August harness racing is about to reach a peak in its finale as the three-day weekend, which unofficially ends the summer season, arrives. The Labor Day holiday does not include harness action around the continent, with Canadian and American stakes events swarming through the daylight and nighttime hours.

No division is left un-raced, with an emphasis on the new candidates, as freshman colt pacers are featured in the Metro Pace and frosh fillies in the She’s A Great Lady finals at Mohawk. The divisions also contest lucrative Champlain and Simcoe stakes and “The Sweet Lou Show,” for the older pacers, is on the program, too—this week’s episode is titled the Canadian Pacing Derby Final.

Glamour boys and gals on the trotting side are featured at Vernon in “Zweig” splits and on the pacing side there is Labor Day’s traditional Cane Pace and those aren’t even all of the features. On the same program, Sebastian K takes on his usual and some new challengers in the six-digit Crawford Farms mile.

So load your TwinSpires account and charge your devices between meals, snacks and relaxation while picking and choosing your moves. Our suggestions follow here and on our exclusive blog, this year’s Breeders Crown Countdown, now on line. We link to it from this main blog for coverage of races through the rest of the season leading to the championship events in November, in cooperation with the Hambletonian Society and TwinSpires.

Check out TwinSpires-Hoosier Park’s 10-percent bonus for hitting Pick 4s every night there is racing at the Indiana track. And, of course, our horses-to-watch list (H2W) offers live contenders for win, place, show and exotics from tracks across the continent.

The Metro Pace Final

The $667,000 Metro Pace Final for frosh-colt pacers has been upset territory over the years as well as some deserved public choices have taken the honors. We know this because our win record for this race over the last decade has included choosing both pay types.

On Aug. 30, the obvious may rule in Artspeak, a first-season colt that races like a veteran. As well, the streaking local, Go Daddy Go, who won the other elim last week, is sharp, though his connections know he must improve here to make a major impression. The contender with the most improvement who could shake “Daddy” from an obvious place finish and, with the help of a speed duel, create an upset shockwave, is Lone Survivor.

Trapped and shuffled and returning late with resilience, “Survivor” was as close to beating Daddy as Lyons Levi Lewis in the first elim. The two moves he made may have equaled a win if things went differently but in the final, chasing Artspeak will be the game and if the huge favorite is compromised at all on top, Survivor may indeed be the lone survivor of the field.  

She’s A Great Lady

The $480,000 She’s A Great Lady Final at Mohawk on “Metro” night will feature a sterling favorite and strong leader of this division in Jk Shesalady. Last week’s elim-topper was immaculate and far better than the other two elim winners’ efforts. She should romp again at odds that could eliminate show betting; she is that strong.

Solar Sister is an interesting exacta addition and should up the payoff. At 37-1 she had a far more stressful trip against “Jk” than place-finisher Divine Caroline (public’s second choice). The other exactor and triactor companion should be Shakai Hanover, a beaten favorite in her elim.

The Sweet Lou Show

This week, Sweet Lou looks for his 11^th-straight win against the toughest, albeit the same, group of older pacers that have followed him in his 10-race win skein as he leads the cast of the $634,000 Canadian Pacing Derby (CPD) on Aug. 30 at Mohawk. Missing this week is Captaintreacherous, whose connections scratched him from the CPD elim due to illness.

”Lou” has major foes in Bettors Edge and Foiled Again, both in this field, but only an unpredictable circumstance would find Lou behind them at the wire. All the others are rungs below Lou, including some of the local favorites that fans have been insisting can beat him. This, however, is not a hockey game, it’s the Sweet Lou Show and he is the best exotic key to come along in a long time. Stay with the program and use the two foes mentioned in criss-crosses for trifectas and in separate exactas, especially if the locals lean on any others.

Grand Circuit events at Mohawk for Friday and Satruday, for two-and three-year-olds, the Champlains and Simcoes, are covered this week at the Breeders Crown Countdown blog.

Zig-‘Zwieg’-Zag

The colts for the $340,000 Zweig Memorial on Friday, Aug. 29 at Vernon Downs,  are familiar and talented and, for all due purposes, still led by the best—Father Patrick. Unless he scratches between our press time and Aug. 29 for health reasons that help explain his post-Hambletonian loss, there is still no one in this cast, including his stable mate Nuncio, that are better than him on their best day.

If his two successive losses cause his win-price offerings to increase, then there is no question he is the key for exotics as well as a win bet (it has been a while since being able to play him straight at prohibitive win odds. A good addition in combo tickets is Martiniwithmuscle. When on gait, this one knows how to float and is getting better as he and the season become older.

The $150,000 filly division of the Zweig is a bad race to give up on Shake It Cerry. Even if you feel Lifetime Pursuit has overcome her, that one is absent here and “Cerry” wins this by default. There may be some chances taken on members of this field by bettors but let’s face it, Cerry is tons better than these, including Heaven’s Door, who loomed more of a formidable foe last month than she does now. What we hope is that Broadway Socks, Avalicious and “Door” are the smokescreen that gives us another surprise price on the filly that continues to keep on giving to the bettor when it counts. You go girl.

Oh ‘K’

Friday, Aug. 29 at Vernon Downs on the night of the Zweigs, the $236,000 Crawford Farms Open, matches super Sebastian K against Bee A Magician, Market Share, Mister Herbie, Archangel and five others.

