-old long<br />
time Standardbred owner has done<br />
nothing less than quietly create a harness<br />
racing empire in the state of<br />
Delaware. Besides establishing a top stable<br />
of youngsters <strong>with</strong> longtime friend<br />
and conditioner George Teague, <strong>Fannin</strong><br />
owns a first class harness racing training<br />
facility and is one of the leading real<br />
estate builders headquartered in<br />
America’s “First State.”<br />
Born and raised in Phelps, Kentucky,<br />
a small coal-mining town located in the<br />
far eastern part of the Bluegrass State,<br />
<strong>Elmer</strong> spent his youth exploring the hillsides<br />
of his hometown along <strong>with</strong> seven<br />
brothers and one sister.<br />
“We made the best of growing up<br />
in a difficult era,” <strong>Elmer</strong> recalled. “As<br />
youngsters, we worked at roadside fruit<br />
stands selling watermelon and in our<br />
spare time, we’d roam through the<br />
mountains looking for paw paw trees.<br />
Other times, we’d watch the little ponies<br />
which used to pull the coal out of the<br />
mines, and that’s where I first gained a<br />
lot of respect for horses and what they<br />
could do.”<br />
In 1963 the <strong>Fannin</strong> family moved to<br />
Grundy, Virginia and <strong>Elmer</strong> enlisted in<br />
the army at age 17, where he served as a<br />
buck sergeant <strong>with</strong> the First Air Cavalry<br />
Division in Vietnam for one year.<br />
When he returned home <strong>Elmer</strong> was<br />
stationed in New Jersey where he met<br />
his future wife Mary Ann. The couple
ELMER FANNIN: A MAN WITH A PLAN<br />
"Those early days in the business<br />
were not the most profitable, but<br />
they surely were the most memorable<br />
as far as the family goes, and having<br />
horses taught the boys responsibility<br />
at an early age.”<br />
eventually married and settled in Delaware<br />
where they raised three sons, Michael, 42;<br />
Brent, 39; and Todd, 36, and started a family<br />
business, Country Life Homes, that has<br />
since flourished and thrived.<br />
“When they were young, our boys<br />
were attracted to the horses and started<br />
racing harness ponies at the Delaware<br />
pony tracks on the weekends,” <strong>Elmer</strong><br />
remembered. “They evolved from racing<br />
ponies to getting involved <strong>with</strong> the<br />
Standardbreds at the claming levels.<br />
We’d ship to Brandywine, Dover Downs,<br />
Liberty Bell and Ocean City to race.<br />
“There were a lot of little pony<br />
tracks around then and we’d go there as<br />
a family,” <strong>Elmer</strong> noted. “It’s a shame we<br />
don’t have those anymore. There was a<br />
little track behind the Moose Lodge at<br />
Harrington where they used to race<br />
ponies.<br />
“We started claming Standardbreds<br />
when the boys were in high school,” he<br />
continued. “Our first racehorse was a<br />
gelding named Real Lumber which we<br />
owned <strong>with</strong> our friend Raymond<br />
De<strong>Man</strong>che in 1974. We raced him at<br />
Dover and Harrington. He was a little<br />
December 2009 • The Harness Edge<br />
claimer who won 25 races and earned<br />
$62,000 for us <strong>with</strong> a six-year-old record<br />
of 1:58.2.<br />
“Another fun gelding we owned was<br />
Milano (p,1:57.2f $116,353) who raced at<br />
Rosecroft on the weekends. After he’d<br />
race, the boys would stop at McDonalds<br />
and get something to eat and they would<br />
buy a burger for the horse, who would<br />
eat the entire burger but inevitably spit<br />
out the pickle on every occasion. Those<br />
early days in the business were not the<br />
most profitable, but they surely were the<br />
most memorable as far as the family goes,<br />
and having horses taught the boys<br />
responsibility at an early age.”<br />
When his sons went off to college<br />
and their involvement in racing waned,<br />
<strong>Elmer</strong> continued his journey down the<br />
Standardbred ownership path, sandwiching<br />
in times at the racetrack between his<br />
various homebuilding duties.<br />
“It wasn’t always easy, and 50 years<br />
of hard work is tough to put into<br />
words,” <strong>Elmer</strong> said. “Sometimes I worked<br />
two jobs and many times that was seven<br />
