For the first time in the 45 years of the Pacing and Trotting Triple Crowns, there will be a bonus for an owner of a horse that can capture all three jewels of either crown in 2000.

The sponsors of the races, the Cane Pace, Little Brown Jug and Messenger on the pacing side, and the Hambletonian, Yonkers Trot and Kentucky Futurity on the trotting side, will award $250,000 to the owner of the horse that wins the Pacing or Trotting Triple Crown. If both Triple Crowns are won, as occurred in 1968 with trotter Nevele Pride and pacer Rum Customer, the bonus will be split and $125,000 awarded to each owner.

The bonus was offered in 1998 and 1999 for the Pacing Triple Crown. In 1999, Blissfull Hall's owner Daniel Plouffe collected a $250,000 bonus when his horse swept the Cane Pace, Little Brown Jug and Messenger.The year 2000 is the first for a condition that allows a horse that wins the Cane Pace to advance to the Little Brown Jug, if not otherwise eligible, by paying a supplement fee. If the same horse wins the Little Brown Jug but is not eligible to the Messenger, they can also advance to that race by payment of a supplement fee.