The speedy Swedish Horse of the Year and top-rated horse in the sport this season, Sebastian K may actually offer a better, albeit low, price to win considering New York champ Archangel is here and loyalty is often measured in wagers. But Sebastian is all around better at racing, at least right now, and he has it all over the local and the mare, Bee A Magician. Hope for a price breaking $3 on Sebastian is slim but, as the saying goes, men have been killed for less/

The Cane Pace

With two colts coming into the race per $35,000 supplemental fees, there are eight entries in the 2014 Cane Pace field on Sept. 1 at Tioga. For years this was a special event, it being the first jewel in the Pacing Triple Crown (a series with more than three events when you add eliminations). Although there is still a “crown” for winning it, the Little Brown Jug and the Messenger Stakes, there is little for any bettor to be concerned about along the way. Sadly, even the press value of the series has died.

However, alive and racing are some of the top soph-colt pacers of the season, including the industry’s anointed Hes Watching. The fast but opportunistic Hes Watching is one of three supplements. He meets major foe Jk Endofanera, the competitive Doo Wop Hanover, improving Lyonssomewhere (supplement), Stevensville (his first nemesis of the season), Luck Be Withyou (supplement), Bushwacker and Beat The Drum.

This could very well wind up to be like the North America Cup in a few ways which give Jk Endofanera an edge. The early-speed factor weighs heavily in this mile and Hes Watching may be over-confident after his recent efforts and ready to play his speed card. That will be his Waterloo, since Lyonssomewhere has the natural ability to fire early (though he has the burden of being short late). In the first-quarter you may also see Stevensville hustling for a front spot, as well as Beat The Drum will have a fancy to be up there.

The grinding colts with more than a few chances to take advantage of the speed scenario are Doo Wop Hanover and Jk Endofanera, the latter who did just that at 12-1 in the “Cup” with a similar configuration and some of the same horses. As well, “Jk” has once again fallen out of favor to Hes Watching and that is always good for his odds, making them far less than his chances. “Doo Wop” could be a perfect closing companion to complete a surprisingly healthy exacta.

H2W Legend

Review our choices and follow the wagering at the prescribed track. These are possible contenders we have judged from reviewing races. The horses’ names are listed beneath the name of the track after the date they will be racing. The race in which they are entered (R and race number) follows. If a + is in front of a horse’s name it means it is appearing on the list for the second (and last time) because it failed to win the first time it appeared. An “ae” signals the horse is entered on the also-eligible list. If a horse is listed twice, refer to the entries on the night of the race since a horse may enter in more than one race. Types of wagering on any of the H2W listed horses are based on your judgment. If you have any questions, email us at TwinSpires.

H2W

Batavia
8/29/14, +Red Star Fiona R1
8/30/14, +Pleasing Form R4; +Aberarder Smitty R6; Bruisers Sister R8

Freehold
8/30/14, Kings Legend R8

Hoosier
8/28/14, +Toni’s Affection R12
8/29/14, +Golden Big Stick R12

Maywood
8/28/14, Impersonal R1; +Online Learning ae R5

Meadows
8/29/14, +Upfront Billy Boy R5; Tuckered Out R7;

Ocean
8/28/14, Rockin Roxanne R4
8/29/14, +Ge’s Alex R2; +Truly My Way R4; Money Paige R10

Pocono
8/29/14, Clearview Hanover R6; Lady Alice R13
8/30/14, Smilin Eli R11

Philadelphia
8/28/14, Senor Grande ae R3
8/31/14, +Bobs Girl R14

Saratoga
8/28/14, +Curly’s Son R3; +Crazy Wow R9
8/30/14, Good Win Earl R2; +Bo’s So Hot R11 
 
Scarborough
8/22/14, Creditable Winner R2; Hobsons Choice R6

Scioto
8/28/14, Docs Zippy R6; Whowhohoosier R12
8/29/14, Creatine R5
8/30/14, Tempster Hanover R3;  +Lookingforadventure R11

Yonkers
8/29/14, +Sweet Justice R8
8/30/14, +Man He Can Scoot R2; +Bubble Boy R3; +Heston Blue Chip R6; Big Jer ae R10

Ray Cotolo contributes to each edition.      

Our horses-to-watch list (H2W) was the source of the week’s most successes. Make sure you check out the across-the-board prices and the exactas included because next week you may decide to back some of your horses to win, to win and place or across the board. Certainly some of the place and show prices have been exceptional and offer a profit from support beyond playing to win.

After Monday, Jan. 20’s Monticello program, any H2W horses from last week’s list will be updated below.

We had a winner in one of the two Super Bowl Series affairs at the Meadowlands on Jan. 16. Clementine Dream won her way into the final, paying $9, $5 and $3.80. In the first leg, we expected Connie Keeper to be a certified longshot but did not imagine the public letter her go at 213-1. The favorite won the division but Connie Keeper’s fourth-place finish, though in no way profitable, was a very good finish considering her odds.

She raced better than our first overnight choice from the Meadows on Jan. 17. Four Starz Kyle was seventh at 7-1. The second suggested race found our contender, PL Dragon, go off at 2-1 and finish third while our second choice in that race, Hall Of Memories finished sixth at 34-1.

TwinSpires’ 10-percent-bonus Buffalo Raceway 50-cent Pick 4 wagers continue on Wednesdays and we hope once again to assist in suggestions you may add to your Jan. 22 ticket. For Jan. 15’s exotic, via Twitter -- @FrankCotolo, @TwinSpires and @BuffaloRaceway – we came through with the highest paying horse of the winning quartet, Carlina Hanover ($10.80, $4.80, $3.70). The other three finishers were strong public choices, resulting in a Pick-4 payoff of $178.50.