days a week. Mary Ann also worked full<br />
time as a respiratory therapist when the<br />
boys were growing up and through their<br />
college days.”<br />
It was during those early years that<br />
<strong>Elmer</strong> often crossed paths <strong>with</strong> trainer<br />
George Teague, Jr.<br />
“I’ve met many wonderful people in<br />
the horse business and have had enough<br />
success to keep me interested, mostly<br />
from the enjoyment of racing and friendships<br />
I’ve made,” <strong>Elmer</strong> explained.<br />
“George (Teague, Jr.), who I refer to as<br />
my ‘fourth son,’ was someone whose<br />
company I always enjoyed and shared<br />
funny stories <strong>with</strong> over the years. George<br />
likes a good funny horse story and every<br />
time I needed to be bailed out of a situation<br />
<strong>with</strong> a horse or trainer, George was<br />
always there for me.”<br />
<strong>Elmer</strong> and George didn’t partner up,<br />
however, until the fall of 2005.<br />
“We were standing around the ring<br />
at Harrisburg after I had purchased some<br />
raceway horses and I asked George if I<br />
could partner up <strong>with</strong> him on a horse<br />
named The Iceman Came, which I liked,”<br />
<strong>Elmer</strong> recalled.<br />
“The Iceman Came later passed<br />
away after making a little over $80,000,
Photo by New Image <strong>Media</strong><br />
Our Best<br />
Holiday<br />
Wishes fOr<br />
Season<br />
the<br />
NOEL DALEY STABLE<br />
ALL SPEED HANOVER<br />
A sincere thank you is extended to our many clients<br />
for your wonderful support which contributed greatly<br />
to another successful year for the stable.<br />
Wishing everyone a happy, healthy<br />
and prosperous New Year!
ELMER FANNIN: A MAN WITH A PLAN<br />
but later I brought Kadealia down for<br />
him to train and he won the Breeders<br />
Crown <strong>with</strong> her.”<br />
<strong>Elmer</strong> had spotted Kadealia as a<br />
yearling at the Standardbred Horse Sale<br />
at Harrisburg, PA in the fall of 2006 and<br />
liked what he saw.<br />
“She was a clean legged filly <strong>with</strong> a<br />
long barrel and particularly long legs,”<br />
<strong>Elmer</strong> offered. “In addition, she was very<br />
well mannered and for $19,000, I felt it<br />
was a great opportunity to have a trotter<br />
in my stable. At the time, my trainer was<br />
George Dennis and he broke Kadealia and<br />
raced her as a two-year-old. But it was in<br />
her sophomore year that she really began<br />
improving under George’s management.”<br />
In 2008, Kadealia would earn<br />
$532,181 under Teague’s watchful eye.<br />
When the filly captured her final event<br />
of her sophomore season, the $500,000<br />
Breeders Crown Three-Year-Old Filly Trot<br />
at The Meadowlands on November 29,<br />
<strong>Elmer</strong> almost didn’t make it to the track<br />
in time. Stuck in traffic, he barely made it<br />
to the Big M clubhouse before the<br />
daughter of Kadabra - New Ideal left the<br />
gate at odds of 75-1.<br />
“I told George ‘I’ll just keep my coat<br />
on because we will be in the winner’s<br />
circle soon,’” <strong>Elmer</strong> laughed. “We both<br />
laughed at the time, but that statement<br />
turned out to be true!”<br />
Prior to her Crown triumph,<br />
Kadealia had won the $300,000 Ontario<br />
Sires Stakes Super Final on a miserable<br />
December 2009 • The Harness Edge<br />
The Kadabra mare Kadealia, who <strong>Fannin</strong> purchased for $19,000, went on to win<br />
the Ontario Sires Stakes Super final and the Breeders Crown and has just over<br />
$600,000 in life earnings.<br />
night at Woodbine, paying over $125 for<br />
a two dollar win ticket.<br />
In total Kadealia has won $603,052<br />
for <strong>Elmer</strong> to date.<br />
“You couldn’t ask for a more perfect<br />
owner,” Teague said. “<strong>Elmer</strong>’s a very easy<br />
person to get along <strong>with</strong> and he doesn’t<br />
ask why or what happened when a horse<br />
doesn’t do well; he’s just not the kind of<br />
guy who ever gets upset. I think I’m more<br />
upset if a horse doesn’t race well than he<br />
Season’s Greetings<br />
To my owners and staff I wish<br />
to offer my appreciation for<br />
your support this past year.<br />
May 2010 bring health and<br />
