Equine welfare has become a common theme over the last decade or so as the sport of horse racing comes under the microscope on the federal level and from mainstream media. Harness racing is often lumped into the tale of woe about on-track breakdowns and subsequent euthanizations without regard to the fact that the Standardbred breed is as durable as they come. The proof of this sturdiness comes in the form of 104 equine warriors that made an appearance on the track at age 14 and another 12 which showed up for racing duty at age 15 or older. The list includes an amazing 11 Standardbreds which have started at least 400 times and 75 that have reached the 300-start plateau. From the resilient group of 116 are four millionaires, 15 pacers with a lifetime mark of 1:50 or less, nine horses that eclipsed $30,000 in earnings in 2023, 47 who sold as yearlings (for an average price just over $36,000), and 38 trotters and pacers with at least 50 career wins. As a whole, they have over 36,000 career starts and nearly 2,000 in 2023 with more than $1.2 million in total earnings. While the 15-year-olds must retire or head to Canada to continue their careers since Standardbreds aren't permitted to race at all in the United States past that age, the connections of the 14-year-olds have the option of retiring or continuing on to compete in amateur races, which is perhaps where we'll find our richest performer on the list Atta Boy Dan. A $70,000 Lexington-Selected purchase in 2010, Atta Boy Dan spent the first few years of his career in relative obscurity before moving to the Ron Burke barn late in 2013. The son of Western Terror then found himself, setting his lifetime mark of 1:48 4/5 in 2014 and earning over $445,000 in the next two years combined. While never a star, Atta Boy Dan spent a good amount of time during his peak years racing against the top overnight foes in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. His career highlights include a second in the Gold Cup & Saucer and a win in the Kane Memorial in 2015. After more than five years in the Burke barn, Atta Boy Dan changed hands a number of times and was actually claimed 14 straight starts back in 2019. Trainer Peter Pellegrino was the last winner of that lottery and has had the gelding in his barn for much of the time since, most recently via a claim for $5,000 on August 13 at Tioga Downs. "Back in 2019 we originally claimed him for $40,000. He was claimed back from us in March for $10,000 and then we claimed him back for $5,000. Knowing the horse as well as we did – he has a big heart and always tries – we couldn't lose for that price," said owner Stephen Larkin. "If we kept him in a $5,000 claimer every week I don't think he would lose. He's such a great horse that even if we couldn't race him anymore we wanted to give him a great retirement. "Pete's [Pellegrino] wife Liz has a place called Freedom Horse in New Jersey and they keep horses so veterans and disabled children can ride and take care of them. That would be the plan for ‘Dan'." It has been a rather successful season for Atta Boy Dan despite his age. The gelding has put up seven wins in 24 starts and picked up $37,458 along the way. Some of his recent races has been in the amateur ranks at the Meadowlands and that could be a place we see him in 2024. "If he is sound we'll continue with him in the amateur races," said Larkin, who was hoping Atta Boy Dan could get one more start in before the end of 2023. "He had a medical issue last time but he's feeling much better now. He's 14 so he's gone through some aches and pains and has had to take some time off over the years due to injuries, but he's been very consistent. We bought him originally as a claimer but he got so good we put him in conditioned races for a while." One goal for Atta Boy Dan is the century mark and Larkin is hoping the old guy has enough to get that unique accolade. "He's at 92 wins right now and I'd love to see him get to 100," said the owner. While we may still see Atta Boy Dan ($1,101,781) in the future, his fellow members of the millionaires club have all called it a career. Mcerlean ($1,039,646) and Escape The News ($1,020,647) haven't seen the track in months. Mcerlean was a former PA Sire Stakes leg winner in his youth who competed in the Levy Memorial series with limited success. Escape The News did his best work early in his career, winning the International Stallion Stake and finishing third in the Governor's Cup as a 2-year-old, competing in many Grand Circuit events at age 3, and winning the now defunct Aquarius Final and Gold Cup & Saucer as a 4-year-old. The final seven-figure earner on the list achieved the feat as a 15-year-old. Rock To Glory answered the call to post 27 times in 2023 called it a career after a November 3 start that pushed the son of Rocknroll Hanover over the milestone. "Absolutely, the horse deserved it," said owner/trainer/driver Stacy Chiodo on reaching the million-dollar mark. "He loves his job and is a true warhorse. That was just the icing on his career. "These old veterans are hard to replace." Originally Rock To Glory was set to live out his days with Chiodo but a chance encounter has led him to becoming a riding horse for someone at Hanover Shoe Farms. "She was looking for a horse with Laag in his bloodlines and he was beyond bored being turned out in the field with my riding horse," said Chiodo. "He left here in the last week or so and she has been riding him every day. She sends me pictures and he's as happy as can be." Still on the outside looking in when it comes to millionaire status is Mariner Seelster. Despite leading all horses 14 and older in wins (13) and earnings ($93,405), the son of Camluck still sits just over $5,000 away from the magic number. A mainstay in the Mark Ford barn as a mid-level campaigner in claimers and conditioned races from the end of 2013 to the start of 2021, Mariner Seelster was a true workhorse, averaging over 40 starts per year during that tenure. He was claimed an astounding 14 times as a 12-year-old in 2021 and a few more times after that before landing in the Travis Alexander barn in May 2023, the sixth time the trainer had bought the horse back. "He's a moneymaker, he's sound and he loves his job," said Alexander on why he has claimed him so many times. "It didn't cost us anything to claim him last time because we just used the money from the claim the week before. We have plans to retire him when all it is said and done and wanted him to have a good home. We have lots of options. Lots of people want him for riding and we'll see what the best fit is." Mariner Seelster has already made three starts in December, his last being a win at Yonkers on December 20. Alexander is hoping to