H2W RESULTS

The H2W results list across-the-board prices. Also, exactas are included when a H2W horse finishing first or second completes the result with a race favorite or another H2W horse listed as the winner in the same race (*asterisks note the particular races along with track name). This holds true, also, for trifectas if three H2W horses finish win, place and show.

Winners

Knuckles, $28.10, $5.80, $3.90, Western Fair
Hillcrest Romeo, $17.20, $6.40, $3.80, Cal Expo
Beach Hero, $15.40, $5.20, $4.20, Western Fair
Nazko Tribute, $14, $5.70, $4.50, Fraser
(entry) Panic At The Disco, $11.20, $4.40, $2.80, Fraser
KG Cody, $10.40, $4.30, $3.20, Northlands
Poorlittlerichgirl, $7.80, $3.20, $2.60, Cal Expo
Lookinforadventure, $5.40, $2.60, $2.10, Meadows
Latino Hall, $4.80, $3.80, $3, Fraser
Wattafine Rythem, $4.80, $2.90, $2.40, Western Fair
Smooth Criminal, $4.40, $2.90 (no show wagering), Northlands
Live A Little, $4.20, $3, $2.20, Cal Expo

Seconds

Sunny Bee, $12.60, $5, Northlands
Karets, $10.20, $5.80 (Exacta, $38.20), Meadows
Shiny Mach, $9.50, $7.90, Flamboro
Kayla's Dream, $8.20, $3.80 (Exacta, $37.80), Pompano
One Last Shot, $3.30, $2.90 (Exacta, $11.80), Fraser
Just Fred, $3.20, $2.10, Pompano
Plum Crazy Baby, $2.80, $2.40, Cal Expo

Thirds

Pureform Dreamer, $12.20, Fraser
Twentyone Guns, $6.40, Cal Expo
Westridge Warrior, $6.30, Fraser
Somethinsgoinon, $5.80, Fraser
Rock Allstar, $4.10, Fraser
Mmmmmh, $3.50, Fraser
Stilleto Hall, $3.50, Fraser
Cheytenne Ford, $2.70, Western Fair
Mattacardle, $2.60, Meadows
Real Pretty, $2.40, Northlands
Red Hot Yankee, $2.40, Pompano
Dragons Wall, $2.10, Cal Expo
Flight Exec, $2.10, Pompano


News And Notes

At age 72, driver Walter Layfield, Jr. has been driving harness horses or more than five decades. He has not been active for several years and then he has hooked up with trainer Richard Lewis at Dover Downs and the team is proving to be successful. Layfield has driven more than a dozen Lewis-trained horses at Dover’s current meet and has posted four winners.

Meanwhile at Dover, youthful Tyler Davis is winning races at age 21. His dad is Allan Davis, second in the current driver standings, and his grandfather is Eddie Davis, the all-time leading race winning driver in the Middle Atlantic region. The third generation driver, Davis, won his third race of the season on Jan. 8, piloting a 32-1 shot.

Nationally, Dave Palone, was named HTA Driver of the Year. It’s the seventh time Palone has won or shared the honor based on raw number of wins, money won from them and Universal Driver Ratings (similar to a battling average) percentage. On the point tabulation, Palone had a rating of 85.5. Yannick Gingras is runner-up at 83.5. Next in order were Tim Tetrick, Brian Sears and George Napolitano. The award has nothing to do with bettors profiting from bets connected to the driver.

The 2014 Breeders Crown is scheduled to take place at The Meadowlands and will be raced over two nights in November. The events will be divided into a four-race block of distaff races on Friday, Nov. 21 and the remaining eight on Saturday, Nov. 22. The $500,000 Breeders Crown Trot and Pace for three-year-old fillies and a pair of $250,000 “Crowns” for Mare pacers and trotters go on Friday night. All four $500,000 Two-Year-Old events, the $500,000 sophomore colt pace and trot and the $400,000 Pace and $500,000 Trot will be raced on Saturday night.

Tom Charters, president of The Hambletonian Society, which owns and administrates the Breeders Crown series, said, “The Breeders Crown has been conducted in just about every format, single races, blocks of races, all twelve races on one night, and we try always to be sensitive to host track parameters while still getting the most bang out of the event in regard to publicity, TV and promotions. The Meadowlands has been home to many of harness racing's most important events over the past 30 years. We look forward to the return of the Breeders Crown under Jeff Gural's management and especially look forward to the new facility. The one-mile oval in East Rutherford, New Jersey, has hosted 67 Breeders Crown races, more than any other racetrack and in 2014 will celebrate 30 years of Breeders Crown history. TwinSpires hopes to be reporting live both nights with special attractions for account-holders.

Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG) announced the dates for their 2014 stakes season, which includes a new twist where all of the finalists in the stakes events will receive a percentage of the purse. In addition there will no longer be byes issued for stake events. The 31st edition of the Pepsi North America Cup will offer a guaranteed purse of $1 million on Saturday, June 14 at Mohawk. The continent’s finest three year-old pacers will line up behind the gate, with eliminations scheduled the week prior on June 7.

