History was made on Sunday, January 7, 2018 in race 10 at Hawthorne Race Course with an extremely rare outcome, a triple dead heat.
I was fortunate to have witnessed the race live on simulcast and knew that every second longer the stewards took to announce a winner increased the change of a dead heat but never would have thought a triple dead heat.
After the dust had settled the tote board blinked with three numbers (6,7,9) and I immediately knew I had witnessed history. #6-Picky Picky Valor driven by Casey Leonard, #7-Keep the Cash driven by Keith Crawford, and #9-Skyway Jaylo driven by Larry Lee Smith all hit the wire at exactly the same time.
I believe that the last triple dead in harness racing was March 24, 2009 at The Meadows in Washington, Pennsylvania when TSM Goldenridge, Serious Damage and Teen Elvis all hit the wire at exactly the same time.
The first triple dead heat in harness racing occurred on October 3, 1953 at Freehold Raceway in Freehold, New Jersey when #4-Patchover, #7-Payne Hall and #5-Penny Maid all hit the wire at exactly the same time.