get him over the million-dollar hump and if it doesn't happen in 2023 he's leaving the door open for a 15-year-old campaign. "We are trying to find a way to get him [to a million]," said Alexander, who will enter him at the Meadowlands on the weekend of December 28-29 and will likely find a race for older horses according to Director of Racing Scott Warren. "He's sound, happy and loves his job, so I'm not opposed to racing him in the amateur races at the Meadowlands during the winter. He's really one of the soundest horses in the barn and his routine is very easy. He's just happy to be out there. If there was any inclination that he was tailing off or didn't want to be out there, I wouldn't put him on the track." Money isn't everything and much respect goes to those horses that stepped on the track more than any of the others despite lacking seven-figure earnings. Oldfriendskentucky stepped on the track for the last time on October 1 at Leamington, the 467th start of his career. Interestingly enough, each of the top three potentially retiring 14-year-olds in terms of lifetime starts, which also includes Rozewood (459) and Jojo In The Sky (436), are by the sire Whosurboy. "He is homebred and raised," said Rozewood's owner/trainer Tiffany Barrett to Jessica Hallett after his December 14 win in the Au Revoir Pace for 14-year-olds at Monticello Raceway. "He is the heart of the barn. He can be a bit of a grouch. He likes to attack people, come out with his teeth open. For the most part, he's a great horse to be around. He enjoys his time out with the other guys. In the morning if he doesn't go out first or second, he's kicking up a storm yelling at me. He loves being outside. He just loves life and I couldn't ask for a better horse. "He's retiring and staying with me. They don't leave. They stay with me. I kept his mother up until this year. It's like getting rid of your children." ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter Jojo In The Sky is another who has spent all of his racing career under the same ownership. He was purchased as a 2-year-old on June 1, 2011 before his first start and has continuously remained owned by Nancy Karnatz of Michigan. That's an impressive commitment for a horse that has earned just $186,255 in his career while averaging $14,327 earned each year. "He's been a very good racer and right now he's racing really well. It will be sad to retire him because he enjoys it. He's a nice horse to be around and I got attached to him," said Karnatz, who added that Jojo In The Sky is on the small side with a small tail as well. Where Jojo In The Sky has excelled is durability, going behind the gate 40 or more times six years during his career, including in 2023 when he also set a new seasonal best in earnings at $23,270. Where did the improved performance come from? "I have no idea why all of a sudden he's racing better. It doesn't make sense," said Karnatz, who outlined his training routine as eating local feed from a mill in Napoleon, Michigan, getting turned out every day and jogging from time to time. "He just goes and races his heart out every time." Jojo In The Sky was second at MGM Northfield Park in his most recent start and will likely get another race under his belt before retirement. "I'll retire and keep him. He'll be with very good people that will take care of him. I have several other retirees. I'm not married and I never had kids. These horses are my kids," said Karnatz. "I just turned 80 and he might outlive me. I'll give him a good life because he gave me so much enjoyment over the years. In 12 years he never had any lameness. I couldn't have asked for a better horse." One of the most curious horses from the class of 2009 is Dallas Debut. The trotter by Dallas Dhu has the distinction of starting the fewest times by a wide margin. His first start came as a 5-year-old in 2014. His next was four years later in 2018 and for his career he's only started 25 times. His lone win was in 2019 at a fair in Westport, New York. Since April 2013 Dallas Debut has been owned and trained by Jesse Kopa, perhaps the most patient person in the world. As he tells the story, Dallas Debut wasn't supposed to be in his barn. The now 33-year-old didn't get the horse he went to the sale to purchase. Then the breeder reached out to him about Dallas Debut. "Dallas got sold to someone else but they rejected him. They were going to Amish him without giving him a shot. I ended up breaking him single-handedly. He was my first horse in the business. Now we just have this special connection," said Kopa. "He got hurt a few times in some qualifiers when he was younger so I gave him a bit of a break. Then I decided I wasn't going to race him. I was training him with a couple of babies when he was about 7, teaching them how to race, and when he turned 8 or 9 my friend suggested that I race him at the fairs. I didn't even know there was aged racing there. When he qualified it shocked the hell out of me. "In the past couple of years I got my driver's license and he's been my first driving horse. He's just been one of those fun horses you can play around with and learn a lot from. He's a big character and he loves to teach other horses and teach people." Kopa admits that Dallas Debut really got him "into" racing and now he trains five or six in the Saratoga, New York, area. The two have formed a unique bond that was certainly on display some six years ago. "When I was qualifying him as an 8-year-old I sent him to Monticello. I couldn't make the ride down so I sent him a day early. He had a fit and destroyed the stall down there. He was so homesick it was terrible; not being able to see me or be fed by me. It was stunning to see how bad he needed me," said Kopa, who will obviously provide Dallas Debut with a forever home with him. "He gave me so much education, it equals out. Maybe not money-wise, but he taught me a lot through this business and he's still teaching me." It's impossible to single out each of the 116 horses who have given their all week after week for our viewing pleasure. Some personal favorites not mentioned above include the small but mighty Pancetta, who made nearly $400K early in his career but won my heart as a regular on the Cal Expo circuit. Texas Terror N was profiled in this space last year as a 14-year-old and has gone on to earn over $43,000 and counting in 2023. Finally, we need to show some love for Al's Hammered, who despite selling for just $2,000 as a yearling in Illinois went on to show a gigantic return on investment by earning $645,152 and setting a lifetime mark of 1:48 4/5. The 14- and 15-year-olds may be retired or getting in their final races but they will forever be in our memories. Enjoy retirement!