The lucrative June 14 card offers a showcase for the continent’s best horses across several divisions, including the $400,000 Fan Hanover for three-year-old pacing fillies, the $325,000 Roses Are Red for older pacing mares, the $270,000 Armbro Flight for trotting mares, the $225,000 Goodtimes for sophomore trotting colts and the $100,000 Gold Cup for older pacing horses.
Mohawk will once again play host to some of North America’s most prestigious Grand Circuit events. On July 19, the $550,000 Maple Leaf Trot, for older trotters, will be offered for a 62nd time. The $685,000 Metro Pace for two year-old pacing colts is set for Saturday, Aug. 30. Co-featured on the rich Labor Day weekend card are the $650,000 Canadian Pacing Derby for older pacers and the $450,000 Shes A Great Lady Stakes for juvenile pacing fillies. The Canadian Trotting Classic, for three year-old colt trotters, will go on Saturday, Sept. 13 for a purse of $685,000.  The $375,000 Peaceful Way final for two year-old trotting fillies, the $365,000 William Wellwood Memorial for two-year-old trotting colts and the $365,000 Elegantimage, for three-year-old filly trotters, are also featured on the mid-September weekend.

The Grand Circuit stakes return to Woodbine for its Fall meet in October. The $1.9-million Fall Four (Goldsmith Maid, Three Diamonds, Valley Victory and Governor’s Cup), will be contested on Saturday, Oct. 25.

Also in 2014, all finishers in the stakes finals will earn purse money. The winner will continue to receive the traditional 50 percent of the total purse, while those sixth through last receive 1 percent each. Those finishing second through fifth will receive 24-16-10 percent, respectively, of the remaining purse after first and sixth through 10th are paid. Plus, if 11 horses or fewer declare to start in a stakes series, there will be no eliminations and all declared horses advance directly to the final. Byes will no longer be issued in stakes events.

News And Notes

At age 72, driver Walter Layfield, Jr. has been driving harness horses or more than five decades. He has not been active for several years and then he has hooked up with trainer Richard Lewis at Dover Downs and the team is proving to be successful. Layfield has driven more than a dozen Lewis-trained horses at Dover’s current meet and has posted four winners.

Meanwhile at Dover, youthful Tyler Davis is winning races at age 21. His dad is Allan Davis, second in the current driver standings, and his grandfather is Eddie Davis, the all-time leading race winning driver in the Middle Atlantic region. The third generation driver, Davis, won his third race of the season on Jan. 8, piloting a 32-1 shot.

Nationally, Dave Palone, was named HTA Driver of the Year. It’s the seventh time Palone has won or shared the honor based on raw number of wins, money won from them and Universal Driver Ratings (similar to a battling average) percentage. On the point tabulation, Palone had a rating of 85.5. Yannick Gingras is runner-up at 83.5. Next in order were Tim Tetrick, Brian Sears and George Napolitano. The award has nothing to do with bettors profiting from bets connected to the driver.

The 2014 Breeders Crown is scheduled to take place at The Meadowlands and will be raced over two nights in November. The events will be divided into a four-race block of distaff races on Friday, Nov. 21 and the remaining eight on Saturday, Nov. 22. The $500,000 Breeders Crown Trot and Pace for three-year-old fillies and a pair of $250,000 “Crowns” for Mare pacers and trotters go on Friday night. All four $500,000 Two-Year-Old events, the $500,000 sophomore colt pace and trot and the $400,000 Pace and $500,000 Trot will be raced on Saturday night.

Tom Charters, president of The Hambletonian Society, which owns and administrates the Breeders Crown series, said, “The Breeders Crown has been conducted in just about every format, single races, blocks of races, all twelve races on one night, and we try always to be sensitive to host track parameters while still getting the most bang out of the event in regard to publicity, TV and promotions. The Meadowlands has been home to many of harness racing's most important events over the past 30 years. We look forward to the return of the Breeders Crown under Jeff Gural's management and especially look forward to the new facility. The one-mile oval in East Rutherford, New Jersey, has hosted 67 Breeders Crown races, more than any other racetrack and in 2014 will celebrate 30 years of Breeders Crown history. TwinSpires hopes to be reporting live both nights with special attractions for account-holders.

Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG) announced the dates for their 2014 stakes season, which includes a new twist where all of the finalists in the stakes events will receive a percentage of the purse. In addition there will no longer be byes issued for stake events. The 31st edition of the Pepsi North America Cup will offer a guaranteed purse of $1 million on Saturday, June 14 at Mohawk. The continent’s finest three year-old pacers will line up behind the gate, with eliminations scheduled the week prior on June 7.

The lucrative June 14 card offers a showcase for the continent’s best horses across several divisions, including the $400,000 Fan Hanover for three-year-old pacing fillies, the $325,000 Roses Are Red for older pacing mares, the $270,000 Armbro Flight for trotting mares, the $225,000 Goodtimes for sophomore trotting colts and the $100,000 Gold Cup for older pacing horses.
Mohawk will once again play host to some of North America’s most prestigious Grand Circuit events. On July 19, the $550,000 Maple Leaf Trot, for older trotters, will be offered for a 62nd time. The $685,000 Metro Pace for two year-old pacing colts is set for Saturday, Aug. 30. Co-featured on the rich Labor Day weekend card are the $650,000 Canadian Pacing Derby for older pacers and the $450,000 Shes A Great Lady Stakes for juvenile pacing fillies. The Canadian Trotting Classic, for three year-old colt trotters, will go on Saturday, Sept. 13 for a purse of $685,000.  The $375,000 Peaceful Way final for two year-old trotting fillies, the $365,000 William Wellwood Memorial for two-year-old trotting colts and the $365,000 Elegantimage, for three-year-old filly trotters, are also featured on the mid-September weekend.

