Showing posts with label Pye. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pye. Show all posts

  • Cotolo’s Harness Review, News And Notes

    POSTED Oct 27, 2012 By Frank Cotolo
    A dozen races on any night are tough to handle. Who, after all, finds a dozen races, no less on one program, that offer good wagering opportunities? But it was the night of champions, the best of the best in every division, so we approached the dozen Breeders Crown finals at Woodbine on Oct. 27 with all the tools we had available, looking for our usual suspects, overlays, and paying respect to the obvious favorites that seemed undefeatable.  

    What became of the night, we hope, was profitable for you. Our suggested contenders did well, though only one on top offered a victory among a slew of public choices. As well, we were not so adept at the upsets, though one of our second choices wound up to pay the most to win of all the races. 

    Our winner was Wheeling N Dealin, the frosh-colt trotter we thought would continue his win streak to nine races. He did just that, paying $4.20. Our pumped-up overlay exacta did not come through, as Caveat Emptor could only finish fourth. 

    The biggest upset of the night finished with our second choice beating our first. Rockin Amadeus orchestrated a crushing defeat to Captaintreacherous, who came up short with no particular excuse. “Amadeus” won to the tune of a $37 win mutuel. 

    Some voices of handicapping brought up a possibility for that upset, which like a few victories, seemed to favor first-over trips (or, as the case may be, offer a slowing inside lane). Captaintreacherous had little to offer in the last few yards of the mile, uncharacteristic to his style. The strongly favored Chapter Seven won the Open Trot racing the entire mile first over, while the European invader Commander Crowe had an easy trip on top until the same spot where Captaintreacherous tanked. 

    Maven defeated Check Me Out in the soph-filly trot, also by using some first-over tactics against a filly she could not defeat all season on any sized track. Check Me Out also tanked late, finishing third. It was another one of the obvious favorites we put in our first spot.  

    Choices we listed as win plays that were in the thick of the race were Sweet Lou and Golden Receiver, finishing second, and Rebeka Bayama and Market Share, finishing third.  

    Choices we included that finished by completing exactas—as we thought they would, only with different winners—were I Luv The Nightlife and Shelliscape. 

    Our exclusive Breeders Crown Countdown blog will offer closing comments this week, so check in for the aftermath entries. 

    Review all of the season’s great harness action at the archives we produce at Hambletonian Society’s page.

    News And Notes

    Trainer Jimmy Takter came into the 2012 Breeders Crown (BC) evening as the event’s all-time leader in purse earnings, was elected the Most Valuable Trainer, a title sponsored by Walsh Products. Takter had $6.3 million in BC earnings before he won with three students on Oct. 27: American Jewel, To Dream On and Rockin Amadeus.

    Driver Tim Tetrick became the first driver to win four BC events since the series was held on a single program. He drove Anndrovette, Chapter Seven, American Jewel and Heston Blue Chip to their victories.

    Long-time horse owner/breeder, amateur driver and harness lover Alan Kirschenbaum has died. The 51-year-old was a well-known comedy writer with many successful programs over the years. He was instrumental helping to keep harness racing in California as an activist for standardbred issues in the state. As of this writing the details of his passing are unclear. He was a friend of ours and of this column and we are profoundly affected by his death.

    There will be a new format for major race days this upcoming meet at Dover Downs with the top pace, the $30,000 Preferred pace moving to Thursday this season. On Tuesdays, the feature race will be a $23,000 Filly and Mare Open pace. The week’s top event for trotters, a $23,000 Open, is also now set for Tuesdays.

    Dover Downs’ opening day is Sunday, Nov. 4. The November and December racing schedule is Sundays at 5:30 p.m. and Mondays through Thursdays, post time at 4:30 p.m. During the first two month there is no live racing on Fridays and Saturdays.

    Beginning with the New Year, another race day, Saturday, will be added to the weekly schedule for January and February with Saturday and Sunday post time for weekend racing at 1 p.m. There are no change weekdays.

