World renown harness racing driver and inductee to the Hall of Fame, Brian Sears has been barred from racing in the elimination divisions of the $700,000 Meadowlands Pace on Saturday, July 7 at the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, NJ.
It had been four years since Meadowlands owner Jeff Gural first barred Sears from the track. That dispute began on Friday, June 20, 2014 when Sears told Gural that he was going to drive at Yonkers Raceway and not at the Meadowlands except for stakes events.
Trainer Jimmy Takter had listed Sears to drive the three-year-old pacer, Thinkbig Dreambig, in the 6th race this Saturday, but when the draw for post positions took place, there was no driver listed for Thinkbig Dreambig, who drew post position seven.
Because the Meadowlands Pace is owned by the Meadowlands Racetrack, Gural is allowed to say who can and who cannot compete in their stakes race.
Sears had this to say about the barring.
“Well, I heard that since it is a Meadowlands race,” Sears explained. “He (Jeff Gural) and keep me out. It’s very disheartening and I’m tired of the unnecessary drama that I have to deal with. I just hope it doesn’t pertain to other stakes races. I’m tired of the silliness.”