The Grand Circuit stakes return to Woodbine for its Fall meet in October. The $1.9-million Fall Four (Goldsmith Maid, Three Diamonds, Valley Victory and Governor’s Cup), will be contested on Saturday, Oct. 25.

Also in 2014, all finishers in the stakes finals will earn purse money. The winner will continue to receive the traditional 50 percent of the total purse, while those sixth through last receive 1 percent each. Those finishing second through fifth will receive 24-16-10 percent, respectively, of the remaining purse after first and sixth through 10th are paid. Plus, if 11 horses or fewer declare to start in a stakes series, there will be no eliminations and all declared horses advance directly to the final. Byes will no longer be issued in stakes events.

Extraordinary Extras

Indulge in many standardbred topics at my Hoof Beats blog titled Vast Performances.

Ray Cotolo contributed to this blog.

Cartoons by Thom Pye

The Breeders Crown for 2013 takes place on the single program at Pocono Downs this Saturday, Oct. 19. We will once again be on site for the events, offering tweets @FrankCotolo , @HarnessRaycer with extended coverage. Follow us for some major late-breaking wagering opportunities, as well as exclusive insider comments.

This week’s blog, like last week’s blog, splits into two volumes. We cover, below, the two- and three-year-old events. At the Breeders CrownCountdown blog, we cover the finals for the older divisions. Our horses-to-watch list (H2W) returns next week.

The finals’ fields include the top finishers from the elims and the byes, making for competitive races, though four of them include arguable locks.
 
Two-year-old Colt Trot

One of this year’s three best horses has been Father Patrick. We have sung his praises through the season and he has not let us down. In the elim we nabbed him with Nuncio for an exacta, having faith in the latter’s return after a rest. Father Patrick made up a lot of ground to win but it’s the kind of horse he has been all season in this division. Don Dorado, here with rest, comes in on a bye and should be wailing. Nuncio could be in the mix again.

Two-year-old Filly Pace
Gallie Bythe Beach won an elim but her connections scratched her, disliking how she came out of the mile. So, Precocious Beauty, beaten a neck last week and getting post 8, may be a decent price, especially with She’s Da Bomb, though also an elim loser, and Allstar Rating, the other elim winner, drawing inside of her. If those three cancel each another out with duels and shuffling, which is a good possibility, Uffizi Hanover could be the upset performer.

Two-year-old Filly Trot
Cooler Schooner appears to be a step or two better than her main rival, Shake It Cerry, but that is impossible to prove. Ultimately, the filly that can topple them both, especially if they speed it up midway to get control, is Lifetime Pursuit. A spoiler for the exacta may be Demanding Sam, who was strong late against “Cooler” in a deceiving close (because “Cooler” won by over 10 lengths). “Cerry” could be off the board.

Three-year-old Filly Pace
This division went sans elims but what does that matter when I Luv The Nitelife shows up to race? She is the second of four outstanding division leaders and should cap her soph season tonight with a blaze of glory. There will be action on Shebestingin and Somwherovrarainbow but it is most difficult to see them beating “Nitelife.” In fact, while you are keying Nitelife in exotics, don’t leave out Parlee Beach, who could pull another great second as she did in Delaware, at a big price.

Two-year-old Colt Pace
This is a tough field with a lot of cases for many to win. So Surreal closed very well in his elim and may be a big overlay compared to Somestarsomewhere and Luck Be Withyou, last week’s steamers. Also a probable outsider with a decent chance of being in the mix is Three Of Clubs. He will be under-rated, especially from post 8, but is coming around to a strong peak at the right time.

Three-year-old Filly Trot

The next standout, unbeaten in her division and the filly many thought could have beaten the boys in the Hambo, is Bee A Magician. Readers of this blog heard the name first here, last year, when we forecast the daughter of Kadabra to be a giant. She has exceeded our expectations and could be the best around since CR Kay Suzie. Royal Assets scratched, bringing Southwind Cocoa into the field but that is a small asterisk. Chances are Coffeecake Hanover or Ma Chere Hall sit behind “Bee” and there is the exacta.

Ray Cotolo contributed to this edition.

 

Friday night, Oct. 11 and Saturday night, Oct. 12, we huddled in the press box at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, shuttling from the intimate area to the winner’s circle during two programs laden with Breeders Crown activity, the eliminations for the Oct. 19 finals.

This was the first of our two weeks in the gloriously beautiful Pocono Mountains, at the five-eighths-mile oval with the fast, deeply rich-reddened surface and smooth turns, sharing with a global audience the talents of the sport’s human and equine stars and finest journalists. We return next weekend to cover the program at Pocono that hosts the dozen finals on Oct. 19. Our Thursday blog and the spin-off blog, our Breeders Crown Countdown will preview the races. As well, @FrankCotolo and @HarnessRaycer on Twitter will be presenting tips, info and photos through the card.

Our thanks, of course, to the Hambletonian Society –Tom Charters, Moira Fanning and the Board of Directors—for the accommodations and the opportunity to rejoin our cohorts and the sport’s insiders to further the great wagering benefits of harness racing through TwinSpires and assist the industry with racing reports. Along with Moira Fanning, Jay Bergman, Ken Winegartner and Ray Cotolo, complete recaps of all the elims were produced and are accessible by clicking the races’ appropriate links in our wagering recap below.