    All tracks are poised to cancel programs from Monday, Oct. 29 in lieu of the forecasted super storm Sandy, scheduled to hit the East Coast and go west to inland locations. As the area braces for an unprecedented climate trauma, updates will persist as to the continuation of all events.

    Extraordinary Extras

    Indulge in many standardbred topics at my Hoof Beats blog titled Vast Performances. Every weekend as part of that blog we we offer Balmoral Pick-4-and-win picks at the USTA’s Strategic Wagering Program page which includes suggested win bets.   

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

    Get onto our mailing list and receive a free copy of a classic horseracing fiction book by clicking here.  

    Check out special podcasts available for beginners and veterans of harness betting, a new series available free so you can learn more to bet more and win more at TwinSpires. Click here.
     
     
     
    Cartoon by Thom Pye

  • Cotolo’s Harness Review, News And Notes

    POSTED Sep 30, 2012 By Frank Cotolo
    The Red Mile’s Grand Circuit meet is the focus of the sport for the next two weeks. The weekend was filled with Bluegrass stakes for two- and three-year-olds of both gaits.  

    Our campaign began on Friday, where we tried to beat favorites that were spot-on fast and furious. We had a 6-1 second with Deadliest Catch, who completed the $24 exacta with a favorite. Beyond that we were fourth with Here’s Johnny, had a breaker that finished off the board and a scratch with Arctic Tale. 

    Saturday got lucky for us as a disqualification placed our choice, Rockin Amadeus first in another Bluegrass event, paying $10. Captaintreacherous won again later paying two and change.  

    Three others we gave out finished second: Sir Richard Z Tam (2-1), Dedi’s Dragon (2-1) and Bettor’s Edge (7-1). Rockaround Sue (48-1) finished third. 

    Sunday, Sept. 30’s Bluegrass features were for soph-colt and soph-filly trotters. Our only strike was mild and, as it turned out, quite predictable. Guccio won a colt split as the dead-on choice, paying $2.40. In the other colt episodes, Gym Tan Laundry (3-1) was fourth and Beer Summit (3-1) got fifth. 

    The fillies also handed over an obvious choice as Check Me Out broke her own world record and won, paying $2.80 in one split. Bluff (7-5) skipped a bit at the top but recovered to finish third and Personal Style (3-2) broke at three-quarters while charging in second and finished sixth. 

    The final weekend of The Red Mile’s Grand Circuit meet presents the age-old Kentucky Futurity episodes for colts and fillies of the soph-trotting ilk. The events are embedded in harness racing history (for some info, click here) and is one of the last outposts for heat racing. 

    The Hambletonian crews will be aboard, most of them engaged in heat racing for the first time, which could provoke any number of upsets. We will be covering the events with complete analysis’ in our preview blog this week, including the exclusive Breeders Crown Countdown blog. 

    Other top events are on the agenda for two- and three-year-olds of both gaits and some other divisions. These are the last big races before eight divisions drop into the box for the Breeders Crown elims. Stay with us at TwinSpires for great harness-betting action and stabs at the best prices the sport offers. 

    Review all of the season’s great harness action at the archives we produce at Hambletonian Society’s page.

    News And Notes

    The biggest news this week is that the Breeders Crown series will return to Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs in 2013. We were on site in 2010 at the Pennsylvania track to report on both weekends—elims and finals—and hope to be there again with the press corps next year, exclusively for TwinSpires in league with the Hambletonian Society, which handles the series. We will cover this year’s series at Woodbine live but not on site.

    Tom Charters, president of the Hambletonian Society, was enthusiastic about the partnership.

    “The opportunity to return to Pocono Downs in 2013 is very exciting,” he said. “Mohegan Sun and the Pennsylvania horsemen were terrific hosts in 2010.

    “Building on that memorable record-breaking night [in 2010], the Hambletonian Society is looking forward to partnering with them again on what will be a spectacular event for the entire harness industry.”

    Pocono was the first track to host all 12 races on a single program, worth $6 million.

