World’s Fastest Trotter set to compete at PtHA World Championships

Lexington, KY / [05/05/26] — The Standardbred world knows Homicide Hunter as a record-breaker. The fastest trotter in history. A horse who stopped the clock in 1:48.4 at The Red Mile and earned over $1.7 million on the racetrack.

Now, he’s preparing for a very different kind of spotlight. Homicide Hunter, owned by Crawford Farms Racing, will compete under saddle at the PtHA World Championships as part of MMXX Standardbreds; a non-profit standardbred show team and aftercare initiative reshaping what life after racing looks like for Standardbreds. PtHA World Championships is a predominantly quarter horse driven event that’s open to all breeds where the best of the best in the world compete for titles in the show ring. In April, AQHA Judge Thomas Lamson gave words of encouragement, “As someone who works with stock breeds, I can say Homicide Hunter was truly a pleasure to watch and one I would be proud to have in my own [show] program.”

Scaling from the Stopwatch to the Show Ring

For decades, Standardbred aftercare has largely relied on intake-based nonprofit models, where horses are transferred into program care before being retrained and adopted out. While effective in its use case, these systems are expensive and inherently limited in scale.

MMXX Standardbreds is advancing a different approach. Instead of taking possession of horses, MMXX facilitates direct, vetted adoptions from racing owners and trainers to riding homes, at no cost to the connections. By removing the need for long-term holding, boarding, and retraining overhead, the model unlocks something the industry has long needed: true scalability. The program has completed 400 adoptions in two-and-a-half years for pennies on the dollar, proving its concept.

“This program was founded because we need a solution at scale. We’re trying to expand boundaries to eliminate the kill pen crisis for good,” said Molly D’Agostino, Director of MMXX Standardbreds. “There are simply too many horses we are breeding every year to rely on models that require full intake. Standardbreds don’t need that bottleneck.”

Built for the Second Career

Unlike many breeds, Standardbreds arrive at retirement from racing with a foundation most sport horses never receive. They are broke, conditioned, usually traffic-safe, and accustomed to structured training environments. The racing foundation has quietly made them one of the most accessible and beginner-friendly riding horses in the industry. MMXX leans into that reality. Instead of positioning retraining as a barrier, MMXX Standardbreds treats it as an empowered transition: one that can happen successfully in the adopter’s hands with the right support.

To bridge that gap, MMXX also published an online comprehensive online retraining platform, including discipline-specific retraining modules across saddle sports, instruction from leading show professionals, judges, and riders, a full “Harness Racing 101” curriculum to help adopters understand their horse’s past, and educational pathways that introduce riding families to the racing industry, including fractional ownership opportunities

A Horse Who Can Carry the Message

MMXX Standardbreds utilizes its Standardbred show team to help produce media assets to market the adoptions of the racehorses. Homicide Hunter, the star of the 2026 MMXX Standardbreds Show Team roster, making an appearance at PtHA Worlds represents a rare and powerful bridge between two worlds that have historically operated in parallel. “He’s just so special,” said Michelle Panebianco of Crawford Farms Racing, who has remained a consistent supporter of MMXX Standardbreds from the beginning through the placement of Crawford Farms retirees and ongoing charitable contributions by Deja Blu Stables. On the racetrack, he was defined by speed and straight lines. In the show ring, success demands something entirely different: rhythm, softness, adjustability, and expression. His transition highlights a truth that MMXX Standardbreds is working to bring into the mainstream.

Expanding the Pipeline

Established aftercare organizations such as New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program and Purple Haze Standardbred Adoption Program have built critical infrastructure for the industry. MMXX’s model is designed to complement (not compete with) those efforts. MMXX creates a parallel pathway for horses that are suitable for immediate transition into riding homes. This increases overall throughput while preserving intake resources for horses that truly require rehabilitation or longer-term retraining.

Our Finish Line

As Homicide Hunter enters the ring at PtHA Worlds, he carries a blueprint. One where aftercare is not constrained by capacity. Where adoption doesn’t require a waiting list. Where the end of a racing career is the beginning of a broader, more connected ecosystem. Where the Standardbred, long defined by what it does in harness, begins to be recognized for everything it can become beyond it.

From MMXX Standardbreds