We are going to recap our betting activity thoroughly, including the blogs’ suggested contenders and the on-site tweets through the Twitter accounts above (as well, many tweets are retweeted through accounts such as Pocono Downs, @MSPDRacing, so check your Twitter coverage so you don’t miss one instant update or change from the source of the action. 
Friday Frosh Elims

In the first of two frosh-filly trot elims , we were third with Goddess. Off at 45-1, she paid $11.20 to show, beaten by two favorites, Shake It Cerry and Lifetime Pursuit.

Elim two for the filly trotters found our choice, Demanding Sam finishing third, paying $4 to show. She went off at 14-1 and was beaten by two of the three top choices.

The first of two elims for frosh-filly pacers was won by a second choice, while our blog’s contender, Ali Blue, finished fourth at 6-1. The @HarnessRaycer tweet supported Southwind Silence (12-1), who finished second and paid $6.40 to place and $15.60 to show.

The second division for the filly pacers featured a mild upset from Allstar Rating. We backed the top choice, Precocious Beauty, who finished second and paid $2.10 and $2.10.

We backed Father Patrick, the stunning frosh-colt trotter, in the frosh-colt trot elim (a single mile where the top seven qualified for the final) and we offered a sharp second-place choice in Nuncio (15-1). Father Patrick won, paying $2.80, $2.80 and $2.10. Nuncio finished second, paying $8.20 and $8.40. The exacta came back $26.80.

Saturday’s Stakes Storm

We must lead with another great tale of Captaintreacherous (photo above) because once again he defied all odds of winning with a trip that any other pacer would surely call treacherous. For this champion pacer, though, being hanged and dueling are not problems, even when they come in tandem. Read the story of his victory in the second soph-colt-pace elim. His victory, which we supported, was worth $2.60, $2.20 and $2.10.

You could get only $2.10 across the board on our other obvious choice, Bee A Magician, in the second division for soph-filly trotters. But you cannot get the definition of a “lock” any closer than this gorgeous gal.Luck Be With You was our winner in the third division of frosh-colt pacers. He paid $6.80. $3.40 and $2.80.

Though we blogged liking Bluto in the first division of soph-colt trotters, @HarnessRaycer tweeted on site about All Laid Out and he won, paying $7.80, $3.40 and $2.60.

We liked Apprentice Hanover (11-1) in the first soph-colt pace but we also mentioned the winner, Lucan Hanover ($7.80, $3.60 and $2.80). “Apprentice” finished fourth.

When Coffeecake Hanover won the first soph-filly-trot elim, following the on-site tweets paid off again. Our blog choice, Bouncing Bax (5-1) finished fifth to the @HarnessRaycer tweeted choice, Coffeecake Hanover, paying $23, $4.80 and $3.

The third choice for @HarnessRaycer, Doo Wop Hanover, lighted up the toteboard in the second split for frosh-colt pacers. When three top choices broke early in the race and were eliminated, “Doo Wop” went on to race smoothly to a win, paying $64 to win, ahead of a 10-1 shot and a 35-1 shot. Our choice, Beat The Drum (45-1), finished sixth.

The first division of three frosh-colt pacers was a loss with Let’s Drink On It (13-1), who finished sixth. We had D’orsay (2-1) in round one for mare trotters; she paid $3.80 and $3.20, beaten by the public choice. We lost with Swinging Beauty (15-1) in the single elim for mare pacers; we were fourth with Royalty For Life in round two of the soph-colt trot battle; Win Missy B (16-1) tried to take the older mare trotters wire to wire with three fiery panels but tanked in the second round for mare trotters, won by top choice Maven.

In the older pace, just about everyone was shocked at the lackluster performance of A Rocknroll Dance. Foiled Again won the race with verve and muscle but the favorite, our choice, too, “Dance,” never got into the race, finishing last in the field of nine. We will report anything we hear about the condition of the fine pacer.

H2W RESULTS

$4.50 Romeo Star, Batavia

The following are the horses that finished second or third along with their post-time odds. Special notes on those finishes follow.

Seconds:
Twin B Shasta (6-5), Northfield; Broadwood (5-2), Vernon

Thirds:
There were no third-place finishers from the list.

The entire H2W list from Thursday provided only seven horses. Upcoming lists, especially after the Breeders Crown events, guarantee more possible plays.

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News And Notes

Draws for the sophomore colt pace and the sophomore colt trot will be pulled at a special press conference at Pocono on Wednesday, Oct. 16.

Wagering on the 2013 Breeders Crown finals at Pocono Downs on Oct. 19 will include the following exotics in conjunction with the U.S. Trotting Association. There will be three Pick-4 wagers, starting with the first Breeders Crown race on the card, which will be Race 3. The three Pick-4 wagers will be offered up to the final Breeders Crown race, which is Race 14. There will be a guaranteed pool for each Pick 4 of $25,000 and all will have a takeout rate of 15 per cent. In addition, there will be an Early Daily Double for Races 1 and 2, which will be $75,000 Pocono Invitational races, and a Late Daily Double for the last two races on the card. The Pick 3 will be offered for Races 1, 2, and 3, and the takeout will be 15 per cent. Post time for the 2013 Breeders Crown is 5 p.m.

Extraordinary Extras Indulge in many standardbred topics at my Hoof Beats blog titled Vast Performances.

Connect to Twitter and follow Frank and Ray Cotolo for up-to-the-minute suggestions on wagers at many harness raceways. Then, wager from your TwinSpires accounts.

 

Ray Cotolo contributed to this blog.  