    Western Fair in Canada opens Oct. 12 with a 7:05 p.m. EST post. The London, Ontario oval will host racing every Monday and Tuesday at 4:05 p.m. and Friday and Saturday nights at 7:05 p.m. through Dec. 31. The first major race on the schedule will be the $200,000 (est.) Forest City Pace for pacing mares, slated for Saturday, Nov. 17.

    Herve Filion has accepted an invitation from Rideau-Carleton Raceway to drive on its Sunday, Oct. 7 program. The 72-year-old will make his first Canadian driving appearance in over a decade.

    Filion, a native of Quebec, has spent most of his life living and racing in New York. He sits second in North American in lifetime victories with 15,180, his record being surpassed this year by Dave Palone. His career earnings are nearly $90 million.

    In the standardbred industry’s Top Ten poll, the filly Check Me Out continues to maintain first place. It is uncommon for a soph-filly trotter to hold the first spot, no less keep it for as long as has Ray Schnittker’s dynamic filly.

    One horse that is eligible but won’t be racing in the Breeders Crown is For A Dancer. The soph-filly trotters connections announced they are retiring her for health reasons. She had a pretty good go at the races at two and three. She won the Lady Suffolk in May and an Empire Breeders Classic elim and final in June but she was never a challenge to the division’s super filly, Check Me Out. 

    Extraordinary Extras

    Indulge in many standardbred topics at my Hoof Beats blog titled Vast Performances. Every weekend as part of that blog we we offer Balmoral Pick-4-and-win picks at the USTA’s Strategic Wagering Program page which includes suggested win bets. Last Saturday’s ticket produced two winners, Gibbs ($10.60) and Whistle Pig ($13.40). 

    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.  

    Get onto our mailing list and receive a free copy of a classic horseracing fiction book by clicking here.  

    Check out special podcasts available for beginners and veterans of harness betting, a new series available free so you can learn more to bet more and win more at TwinSpires. Click here.
     

    Cartoon by Thom Pye

  • Cotolo’s Harness Review

    POSTED Mar 3, 2012 By Frank Cotolo
    There was a little success inside of the big picture of play this weekend and enough of it to toss a profit. We continue to emphasize the importance of win betting, even when you are investing in exotics.  

    On Friday night we accurately called two feature races at the Meadowlands, though we promoted a pass on one.  

    The sophomore-colt trotting division opened its long, dramatic season in the Charles Singer Memorial Final and we gave you the winner, Not Afraid, paying $6.40. We thought we might get a better price but the power of the connections kicked in during the betting (Jimmy Takter, trainer). He was the second choice, as a three-horse entry went off at 70 cents to the dollar.  

    The win was strong, as we suggested it could be, with a wire-to-wire mile. We also like the gelding’s a sire, SJ’s Caviar, because he has a legacy of speed and a record for producing strong sophomore colts. 

    We cannot take credit for Rocklamation winning the Overbid’s first leg but we mentioned that he was one horse that we could make a case for winning, since the field was packed with talent, including the return of Put On A Show and Anndrovette. It was a smart pass, as those two hardly fired and the winner, part of an entry, did not offer as much as it should have to win.  

    If you bought the hot-pace theory we presented, however, and you liked the 9-2 offered on Rocklamation and his two Ron Burke stable mates, you scored. We watched it and made notes. This division will be in action weekly, aiming at some of the large purses it presents through the long season, and there will be plenty of situations to find strong overlays.   

    The same division went at it north of the border as Woodbine presented the Damsel Pacing Series leg with two divisions. We split decisions here but were correct about the public’s minor dismissal of DGs Tinkerbell, as that one won and paid $9. We lost the second Damsel split. 

    The TSC Elite points are going for 10X with winning $10 tickets at Woodbine again next Saturday. 

    At Cal Expo, the no-takeout Pick 4 moved to Fridays and we gave you half the winning combination.  

