Someone once said, "even blind squirrels find acorns."

No one who knows Dick Hartley would confuse him with a blind squirrel, but he sure found an acorn, more specifically, a jewel in the rough.

When he and his wife Linda attended the annual Delaware (Ohio) horse sale some years back, they went to breakfast one morning. Dick a convivial sort, started talking with another diner. The conversation drifted towards stallions because Dick and Linda own North Star Farms in Newburgh where they breed horses. Since the Maine Sires Stakes anticipated seeing significant money from slots revenue, they decided they needed to replace their aged pacing stallion.

The diner suggested Neutralize, a son of Life Sign. That's when Linda went to work; she is the breeding expert in the family. They bought the horse sight unseen.

Shortly after the sale, the Hartleys returned home. A few days later a trailer pulls up to the farm with a horse inside.

"The man unloaded him," said Linda, "and when he walked off, we could see he did indeed suffer from a broken ankle. We knew that when we bought him, but to see him walk would give anyone pause."

Nonetheless, the first year they test bred him to one mare. The resultant foal, Olivher Clozon, became a genuine racehorse and, as the expression goes, the Hartleys were off to the races.

Fast forward to 2009 and check out the standings for the Maine-bred pacers. The foals of 2005, the year in which Neutralize bred 52 mares, includes this year's top contenders for the MSBS three year-old finals, Neutral Court and Sign the Paige. Neutral Court is his daddy's fastest Maine-bred son, setting the MSBS record for three year-olds as well as the track record at the Windsor Fair, 1:55.0

In last year's two year-old final, Neutral Court was one of six sons of Neutralize in the finals. Considering that only eight make the finals, Neutralize accounted for 75 percent of those entered.

So how has Neutralize affected the Hartleys?

"Even though the slots have helped the purses grow, the economy must improve if we want to see more interest in the Sires Stakes," said Linda. "We only bred 12 outside mares to him last year, and with people getting out of the business and over 60 registered stallions in the state, we're hoping that in the next two or three years, people will come and breed to him, recognizing his accomplishments."

What contributes to Neutralize's success in the breeding shed?

"He has a mild temperament, and he possess the mildest of manners," Linda continued. "Anybody can handle him, and his kids are just like him. Oh yeah, and if he wants a treat, he'll fake severe lameness on that bad ankle until he gets one. He's quite a pet."

What Linda Hartley laments is the absence of Maine-bred races that extend after the three year-old stakes season concludes. "If they (the folks in Augusta who inhabit those chambers) would go forward with a program that would include four and five year-olds, then we could keep Maine-bred horses in the state rather than see them head to the sales ring at the end of their three year-old seasons. The would improve Maine racing no doubt," said Linda.

For anyone involved in racing in the state or even contemplating becoming involved in the sport, the Maine-bred program offers a potentially lucrative opportunity.

Currently, Neutralize might be the bargain in the bin.

Not too bad a result for a breakfast conversation.

BITS, BOOTS, & BRIDLES:  Scarborough Downs has shuttered its doors for awhile to allow the Oxford, Farmington, Cumberland and Fryeburg Fairs to race unmolested; after Fryeburg closes (the first week of October), they'll re-open unmolested till season's end . . . Laura's Taz, a 14 year-old gelding pacer continues to thrive at Scarborough; better head out to watch her race because on New Year's Eve, he faces mandatory retirement . . . while on the subject of Scarborough, mark these dates on your calendar -- October 17 & 18 -- because the finals of the Maine Standardbred Breeders Stakes (MSBS) will race at Scarborough on these days . . . meanwhile, this week the stakes go at Farmington and some developments in those races may augur things for the finals; A Capella Bella, the undefeated three year-old trotting filly finally got beat, finishing third at Farmington after making a break before and after the start . . . among the three year-old trotters this week at Farmington, Thebandfromboston won a heat for the fillies, while Bad Boy Billy proved the best of the male set . . . newcomer Current Ca Ching might have something to say in the sophomore trotting ranks for veterean Don Richards, winning easily at Farmington in 2:02 . . . Pembroke Whitney remains the only undefeated filly in either the pacing or trotting ranks; Neutral Court shares the honor on the male side . . . Valerie Grondin leads the trainers' standings in the MSBS with over $200,000 in earnings . . . for those wondering, yesterday was the Little Brown Jug at Delaware, Ohio . . .