Cartoons by Thom Pye

The Breeders Crown is not as old as some of the events just raced at The Red Mile but  in its brief life it has earned a place in the history of harness racing. Since adopting a format to race all the event’s finals on a single evening, which stacked any and all eliminations the week before, the Breeders Crown has established fecund ground for harness bettors.

This year’s eliminations will feature most of the 156 horses entered in the season’s-end championship events, which begin on Oct. 11 and continue through Oct. 12 with elimination miles. The “Crown” returns to Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania after two years at Woodbine in Canada.

We will be on site for the three days of racing, with tweets @FrankCotolo , @RayCotolo and lie extended coverage. Follow us, we hope for some major wagering opportunities, as well as presenting exclusive insider comments.

This week’s blog splits into two volumes. We cover, below, the Saturday, Oct. 12 elims. At the Breeders Crown Countdown blog, we cover the five Oct. 11 elims and provide other information about the finals.

Elims are unnecessary for the soph-filly pacers and the Open Trot because both received only nine entries. Eliminations for frosh-colt-and-filly trotters plus frosh filly pacers are Friday, Oct. 11. Post time is 6:30 p.m. both nights.

What we enjoy about the eliminations is that they provide many more races than the dozen finals, allowing for us to pick and choose our spots. But they also may produce good-paying winners that may not be valuable bets in the final. Elims pit different horses against one another and are strong wagering occasions with, obviously, more winners. Keep in mind we are handicapping these races with the same mindset we use for all of our suggested contenders through the season and strive for the strongest returns while respecting the standout horses.

Seven Stakes

Seven divisions line up on Oct. 12 to battle for berths in the finals. Four have divisions and two offer spots in the final fields to the first seven finishers. There is no order to our analysis, so check your programs for race number and post time.

The glamour-boy pacers offer two splits. In the first of them, six colts that have been co-stars in most of the bigger divisional stakes meet sans the intimidation of Captaintreacherous (see below). Sunshine Beach is the only colt this year to beat Captaintreacherous and he will be winging early to place the three turns in his favor. How much the other two top choices will offer could make either of them worthy of a bet against “Sunshine.” Lucan Hanover returns from a rest after winning a “Jug” elim and is perfect for this track. Fool Me Once was beaten in Lexington as a dead-on favorite and has far more credentials to be considered here. Right behind his loss was Apprentice Hanover, who raced better, closing tough from far back, and he is the true outside challenge here.

Division two goes to Captaintreacherous, who has won here before under the worst conditions and would be our choice if it began to rain daggers in the Pocono Mountains.

The glamour-boy trotters face each other again and a few that passed over Lexington come back for the big show.

Division one won’t be handed to Smilin Eli, though his best recent wins were here (he also began to tank here). Bluto won here, though, and could be the overlay as “Eli” and All Laid Out gather stacks of win dough.
In the second split the competition looks to be deep but perhaps that is a smokescreen for Royalty For Life to win at a decent price. After losing the second “Futurity” heat in Lexington, money could float to Spider Blue Chip and the Futurity winner, Creatine. Plus, bettors may not be so forgiving of the bad trip that saw “Royalty” losing badly here a few races back. So watch the odds, Royalty may offer a surprisingly good win price.

The soph-girl trotters include a few Kentucky-skippers in two splits. The first may be the best betting situation, as undefeated Bee A Magician leads division two and is bound to create a negative pool.

Kentucky Filly Futurity-winner To Dream On may get more action than she deserves in round one, as trainer Jimmy Takter does not have great confidence in her doing three turns and the general public may not know this or take it into consideration. This could be good for wagering around her. Frau Blucher should be a co-choice, despite tanking in Kentucky but Bouncing Bax may be the big spoiler. This race is rife for an upset.

Division two may or may not hold some exotic wagering opportunities but it is impossible to bet against Bee A Magician or use her as a key. She has been fiendish and comes off of a brief rest that could find her exploding in this season of world-record breaking miles.

The mare trotters surprise bettors with two divisions. This is a category usually soft on entries but here they are in two splits, none of them avoiding a chance to race in the final dozen.

The first split seems to have a lot of promise for D’Orsay, though she may be bet heavily despite the morning line for Bax Of Life suggesting otherwise. “Bax” has had a hard time winning against any of these, so the favorite prediction seems undeserved. Certainly if Cedar Dove in on her game, she will play a part in the outcome, so D’Orsay may present a decent price.

Episode two points distinctively to Maven, though you can make a case against her to win here. Win Missy B just broke a speed mark at the Meadows on Oct. 9 and will be filled with spunk three days later to attempt a steal here. She could be in better shape now than Check Me Out, who has awoken late this season and seems ready to look something like her sophomore self. But “Missy” should be the outside contender and priced higher than her chances.

Review our choices and follow the wagering at the prescribed track. These are possible contenders we have judged from reviewing races.

Our three-day weekend of harness action began with a boon and turned a bit gloomy, though not as near as dim as the weather in Kentucky for The Red Mile’s concluding Grand Circuit program. The state was plummeted with rain—in some areas as much as seven inches in a few hours—and Lexington’s skies opened up on the pacers and trotters making a fast track to a good track to a messy track by the time the main events went off.

First, the good news, which took place on Friday and Saturday and not all of it came from The Red Mile. Friday in Chicago we nailed one of the two Maywood Park signature frosh stakes, the Cardinal. Our choice, Ringo’s Z Tam, won the event and paid $18. That same night, as recorded in the horses-to-watch (H2W) results list below, we scored with Prosper in an overnight for a win price of $23.80. Southeast of Chicago, near-Pittsburgh’s Meadows produced Dragontina, paying $22.40.