    Our single in the first leg, Attitude Rules, was a big favorite, winning to pay $3.80. In the second leg we had two choices and one of them, Devilish Donnie, took the race to pay a whopping $20.60. Again, this is testimony to complementing exotic play with win bets on the members of the ticket that you can deign overlays. Our ticket, costing only $8, was paid for by that single win bet, which was the best value of all our choices. This is a plan you should always follow, especially with multi-race exotics, which constantly stack the odds against you hitting.

    Harness News

    Freehold Raceway has reopened. America’s oldest pari-mutuel harness track launched its 39-day spring meet on March 1.  

    The meet will be highlighted by the $160,000 (est.) Dexter Cup Trot on Saturday, May 5 and its companion filly event, the $80,000 estimated Lady Suffolk Trot on May 4. These races mark the beginning of the Grand Circuit and the Hambletonian Trail.  

    Freehold races three days a week, Thursday through Saturday, with a 12:30 p.m. post. 

    Chicago harness racing continues to show signs of growth. Balmoral Park had strong handle gains in February. There has been competitive racing with no dominant trainer or driver in action. The track created the lowest percentage of favorites in the nation at 32.01 percent. 

    The Pick 4s, with a minimum of $20,000 guaranteed every night and a low takeout of 15 percent have averaged $27,893 with an average winning payout of $2,646.26 on a $1 ticket. The Pick 4 is on the final four races of the program. 

    Balmoral races on Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday nights with a first post of 7:10 p.m.  Central Time. 

    Laneside Lexus (pictured while winning racing on the turf) is a rare breed in that she is a pacer bred in England. The United Kingdom is barely known for the harness racing it presents, no less horses it breeds and sends to North America. This one, an eight-year-old mare, is the progeny of Hopping High, who obviously stands in England.

    Racing at Woodbine, Laneside Lexus won in 1:50.3, giving her a three-for-three streak in Canada. The race was a $42,000 fillies and mares open.

    Corey Johnson trains Laneside Lexus, who now has 26 career victories and lifetime earnings of $79,949.

    (Cartoon by Thom Pye)

  • Cotolo’s Harness Review

    POSTED Jan 29, 2012 By Frank Cotolo
    At the Meadowlands this past Saturday we cautiously approached a few winter finals and managed to nail just one. 

    A minor success among the swarm of favorites in the trio of events was our exacta choice in the Clyde Hirt Final. There, we suggested two horses, Special T Rocks and Thebestofjoel. Those two finished first and second, respectively, with a $4.60 win price and a generout $26.20 exacta included. 

    The Presidential and Complex finals were taken by the obvious horses and our suggested upsets were both dead last in each.  

    Our suggestions as we tweeted for all races at Woodbine on Jan. 28 in an attempt to help TwinSpires players to pick up 10X points on successful $10-win bets was a parade of bad breaks.   

    We tweeted only one winner, Quarter Bayama, and he was disqualified and placed second for galloping at the wire. The closest any other pick came was an honest second, per se, as Harnessnitencanada took the place in the seventh race.  

    A few other of our horses never got started, breaking at the gate, and a bad trip or two burned out another few along the way to a disastrous dozen races mostly dominated by public choices.  

    Those of you following the winter series at Woodbine may have picked up DGs Tinkerbell, the filly pacer we liked a few weeks back to win the Blizzard Series Final. She did just that, though only paying $6.20.  

    From the Watch List (H2W) at Pompano, Fox Ridge Banker won, paying $35.60, and Running Ron won, bringing in a poor $4.60. 

    At Cal Expo, the no-takeout Pick 4, a single 10-1 shot managed to combine with three favorites for a $393 payoff.  

    Two of the winners were on our ticket, which cost $8 based on a $2 wager. When handicapping the races (on our Thursday TwinSpires blog also available through espn, we had no idea they would be so heavily bet. We had the first leg with Freedom’s Art ($6.80) and the final leg with Jane The Brain ($5.20).  

    Our second leg participants included two horses: Hollywood Lenny at 22-1 and Asgoodasioncewas at 32-1.  