happiness to all.<br />
TONY O’SULLIVAN<br />
STABLE<br />
is. We were friends for many years<br />
before we partnered up on the horses,<br />
and I just can’t say enough good about<br />
<strong>Elmer</strong>.”<br />
When <strong>Elmer</strong> decided to forgo his<br />
raceway stock to concentrate on stakeseligible<br />
youngsters, he wanted George<br />
to take command of his yearlings.<br />
“Initially, it was a tough decision to<br />
move from overnight racing to the<br />
stakes,” <strong>Elmer</strong> admitted. “Basically, I was<br />
CODE WORD<br />
p,2,1:51.3s-'09 ($201,090)<br />
OSS Super Final Winner<br />
New Image <strong>Media</strong><br />
Photo by New Image <strong>Media</strong>
Merry<br />
Christmas!<br />
A special thank you is extended to<br />
John Pentland, Lyle MacArthur, Jim<br />
McGugan, Bill Hutchison and their<br />
staff for a wonderful 2009 season.<br />
Best wishes to everyone in<br />
racing in 2010.<br />
Mike & Anne<br />
SHUNOCK<br />
MERRY CHRISTMAS<br />
To All<br />
I WONT DANCE<br />
3,1:54.3s ($393,442)<br />
OSS SUPER FINAL WINNER<br />
To Helen Back<br />
p,3,1:49.4s ($1,149,905)<br />
From Asa Farms, Per Henriksen and Ann Karin Larsen<br />
The Harness Edge • December 2009
ELMER FANNIN: A MAN WITH A PLAN<br />
starting over <strong>with</strong> a new venture <strong>with</strong><br />
nothing racing and a new training<br />
scheme, but I’ve enjoyed quite a bit of<br />
success <strong>with</strong> George’s training of the<br />
young horses these last few years.”<br />
<strong>Elmer</strong> and George both take an<br />
equal share when it comes to picking out<br />
young horses at the fall sales.<br />
“When we go to the sales, George<br />
will take a list of horses that I have complied<br />
<strong>with</strong> my sons, based on the bloodlines<br />
and past performances,” <strong>Elmer</strong><br />
explained. “George will then take his<br />
knowledge on the soundness, conformation<br />
and what he knows of the horses’<br />
families and we’ll head to the auction.<br />
We’ll end up <strong>with</strong> a few yearlings and it’s<br />
George’s job to prove them out as a<br />
trainer. It’s my job to go to the races,<br />
have dinner and get my picture taken in<br />
the winner’s circle.”<br />
<strong>Elmer</strong> said his tough raceway horse<br />
Make A Success, p,1:50.3f ($623,381)<br />
gave him many happy moments, but his<br />
biggest thrills have come more recently<br />
<strong>with</strong> the likes of Mr Wiggles (p,3,1:49.1f<br />
$1,064,989), Chasin Racin (p,3,1:51f<br />
Park Insurance<br />
A Division of<br />
December 2009 • The Harness Edge<br />
The Badlands Hanover colt Mr Wiggles took in just over $1 million during his<br />
sophomore season in 2009 for <strong>Fannin</strong> and Teague.<br />
$522,249) and Johnny Z (p,3,1:51.1f<br />
$262,737). Collectively, these three have<br />
earned $1,684,101 for <strong>Elmer</strong> this season.<br />
“Johnny Z was named Pocono’s<br />
Horse of the Year based on his ability and<br />
his victories there in the Pennsylvania<br />
Sire Stakes,” <strong>Elmer</strong> said. “But my biggest<br />
thrill this year had to be when Mr<br />
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Photo by New Image <strong>Media</strong>
Photos by New Image <strong>Media</strong><br />
Our Best<br />
Holiday<br />
Wishes fOr<br />
Season<br />
the<br />
Mr WiGGleS<br />
p,2,1:53.3f, 3,1:49.1f-’09 ($1,030,725)<br />
$500,000 Hoosier Cup CHampion<br />
Fancy Filly<br />
p,2,1:51.1f-’09 ($840,926)<br />
$500,000 THree DiamonDs Winner &<br />
$628,178 BreeDers CroWn CHampion<br />
A sincere thank you is extended to our clients<br />
and staff for a truly wonderful season of racing.<br />
Best of racing in 2010.<br />
George & Brenda<br />
TeaGue STaBle
ELMER FANNIN: A MAN WITH A PLAN<br />
Wiggles won the $100,000 Delaware Final at Dover. For weeks<br />
and weeks he had been hanging on a left line and George had<br />
been messing <strong>with</strong> his bridle, working on changing things to<br />
get him to travel straight.<br />
“One day, after George changed a few more things around<br />
<strong>with</strong> him, he was just suddenly straight. We always knew he had<br />
a lot of speed, but that one little thing changed him into traveling<br />
straight and he was a racehorse from then on.”<br />