 

Meanwhile, at The Red Mile before the floods, a pair of our International Stallion Stakes choices succeeded. The best score was in the frosh-filly pace, where My Lady Day won and paid $19.80. In the frosh-colt trot we won with E L Titan. That one surprisingly received near-favorite status and paid $5.20 to win.

 

The rains began on Oct. 5 but, as predicted, an “off track” would not be a factor in another Captaintreacherous victory. He won a division of the Tattersalls Pace, toying with second-choice Vegas Vacation’s threat in late stretch, to win, paying $2.60. In a division of the soph-filly pace Glen Garnsey, we scored with Carols Desire at $7.40, and our other choice, Parlee Beach, finished second to complete an exacta worth $19.80.

By the time the first heat of the Kentucky Futurity for fillies went off, the rain was becoming an issue on the mile oval. To our amazement, our choice to win both the heats, Classic Martine, was the favorite. But Ma Chere Hall, the filly that we had given out many times this season when no one was onto her, defeated our choice in the stretch at a remarkable 5-1.

Then, in the second elim heat, where it was winner-take-all, To Dream On (13-1) came from off the soggy pace to trot home the winner. Classic Martine (8-5), a factor for three-quarters, tanked mid-stretch to finish fifth.

The weather deeply affected all of the races once it was considered severe. Many top choices went down with no other reasons available as evidence except the anything-but-fast surface. From Race 8, when Shelliscape, benefiting from a second-over trip and closing on faded speed, won at 5-1, there was little argument that the messy foundation played a role in all results. Golden Receiver won at 12-1 because he has not been able to handle this group recently (current fireball Pet Rock never got going and A Rocknroll Dance finished last).

Breeders Crown Countdown blog the Kentucky Futurity for colts got going in the deluge. We were all right in heat one, when Royalty For Life controlled the fractions and embraced the conditions, as he had done in previous wins, won, paying a decent $3.60. Right behind him in heat one was Creatine (our Players Pool Hambo elim winner in August) and in the second elim heat, “Royalty” tried the same tactics but found his control of staying atop the field weak, while Creatine stayed afloat, got a sharp second-over trip and splashed home the winner at 15-1. He was followed by All Laid Out (51-1) and Spider Blue Chip (7-1) as “Royalty” and second-elim heat winner Your So Vain were empty late. Our second-elim choice, Lindy’s Tru Grit was 30-1 and finished fourth in that affair and scratched for the second heat.

The spin-off blog, our Breeders Crown Countdown, in cooperation with the Hambletonian Society (where the race result stories are archived) and TwinSpires, will work in league with this blog and @FrankCotolo at Twitter as the exclusive bettors’ aid for handicapping two weeks of championship racing. Check it out in our Thursday TwinSpires blog as we begin live coverage of the Breeders Crown eliminations and finals from Pocono Downs on Oct. 11, Oct. 12 and Oct. 19.

H2W RESULTS

$23.00 Prosper, Maywood
$22.40 Dragontina, Meadows
$10.00 Indescribable, Colonial
$4.00 Furious Five, Colonial 

 

The following are the horses that finished second or third along with their post-time odds. Special notes on those finishes follow. 

 

Seconds:
Broadwood (5-1), Vernon; Allstar Blues (1-1), Freehold; Zeller’s Island (1-5), Maywood; Fox Valley Presto (19-1), Maywood 

 

Thirds:
There were no third-place finishers from the list.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

News And Notes
Wagering on the 2013 Breeders Crown finals at Pocono Downs on Oct. 19 will include the following exotics in conjunction with the U.S. Trotting Association. There will be three Pick-4 wagers, starting with the first Breeders Crown race on the card, which will be Race 3. The three Pick-4 wagers will be offered up to the final Breeders Crown race, which is Race 14. There will be a guaranteed pool for each Pick 4 of $25,000 and all will have a takeout rate of 15 per cent. In addition, there will be an Early Daily Double for Races 1 and 2, which will be $75,000 Pocono Invitational races, and a Late Daily Double for the last two races on the card. The Pick 3 will be offered for Races 1, 2, and 3, and the takeout will be 15 per cent. Post time for the 2013 Breeders Crown is 5 p.m.

Captaintreacherous, according to his connections, will race at four, barring any complications. Howeer, Myron Bell, racing manager of the colt, and Jim Simpson, President of Hanover Shoe Farms, have announced that the great son of Somebeachsomewhere will be retired and stand at stud at Hanover beginning in 2015.

Last week we reported on the anticipated return of older trotter San Pail and his first encounter with last year's Breeders Crown winner Intimidate. However, Intimidate scratched from the event, due to sickness, and another scratch reduced the field to four. It was the first pari-mutuel start in well over a year for San Pail, North America’s Horse of the Year in 2011, and he finished second to Knows Nothing in 1:54.4. After a year away from the track to nurse a leg injury, nine-year-old San Pail won three-straight qualifiers at Mohawk before this event. He is trained by Rod Hughes. Knows Nothing is a four-year-old son of Kadabra and has won near $700,000.

Extraordinary Extras

 

Indulge in many standardbred topics at my Hoof Beats blog titled Vast Performances.

Connect to Twitter and follow Frank and Ray Cotolo for up-to-the-minute suggestions on wagers at many harness raceways. Then, wager from your TwinSpires accounts.

 

Ray Cotolo contributed to this blog.