    The longshot that won the third leg beat our horse that turned out to be the favorite, Komodas Fantasy. So, even with some of our choices going to the public, our Pick 4 with either of our second-leg picks winning would have come in a higher price.

    Harness News

    Northfield Park will increase its Pick-4 guaranteed pools to $15,000 starting Feb. 1. The track’s Pick 3s, 4s and 5s offer a reduced takeout rate of 14 percent. That is the lowest takeout for such exotics in the sport. It is part of the U.S. Trotting Association’s Strategic Wagering Program which has been a resounding success across America and which includes this writer as a handicapper.

    The famous Prix d’Amerique took place in Paris on Jan. 29 at Vincennes.

    The seven-year-old French trotter Ready Cash, driven by Franck Nivard, won Europe’s biggest trotting race for the second-consecutive year. Ready Cash went to post as even-money favorite.

    Roxanne Grif was second and The Best Madrick was third. Ready Cash goes again in two weeks in the Prix de France as the European Grand Circuit ensues.

    The Miss Versatility series has become a highlight in the thin menu of major events for trotting mares. The good news is the light becomes brighter in 2012 as the event will be bigger and richer. The purses for the series legs have been raised from $25,000 to $40,000 ($30,000 div.) and the number of legs has been increased from three to four.

    For the first time, Woodbine and Mohawk will participate, hosting the first two legs at Mohawk on May 20 and Woodbine on July 1. The Meadowlands will present leg three on Aug. 17 with Tioga Downs has the fourth leg on Aug. 26. The $100,000 (est.) final will again be raced on Little Brown Jug day, Thursday, Sept. 20) at the Delaware County fairgrounds.

    (Cartoon by Thom Pye)

  • Cotolo’s Harness Review

    POSTED Dec 26, 2011 By Frank Cotolo
    Our Watch List (WL) from Dec. 23 produced three winners. At Northfield, Big Bad TJ won, paying $7.20. At Maywood, KB’s Taylor won, paying $7.60 and KB’s Robby turned into the race favorite, won and paid $3.20 (apparently a lot of bettors were watching, so to speak).   

    The weekend was quiet; we hope you all had terrific holidays. 

    Then, as the shopping madness ensued through the world on Dec. 26, Woodbine’s Boxing Day program presented two stakes. 

    In the Valedictory Final we talked of two horses and they were the two that finished first and second. Our choice, Audreys Dream, was the place horse and the winner was Itrustyou, paying $5.90. If you took the boxing seriously, a hum, you got yourself a meager exacta return of $12.50 on $4. 

    We loved DG’s Tinkerbell in the Niagara Final but the 7-5 favorite took control in the deciding steps of the race and left our choice to finish second at 6-1. With the favorite and our choice second, the exacta came back $33.90. 

    The no-takeout Pick 4 at Cal-Expo returns next weekend as harness continues its programs on Dec.30. We will have our analysis of the New Year’s Eve Pick 4 in this Thursday’s blog.  

    Also on Thursday’s agenda will be some 2012 schedules as planned for some power-packed players’ programs at various tracks as the new season launches with familiar faces taking on new divisions and a look at some of the highly touted horses that will have to meet their expectations in the glamour divisions. 

    Harness News


    Christmas at France’s historic Vincennes offered the $155,000 Criterium Continental. The crowd, always loud and ready for action at the harness kingdom, was there to see if Timoko (photo right by Gerard Forni) could top his four-year-old trotting foes (there is no pacing in France) after a three-month layoff. With Rich Westerink in the bike, Timoko returned to beat the horse that got him last October in the 1 5/16ths-mile stakes. That nemesis is the Swedish-bred Kadett CD. With the win, Timoko aims at the classic Prix d’Amerique in January, 2012, attempting to be the first five-year-old to win since 2007, when Offshore Dream took the classic. 

