• Watching For Winners

    POSTED Dec 12, 2012 By Frank Cotolo
    There will not be any more stakes in harness racing this year. Take this season out of the oven; it’s toast. We are down to weekends where our chances to profit are down to the nitty-gritty overnight races and we continue to emphasize specific horses at specific tracks with our horses-to-watch list (H2W). 

    Winning Lines


    Our H2W list is exclusive to TwinSpires players and blog readers. It is our third week and these remaining weeks of 2012 are our most intense, offering The H2W list potent contenders based on our experienced spotters’ evaluations of recent trips.  

    Again, here is the legend concerning how to interpret the H2W list. Before the horses’ names is the track, followed on the next paragraph by a date it (or they) will be racing, with the race in which they are entered (R and race number). If a + is in front of a horse’s name, it means that horse is appearing on the list for the second and last time because it failed to win the first time it appeared. An “ae” means the horse is on the also-eligible list and needs a scratch to get into the race. 

    It is up to you to deal with more than one horse on the list that is entered in the same race. As well, some horses appear on the list this week while having a + in front of their names even though they are racing at a different track this week.  

    Please remember that the horses listed can be played in any payable form, win, place or show, or in any exotic, based on your assessment of the horse’s odds at post time. The H2W list displays “live” horses that have shown strict potential of late and need to be considered contenders in the races noted. If you have any questions about the H2W list, send them to us through the TwinSpires blog channel. 

    From last week’s list we have lost two tracks, Batavia Downs (see notes below) and Lebanon Raceway, because their meets have ended.  

    Cal Expo
    12/14, +Giles LS Hanover R1; Terror Time R11; Coal Younger R11; Komoda’s Fantasy R12; Precious Few R13 +Cinnamon R14; Paul The Powerful R14
    12/15, WH Scooter R7; Cheswick R8; Jessalilpiece ae R 8; +Tangram R11; Im The Money R15 

    Fraser
    12/14, IM The CEO R1; Quite A Lady R1; +Country Hideaway R2; Exotic Sparkle R3; Red Star Betsy R3; +Succulent R6; Sweet Reunion R6; +Imherefortheparty R10; Cheyenne J R10; +Alotta Crackers R11; Princesse Dorleans R11; Fighter Bliss R12; Outlawmischievious R12 

    Freehold
    12/14, Allthatnthensome R2; Country Fresh R4; Call Me Madam R5
    12/15, J’omama R3; Fandango Dancer R3; Milliondollar Art R4; Rocknroll Jewel R4; Stormin Rustler R8 

    Northfield
    12/14, +Kilowatts Fantasy R4; Sand Latte R6; Arion R8; Power And Purpose R11; Liveandinconcert R12; Cinderella Story R14
    12/15, Straight Dancer R9; Our Mclovin R8; Richie The Clown R9; Jenna’s Dream R11 

    Pompano
    12/15, Max Q R4; Mcgreat R4; Dots Bigboy R5; Desert Hanover R5; Grin Big R5; Major Najor R8; Super Railee R 9; Cascata R10 

    Saratoga
    12/14, Rock This World R8; Grand Victory R11; Bruise Cruise R11; Doully R12 
     
    Notes

    Batavia Downs, America’s oldest lighted harness racetrack, concluded its 66th season on Dec. 8 with significant increases in wagering handle over 2011. Export handle rose a staggering 53 percent, while all-sources handle increased by 14 percent. On track, attendance was up .5 percent while on-track handle decreased by 5 percent. 

    “We had more outlets taking our signal this year but to be up over 50 percent says [we sent a] well-received product,” Batavia General Manager, Todd Haight said. “There’s no doubt our earlier post time was also a factor as well.”  

    The prolific Ron Burke stable has three weeks left in 2012 but it has already been a record year. The team sits with purse winnings of $19.1 million, which is a record for them after last year’s earnings of $18.5 million. In 2010 the stable won $18.1 million. In total the stable numbers 200 head with approximately 80 in New Jersey and 30 yearlings in Florida with Ron’s father Mickey at the New Winter Miles Training Center. The $19.1 million has been achieved from 4006 starters that won 863 races. Just over $2 million of the total came from racing in Canada.  

    Western Fair Raceway will have a special New Year’s Eve program starting at 8 p.m. EST. There are two special races being developed: the Old Lang Syne Trot and Old Lang Syne Pace featuring the oldest eight horses in each.  In addition to the New Year’s program, Western Fair will also host live racing on Boxing Day (Dec. 26) at a special afternoon start time of 1:15 p.m.
     
     
     

    Ray Cotolo contributed to this edition. Cartoon by Thom Pye.

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