Scorecard Dandy (Kyle Wilfong) shows her winning form in the 2024 Tony Maurello Memorial stake at Hawthorne. (Four Footed Fotos)

By Mike Paradise for the IHHA

  “Steady as She Goes” was originally a phrase used for a ship that was sailing steadily; however, it can accurately be used for the racing career Scorecard Dandy, twice the Illinois aged pacing mare of the year.

 Now seven, the one-time $12,000 yearling purchase for owners Green Acres (Gregory Kain) of Beecher, IL and Mike Klimas (Oak Lawn), IL, has career earnings of over $420,000 while winning 26 races and each year she has put a new lifetime mark on her card.

 “If you look at her starts you can see she never comes up with a bad race,” said Kain, who trains the Sportsmaster mare, out of the Artiscape broodmare Mahna Mahna in her Illinois starts. “She always gives you a good effort.

 “We’re a small stable,” continued Greg. “I’m an owner first. I’ve never felt comfortable enough to quit my day job. So, when I race Scorecard Dandy out of state, I always have a trainer at that track who I have confidence in takeover. It’s worked out well for us.”

  Scorecard Dandy came off a three-week layoff to win a $30,000 Distaff Open at Oak Grove on April 14 for trainer John Filomeno. The mare finished a solid second, beaten one length in a 1:52 mile a week later in another $30,000 Kentucky Open, banking over $22,000 in her last two starts.

 “I thought she raced great for John,” added Kain.

 Scorecard Dandy was named the best in her Illinois bred division in 2024, a title she also won in 2022. She earned $100,750 last year and pulled in $126,535 in 2022. Her 2023 season was cut short in late August when she had over $77,000 on her card.

 “The horse fractured a cannon bone in Minnesota, so we immediately stopped with her. She didn’t race again until early April of 2024 and she came back great. We do the same for any horse in our barn that comes up with a health issue.”

 In the last few years Scorecard Dandy has competed successfully in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota and Ohio. “I try to slot her where she can do some good and she usually does.”

 Most of Kain’s horses have the moniker “Scorecard” attached. What’s the reason?

 “My partner Mike Klimas is known as Scorecard Mike. He’s a big Cubs fan and he always fills out a scorecard when he’s at a game. He’s been with me for a long while. He started out owning a quarter of a horse, then a half. It’s grown now to where Mike has half of every horse in the barn, and I appreciated that.”

 Greg said he and Klimas spent quite a bit of time deciding if they should retire Scorecard Dandy and not race her this year.

 “We didn’t want to cut her racing years short, because she’s been very good to us, but once you stop with a mare and start breeding her, that’s it. We thought she could give us one more good year.”

 Going by Scorecard Dandy’s recent races in Kentucky, score that decision as very likely a wise one.