    Our good friend, harness correspondent Ken Weingartner, talked to George Brennan, named Driver of the Year by the harness writers group. Brennan won 754 races and earned $14.5 million in purses from them. They included the Hambletonian—which we hit big with the TwinSpires Players Pool—with Broad Bahn.  

    “It’s really unbelievable,” he told Ken. “You always hope to win it one time and to get lucky enough to win it … in consecutive years is a really great achievement.”

    (Cartoon by Thom Pye)

  • Night Of The Champions: 2011 Breeders Crown At Woodbine

    POSTED Oct 26, 2011 By Frank Cotolo
    All 12 divisions meet at Woodbine on Saturday, Oct. 29 for the Breeders Crown finals, the second-straight year that all the standardbred events take place on one race program.  

    Not only are the millionaire harness horses meeting to do ultimate battle with one another, TwinSpires players will be wagering on the early Pick 4 (races 4 through 7 with a $100,000 guarantee) and late Pick 4 (races 9 through 12) having a million TwinSpires Club Points on the line in the Hit-It-And-Split-It competition for each Pick 4s.  

    Click here for details on the million-points promo.  


    More analysis can be found in the last edition of this year’s exclusive blog, Breeders Crown Countdown. On the night of the finals we will be reporting live on TwinSpires with reports via Twitter, in exclusive cooperation with the event’s handlers, the Hambletonian Society. On the site at Woodbine we have sources (horsemen) giving us up-to-the-minute news about the entries, the track condition, et al. So follow the accounts @FrankCotolo and @RayCotolo for brief tweets.  

    TwinSpires helps you truly experience the Breeders Crown finals with its special harness connections, so lock and load those accounts and get ready to fire for points and profits on Oct. 29.  

    What follows are each of our suggested contenders to win; along with three other horses in each field we call “exotic material.” These are horses you may want to use in various exotic wagers in that race.  

    Open Mare Trot


    Race 1 presents the older femme trotters, a group that hardly has enough action during the year, as do other divisions. Still, these battleaxes can fly and with the retirement of Buckeye St Pat, hands down one of the division’s best and the defending champion, this race becomes more fascinating to wager upon. We will be backing Jersey As. She is consistent, competitive and always poised to challenge. Post 8 may be the best place for her to launch an upset attack. Exotic material: 6-Action Broadway, 9-Autumn Escapade and10- Frenchfrysnvinegar.  

    Two-Year-Old Filly Trot


    Don’t look for an upset, key the 5, Win Missy B. She had a week off (did not have to race in elims) and has gotten as hot as they can get coming up to this race. She may be a short second choice but she has what it takes to take down the big favorite. Exotic material: 2-Circles, 4-Check Me Out, 7-Miss Paris. 

    Two-Year-Old Filly Pace


    Mid-season, Pirouette Hanover was poised to dominate the division. However, after losing the Champlain in early September she took a well-deserved rest. Training into this event she looks great and because she stepped back from the scene we are promised a decent price on her with her regular pilot, Ron Pierce, ready to rumble from post 3. Exotic material: 5-Economy Terror, 6-Shelliscape, 7-Big McDeal.  

    Two-Year-Old Colt Pace

    In his elim, Hurrikane Kingcole was dynamic, especially from post 9. We picked him for that affair because he was primed to get to the “Crown” and he was ready to roll on his favorite oval. Trouble ensued; he suffered interference 11 lengths behind in the stretch and closed faster than a cheap outlet store to get third at 13-1. From post 5 this week we support a mighty upset. Exotic material: 4-A Rocknroll Dance, 5-Hillbilly Hanover, 10-I Fought Dalaw.  

    Two-Year-Old Colt Trot


    From Above was scratched from the final, earning the berth by the skin of his teeth in a poor mile that indicated something was wrong after two great wins. Trainer Greg Peck took him out of the final and now we have another kind of contest. Dan Daley’s Royal Shyster jumped uncharacteristically at the start of the race and still made the final. He draws post 8 but that won’t matter if Daley gets a sharp start that doesn’t take too much out of him. He is a rank outsider, for sure, but it could be Daley’s night with his best change for a Crown win yet. Exotic material: 3-Uncle Peter, 4-Possess The Will, 6-Appomattox.  

