Trainer Chris Ryder put a bow on a magical season last Saturday (November 30) when two of his stable’s stars Twin B Joe Fresh and Miki And Minnie captured major stakes races on the Fan Duel-Final Four night at The Meadowlands. That fillies and eventually mares find residence in the Ryder stable and then go on to greatness is something racing fans have become familiar with. The past tends to get lost as history becomes a forgotten subject, but the present and future are easier to see. In Ryder’s case the recent present has brought with it Ryder’s uncanny knack for sending some of the best female pacers to the racetrack. The likely 2024 Horse of the Year Twin B Joe Fresh is just one of a growing list of extraordinary talents. The daughter of Roll With Joe was again dominant at the end of the season with few older mares making the Fan Duel finale allowing a pair of 3-year-olds to try to give Twin B Joe Fresh a race. When asked about all the great fillies and mare pacers that have gone through Ryder’s stable the response following Saturday night’s spectacle was not surprising. “I’d probably say Joe Fresh was the best,” Ryder said. Obviously as part-owner of Twin B Joe Fresh the mare has a special place for Ryder but it’s still saying a lot about the mare when you consider just in the last few years, he’s had great ones like Party Girl Hill and Niki Hill. Prior to that was the incomparable Put On A Show who overcame injury and earned $2.4 million and I Luv The Nitelife, the dominant sophomore of 2013 that earned in excess of $1.9 million. “She’s the only one that’s been able to put three consecutive seasons together,” said Ryder of Twin B Joe Fresh. “Put On A Show got injured and didn’t race as a 4-year-old.” That daughter of Rocknroll Hanover returned as a 5-year-old and won 12 times for Ryder. Though Ryder did not have Party Girl Hill as a freshman he did guide her through an incredible year winning 15 of 16 starts as a sophomore in 2020 putting in some of the most incredible miles that year including a 1:47 2/5 career best in a division of the Tattersalls Pace at The Red Mile, defeating male competition. “She was probably the fastest of all the fillies,” said Ryder, giving credit deserved to Party Girl Hill, a daughter of Captaintreacherous that has now embarked on a broodmare career. “She beat the boys though I really wish she had gotten into the same division as Tall Dark Stranger. That would have been some kind of race.” Party Girl Hill and Tall Dark Stranger were the two stars of their respective divisions, but each came away from The Red Mile with a Tattersalls victory in separate races. While fillies or mares shouldn’t have to beat male competition to prove greatness it does go a long way when viewed in the rearview mirror with many. Ryder himself recalled Fan Hanover’s victory in the 1981 Little Brown Jug as a crowning achievement for the filly. Twin B Joe Fresh completed her impeccable 4-year-old season with 11 wins in 13 tries losing only her first start of the year in an overnight and in a Breeders Crown elimination where Grace Hill outkicked her in the stretch. “She tied up that night,” Ryder said of the Crown trial though Twin B Joe Fresh more than made up for that defeat with an authoritative performance in the finale. With Twin B Joe Fresh just a shade below Put On A Show’s career earnings the likelihood is for her to return next year and point towards the $3 million mark in career earnings. That would move her into the ranks of the richest mares of all time while still a safe distance from Eternal Camnation and Androvette. “We’re going to try to do what we did this year,” Ryder said following Saturday’s win by Twin B Joe Fresh. The mare’s success has been great for the sport as well as the owners of the mare Ryder picked out at the Lexington Selected sale in 2021. Dexter Dunn, a co-owner, has done an impeccable job driving her throughout her career and deferred just once in 2024 with Brett Miller guiding her to victory in the Cleopatra at Scioto Downs in August. With horsemen involved in ownership every time Twin B Joe Fresh won a race there was a loving audience in the winner’s circle to great her; except one. “One of the owners, Barry Spak, has never seen her race in person,” Ryder said. “He’s a great owner but once she started winning races as a 2-year-old without him he made the decision not to come to the track. He’ll come to see his other horses race.” Superstition runs rampant in racing, but Ryder is hopeful he could change Spak’s mind for next year. “I can’t see the results being any different if he were there.” Racing against male competition as a 5-year-old is something Ryder might consider if his partners agree. It would have been difficult to send Twin B Joe Fresh out against likely Dan Patch older male pacer champion Abuckabett Hanover this year considering that Dunn was the regular driver on both. Ryder seems focused on letting Twin B Joe Fresh race against the mares with some exceptions. “I would be willing to go into some of the races like the Potomac,” said Ryder. Breeders Crown and now Three Diamonds winner Miki And Minnie is a homebred that has caught favor with Ryder over the year. He spent some of his post-race interview campaigning for the Always B Miki-sired lass to get the nod for the Dan Patch award though that may be difficult with the unbeaten Chantilly owning one statistical advantage. “My filly ended the year winning three major races,” said Ryder. “She’s earned over $800K.” That earnings mark could convince some voters that Miki And Minnie may have been the best. A key early victory for Miki And Minnie came in the $400,000 Kentucky Championships where she barely qualified having competed in just one leg (a victory).  Her effort in the Breeders Crown was spectacular in that she overcame post nine and raced without cover the final half. Saturday’s Three Diamonds found Dunn giving her a perfect cover trip after avoiding a first-quarter speed duel. It was another of those quintessential steers that Dunn has become famous for since arriving in North America permanently. “She may be the best 2-year-old filly I’ve ever had,” said Ryder of Miki And Mini, giving her a slight edge over Put On A Show, a filly that won the She’s A Great Lady as a freshman but did not capture the Breeders Crown. [DRF HARNESS: Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter] Ryder closed out the stakes season in style and is looking forward to a big year in 2025 where he will be formally inducted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame in Goshen. With a stable of 59 horses half of which are soon-to-be 2-year-olds Ryder has more to look forward to. “About 10 years ago I was thinking about retirement,” said Ryder. “Thankfully I’ve had some good owners give me some very nice horses to train.”