<strong>Elmer</strong> hasn’t been shy about delving into other aspects of<br />
the harness racing industry either. A little more than a decade<br />
ago he combined his business skills <strong>with</strong> his racing passion by<br />
purchasing a local training center. Located only 15 minutes<br />
from Dover in Cheswold, <strong>Elmer</strong>’s Brookside Farms is a 200 stall<br />
facility that offers two indoor equine pools, an equicizer, a<br />
half-mile stone dust track and numerous outdoor paddocks. It<br />
is managed by <strong>Elmer</strong>’s wife, Mary Ann.<br />
“When it came up for sale, I bought it and refurbished it,”<br />
<strong>Elmer</strong> stated. “It’s very convenient as it’s close to Dover and we<br />
have a lot of local horsemen who are based there. Because our<br />
family’s homebuilding business has been so successful, we’ve<br />
been able to stay involved in the horse racing industry on many<br />
levels over the years and the training center is just another<br />
aspect that has worked well from a business standpoint.”<br />
Besides Brookside Farms, <strong>Elmer</strong>’s family business has<br />
expanded to include condominiums, townhouses and single<br />
family detached homes, morphing Country Life Homes into<br />
Delaware’s leading family-owned homebuilding corporation.<br />
Holiday<br />
Greetings<br />
Congratulations to everyone who<br />
made 2009 another successful year<br />
of racing in Atlantic Canada.<br />
December 2009 • The Harness Edge<br />
P.O. Box 128<br />
5 Gerald McCarville Dr.<br />
Kensington, PE<br />
C0B 1M0<br />
(902) 836-5500<br />
So where does all this leave <strong>Elmer</strong> <strong>Fannin</strong> today? It seems<br />
he is still a man <strong>with</strong> a plan and one who is forever looking to<br />
improve the sport he loves so much.<br />
“One issue we face today in horse racing is involving<br />
young people and families in our sport. Financial support is<br />
one arm of horse racing but having a crowd cheering and<br />
sharing the thrill of victory is what will drive the sport to<br />
success,” he stressed. “Even though casinos have brought<br />
money to our sport <strong>with</strong> better purses, I feel the tracks have<br />
focused less on the horses and in attracting families to the<br />
races.<br />
“My family looks forward to the many friends that gather<br />
on Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons to see trotters and<br />
pacers compete on all levels,” <strong>Elmer</strong> continued. “Now I see<br />
more emphasis placed on simulcasting, wagering, and gambling<br />
and less on making sure the sport grows and sustains the<br />
many livelihoods in the sport. We need fans and families to<br />
come to the track and enjoy what the horses and horse racing<br />
has to offer. If we lose that, then we lose the reason why we<br />
needed the casinos.”<br />
<strong>Elmer</strong>’s involvement and commitment to racing hasn’t<br />
gone unnoticed by his peers either.<br />
“<strong>Elmer</strong> is a rarity in this sport because you never hear him<br />
say a bad word about anyone,” Teague, Jr. said affectionately.<br />
“When you’re around an owner like <strong>Elmer</strong> who loves the<br />
horses so much, it’s a unique situation. He’s the kind of guy that<br />
racing desperately needs in this day and age. And besides that,<br />
Merry Christmas<br />
Gail MacDonald & Ronota Baglole<br />
Track Photographers at Charlottetown Driving Park
Merry ChristMas<br />
and a happy new year<br />
Joyeux noël et bonne année<br />
Royal Becquet<br />
p,1:51s ($350,870)<br />
the<br />
allaRd<br />
BRotheRs<br />
simon & rene<br />
Photos by New Image <strong>Media</strong>
ELMER FANNIN: A MAN WITH A PLAN<br />
he’s a fun person to be around and is always trying to enhance<br />
the sport in any way he can.”<br />
“I can’t say enough good things about <strong>Elmer</strong> <strong>Fannin</strong>,” said<br />
Judy Davis-Wilson, executive director of the Delaware<br />
Standardbred Breeders Fund. “Besides the investment he made<br />
<strong>with</strong> Brookside training center and all of his racehorses, <strong>Elmer</strong><br />
has dedicated himself to enhancing harness racing in the state.<br />
Our sport could definitely use a few more people like him.”<br />