    Open Mare Pace


    We loved the elim mile traveled by Maureen Rocks and we adore her leaving from post 1 in the final. She held second after pulling to be first over at the half, chasing the favorite with aplomb. Expect a giant mile and a more severe challenge to the obvious favorite, the winner of last week’s sole elim for this division. Exotic material: 3-Chancey Lady, 6-On The Glass, 8-Rock N Soul.  

    Open Trot

    San Pail, the dominating older trotter in North America has to contend with two imports that have traveled far to contest this division. But we are going to go with an upset here, banking on Lucky Jim having his way from post 7, staying flat and taking advantage of what might be some nifty duels ignited by the “visitors.” As well, this may be the best price you will get in years on this stalwart trotter. Exotic material: 2-San Pail, 5-Rapide Lebel, 6-Hot Shot Blue Chip.  

    Three-Year-Old Filly Pace


    Last week in the second elim for this division we won with Rocklamation, beating the once-super filly See You At Peelers. That one finished so badly she is not here. None of this matters because 2-Drop The Ball, cannot be denied greatness. A dead-on choice, perhaps odds-on, it is her race to lose and we don’t think she will lose it. Exotic material: 3-Rocklamation, 4-Krispy Apple, 6-Monkey On My Wheel.  

    Three-Year-Old Colt Trot


    This is as simple as it was in one of last week’s elims: 5-Manofmanymissions wins if he doesn’t break stride. The only colt to beat him straight up is also here and he could do it again but only taking advantage of some other mistake that may happen. Either way, Manofmanymissions should win the divisional championship even though he blew the Hambletonian by running. Exotic material: 1-Spectator K, 2-Luckycharm Hanover, 8-Daylon Magician.  

    Three-Year-Old Filly Trot


    We will stand alone with our prime contender in this race but we have done so before to the tune of great profits so here we go again. We are staying with our elim pick, 10-Pantholops, empowered by the fact that she earned a berth considering the trouble she ensued in the elim. Granted, she has her work cut out for her in this mile but going against the grain in this situation could pay off for such courage. Exotic material: 1-Lady Andover, 4-Cedar Dove, 7-Jezzy.  

    Three-Year-Old Colt Pace


    Again, we are sticking with one of our elim choices, 8-Fashion Delight. Trainer Jim Campbell calls upon brother John to take the reins. Tim Tetrick got the colt into the final with a great late move, one more impressive due to being impeded when second over to a jumper. Though he has not lived up to potential this season after a rock-and-roll frosh campaign, he looks like he may be heading for a great older season and why not start that charge now? Exotic material: 5-Alsace Hanover, 6-Roll With Joe, 9-Big Bad John.  

    Open Pace


    All year these monstrous males have plowed and pounded their pacing abilities against one another of some of the best purses in the business. We had our share of scores in this division but suffered from some bias toward We Will See. Awkward at three, he really blossomed at four, able to take on older horses with the kind of speed that terrorizes any horse near him. We surrender, even though he lost his prep, and support him from post 1 to close the 2011 series. Look for a track and possibly four-year-old speed badge here; driver Pierce will let this guy loose. Exotic material: 2-Foiled Again, 4-Mach Dreamer, 5-Bettor Sweet.

    Click here for details on the million-points promo. 

  • Cotolo’s Harness-Weekend Review, 10-3-11

    POSTED Oct 2, 2011 By Frank Cotolo
    We began big with two winners this past weekend and they were enough to make a profit, certainly if we didn’t play all of our contenders, which rarely we do. It’s fun, however, to see that a workup of our win plays turns into a profit per $2-based bets (see below).  

    Friday, as September concluded, we were hot with the Bluegrass events at The Red Mile. Two powerfully priced winners blackened the ink further in our bankrolls. We began with a pass, figuring Delano would romp but he was very short and lost; we didn’t. Then Muscolo finished seventh. 

    Next, in the third round of Bluegrasses for frosh-colt trotters, we hit with From Above. Unexpectedly, the colt paid $18.60. 

    Later, Melt In Your Mouth, in the Bluegrass nightcap for the colts, finished fourth. 

    Frosh-filly pacing Bluegrasses were the other features and the second split was a pass (American Jewel, our choice, won). That didn’t matter since Destiny’s Chance, a rogue filly ineligible to the upcoming Breeders Crown (unless supplemented) beat a bunch of “Crown” hopefuls, racing as well as we expected, though the public did not.  

    Destiny’s Chance paid $63 to win.  

    Our two-dollar-based workup for Friday showed an investment of $8 with a return of $81. It’s an outrageous return-on-investment, of course, but if we add the $14 lost on the Saturday card, (none of our seven suggested contenders won), our profit is $59.   

    Now let’s add any win tickets we played from our Cal-Expo Pick-4 experience. Our $1 ticket cost us $4 (there was one scratch from our suggested $8 ticket). We lost but we played horses on the ticket to win if they were 4-1 or up. This means we played You Go Shirl (21-1) and Mow Em Down (53-1), adding $2 to our investment. 

    Our two-dollar-based workup for the two days showed an investment of $26 with a return of $81. That’s $55 profit. This is how we do workups no matter how many or how few horses we play. As I said, this example includes every contender we suggested, not that we would play them all—based on closing odds—and if we show a two-dollar-based profit this way we can be sure we made a profit using a betting scheme based on our judgment for overlays.  

    Keeping records is extremely important, as we continually emphasize, so that you understand if you are winning or losing in the long run. Workups can show great profits over the course of a weekend or a week but what matters is the extent of the playing season. Exotics should also be accounted separately.  

    Our exclusive Breeders Crown Countdown blog is clocking the “Crown”-eligible contenders (results, archives at Hambletonian Society) right to the the elimination rounds program at Woodbine in late October. Those two weeks of elims and finals will be covered live on TwinSpires while we work as the U.S. headquarters for all the live action. Special deals will be available at TwinSpires, so keep in tune with those pages as well as these TwinSpires blogs.  

    Following us on Twitter offers you late picks on races not included in this blog and updates on choices we speak about here. As well as tweeting some profit-making plays, we leave some links and guide you to news and information.

    Harness News

    We warned you to watch out for horses trained and/or driven by Gerald Longo at the current Colonial Downs meet because his horses win under the radar of many players. On Wednesday, Sept. 28, Longo won with Ice Express, paying $26. It was one of only five horses he raced last week, tossing a two-dollar-based profit on Longo-trained horses. Watch for these Longo entries: ZZZT, Andi Rose and Free Parkin Behind in next week’s programs. 

    Heart problems are surfacing as problems for some top pacers. It was discovered that See You At Peelers, the season’s top soph-pacing filly, is being treated for “inflammation of the heart, caused by a virus, which can reportedly be treated by medication.”  

    She might be able return for the Breeders Crown in late October. She has not raced since Sept. 4, when she was placed second at Tioga Downs after having won. Trainer Jimmy Takter has kept her in training while being treated for the malady. 

    Broad Bahn, this year’s Hambletonian winner, who has not won since that race and recently scared his connections with a strange tanking in the Canadian Trotting Classic, has been diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat. Noel Daley, his trainer, said that the condition can come and go, and he didn’t know if it would cause a problem in the Oct. 2 Kentucky Futurity. “Bahn” lost that race but the condition has not been blamed. Time will tell if Bahn shows up for the Breeders Crown in a few weeks. 

    We loved On The Glass in the Milton Stakes elim and she made a forward move but finished second and lost a berth in the final. On Oct. 2 she won an Allerage Stakes for older pacing mares at 29-1 ($60 to win). You have to keep an eye on horses we suggest for more than one race; be forgiving, for often they give back with a vengeance.

    (Cartoon by Thom Pye)