“The sport is too much about the gambling and not about<br />
the horses anymore,” <strong>Elmer</strong> stated. “The people are so<br />
detached from the horses nowadays and in many cases can’t<br />
even get close to them at the racetracks because of the way the<br />
tracks are built. It’s so sad for the younger generation that they<br />
really aren’t able to experience racing the way we used to 20<br />
and 30 years ago. Instead of racing 15 races a night for $5,000<br />
and $10,000 claimers we should race ten races and take the rest<br />
of that money and apply it to making the sport more friendly<br />
and accessible to the public.<br />
“Within three and a half hours of Delaware we have 40<br />
million people, 25 per cent of the population of the United<br />
States live in this area,” he stressed. “So you have the potential<br />
to draw thousands of people to the tracks. That’s a lot of families<br />
who could get into harness racing.”<br />
Outside of the horse industry, <strong>Elmer</strong> continues to enjoy the<br />
family business that he has slowly turned over to his three sons.<br />
“My wife and I get great satisfaction from having our three<br />
sons all complete college and join our company,” he noted. “With<br />
OUR ASSOCIATION<br />
EXTENDS TO YOU<br />
Holiday Greetings<br />
WITH EVERY GOOD WISH FOR THE NEW YEAR!<br />
December 2009 • The Harness Edge<br />
NOTRE ASSOCIATION<br />
VOUS SOUHAITE DE<br />
Joyeuses Fêtes<br />
AVEC TOUS NOS MEILLEURS VOEUX POUR<br />
LA NOUVELLE ANNÉE!<br />
National Capital Region Harness Horse Association<br />
Visit us at www.ncrhha.ca<br />
their knowledge they can take the business to a level greater<br />
than what we have been able to do on our own. It’s a wonderful<br />
feeling to be able to send your children through college and then<br />
work <strong>with</strong> them, sharing the education of everyday life.<br />
“I’ve enjoyed my experience as an entrepreneur in the<br />
construction business, providing several hundred homes to<br />
good people throughout Sussex County, Delaware,” <strong>Elmer</strong><br />
acknowledged. “Being in the development of a small beachside<br />
county provides you <strong>with</strong> the added satisfaction of being<br />
able to run into a lot of customers in stores, restaurants, at<br />
school functions, etc. <strong>with</strong> the grandchildren.”<br />
Never one to stand idle, <strong>Elmer</strong> continues to work on his<br />
latest plan which he says is “my last venture before retirement;<br />
a 200 acre medical research park set to include a hospital and<br />
medical mall where all services will be performed in one pleasant<br />
setting, complete <strong>with</strong> coffee shops, cafes and hotels.”<br />
As well, this fall <strong>Elmer</strong> purchased 24 yearlings during his<br />
jaunts to the Lexington and Harrisburg sale venues, and said he<br />
is looking forward to seeing them progress in their training<br />
and racing endeavours in 2010.<br />
“I don’t golf or do any other sport really,” <strong>Elmer</strong> admitted.<br />
“In the future I’d like to have some good colts that could go on<br />
to be top stallions and I’d like to be involved in the breeding<br />
game, not in a big way, but modestly and stay at that level. I’ll<br />
always be involved in the sport as I just love to have conversations<br />
about the horses.”<br />
That sounds like a plan. <br />
Holiday Wishes<br />
Special thanks to our staff, clients and<br />
friends for making 2009 a wonderful year.<br />
PAT, ANNA & JUSTIN MEYERS
We are proud to have offered many outstanding<br />
individuals, including the highest<br />
priced yearling sold at any 2009 sale<br />
Hip 99 The Queen<br />
(Andover Hall-Bold Dreamer)<br />
She was consigned by Peninsula Farm,<br />
Agent for Valley High Stable and purchased<br />
for $360,000 by Jeffrey Snyder.<br />
A special note of appreciation goes to<br />
Carter Duer and the Peninsula Farm staff<br />
for another excellent job of prepping the<br />
yearlings, and raising them as babies,<br />
and to David Meirs and family of<br />
Concord Stud Farm for foaling them.<br />
Thanks to all those who took the time to<br />
inspect and bid on our yearlings at<br />
Harrisburg. We wish the best of luck to all<br />
those fortunate enough to take them home.<br />
From<br />
–Bill Weaver–