Cotolo’s Harness Review, News And Notes

Our overnight selections this week produced a winner at Charlottetown. Caliban Hanover won ($8.40, $3.90, $2.80). Our other Charlottetown choice, Isle Of Palms, finished sixth at 11-1. We failed at the Meadows in overnight action, with Broadway Speed finishing ninth at 35-1 and NF Jessica coming home fourth at 9-1.

Every Wednesday night, TwinSpires’ 10-percent-bonus Buffalo Raceway 50-cent Pick 4 wagers continue. We assist with suggestions for your ticket via Twitter -- @FrankCotolo, @TwinSpires and @BuffaloRaceway. For Feb. 5’s exotic, we delivered the highest paying horse of the winning quartet for the third week in a row. This horse was Honeybee Hershey ($10.60, $5.20, $2.80). Our selections finished 2,6/3/1,8/6.

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 in the same race (an asterisk appears when both horses were listed to complete the exacta). Failed choices from our overnight features appear for the second time in the H2W list, as with Double Dribble, from a Meadows overnight offered last week, listed as a winner below.

Winners

Anahar Chase, $27.10, $11.70, $5.60, Flamboro
Green Olives, $21.40, $5.40, $3.70 (Exacta, $63.50), Buffalo
Tigra Seelster, $18.70, $7.70, $3, Flamboro
Track Master D, $14.80, $5, $3.40, Yonkers
Double Dribble, $9.40, $5.40, $3.40 (Exacta * $45.40), Meadows
Ricky O Bay, $7.20, $4.40, $3.40, Buffalo
Tour Guide, $7.20, $3.40, $2.80 (Exacta, $15.70), Cal Expo
Fancy Pants Sandy, $4.60, $3.40, $3.20, Freehold
Mm’s Lucky Boy, $4.30, $3, $2.60, Yonkers
Mr Terror, $2.90, $2.20, $2.10, Buffalo

Seconds

Cowboy Artist, $12.20, $3.60 (Exacta $46.80), Dover
Dellie’s Jewel, $5.60, $380 (Exacta, $11), Meadows
Forever Just, $5.60, $3.60 (Exacta *45.40), Meadows
Stand Guard, $4.60, $3.20, Freehold
Upfrontoutthedoor, $2.90, $2.40, Buffalo
SJ’s Hottie Won, $2.40, $2.20, Meadows

Thirds

Ms Luck, $7.30, Buffalo
Avantage, $6.20, Pompano
Handsoffmycupcake, $4.70, Yonkers
Dinner Guest, $4.50, Yonkers
Princess Mcardle N, $3.80, Freehold
Our Girls Chance N, $2.20, Freehold

News And Notes

Ron Pierce, veteran harness driver, discovered recently that he could butter his bread more thickly in New York than in New Jersey. When he scored a few times working at Yonkers last week, it was brought to his attention that he would make more money racing at Yonkers than at the Meadowlands. That was enough to make Ronnie change venues, admitting publicly that he needs to make more money. His decision did not sit well with Meadowlands-mogul Jeff Gural.

“Ron has had a distinguished career and I recognize that he’s at the tail end of a distinguished career and I guess he's trying to make as much money as possible,” said Gural, who added his disappointment. “You would think that there would be some degree of loyalty and appreciation for the fact I spent a hundred-million dollars to keep the Meadowlands open, which is probably one of the main reasons that we haven’t seen a catastrophic collapse of the industry.” Gural was talking to Bill Finley.

Pierce responded by saying “Mr. Gural has to understand that I have a mortgage on my house, car payments, insurance payments [and] I’ve got an ex-wife that I have to [pay] a large chunk of alimony … I have to do what’s best for myself … I am in a predicament where I have to make as much money as I can.”

Speaking of drivers, 52 days after receiving a new hip, popular driver Tim Tetrick got back in the sulky to win. It was Feb.6 at the Meadowlands. At 7-2, Tetrick scored a decisive victory for trainer Eric Mollor. “It feels good [to get the first win out of the way],” he said in a paddock interview with Justin Horowitz. “I’m definitely out of shape a little bit.” 

Saturday, Feb. 8, Miami Valley Raceway opened for the first of more than 60 programs scheduled for the opening meet. It was a delayed opening night due to a power outage fifteen minutes into the debut evening of the harness track, the state’s racino replacement to Lebanon. Miami Valley offers live racing Wednesdays through Sundays until early May.

Followers of the TwinSpires harness blog are no strangers to Nuncio, 2013’s outstanding rookie trotting colt that was first supported here and which resulted in a few great exactas and the opinion that he was second best to top frosh trotter Father Patrick. As both of those classy colts enter their sophomore career, Father Patrick is getting Nuncio as a new stable mate. Nuncio is moving into the New Jersey barn of Jimmy Takter. Jim Oscarsson trained Nuncio for most of his rookie season before he moved back to his native Sweden and handed the colt over to Scott Andrews for the colt’s final three starts. In 10 starts last year Nuncio never finished worse than second with five wins and five seconds and $461,000 in earnings (we exploited his finishes as documented in our 2013 blogs. Now, both Hambletonian hopefuls are in the high-rent care of Takter.

The 2014 season at Vernon Downs will begin on Friday, April 11 and conclude with a stakes-laden card on Saturday, Nov. 1. The $200,000 (est.) Artiscape (mare pace), Muscle Hill (mare trot) and $200,000 (est.) Kindergarten Trotting Classic final have been scheduled for the closing night card as a logical springboard to the 2014 Breeders Crown at the Meadowlands. Friday, Aug. 29 Vernon offers the $700,000 (est.) Zweig Memorial soph trot and the new $200,000 (est.) Crawford Farms Open Trot.

Tioga will begin on Kentucky Derby Day (Saturday, May 3). Season highlights include the $200,000 (est.) Roll With Joe Open Pace on Sunday, June 1 and the $350,000 (est.) Cane Pace on Labour Day (Sept. 1).

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

Cotolo’s Harness Review, News And Notes

Expanded coverage of the horses to watch list (H2W) provided more winners and great prices for most, as well as we faired better with our choices in the early stakes season action at the Meadowlands.  

H2W

Here are the horses that finished second and third that will return to the H2W list next week and how they finished, along with their post-time odds. Special notes on their affects in those positions follow.




News And Notes

On Jan. 17, driver Ron Pierce won seven races in the Dover Downs program. However, with only one price in the double digits, and that only at 4-1, Pierce fans won only a few dollars from his spree. Pierce lost on the horses he drove with the longer odds that day and although he was a modest flat-bet profit, wagering on him solely due to his presence is not a smart idea.

Speaking of drivers, Matt Kakaley began the 2013 season at Yonkers with a blast. Working for trainer Ron Burke, Kakaley, formerly a mainstay in Ohio, Matt won 10 of his first 39 drives, taking the lead in the standings over Brian Sears, who recently made his headquarters at the New York oval over regular appearances at the new Meadowlands.

Kakaley has not made Yonkers his home; he is a top regular at Pocono Downs, which doesn’t open until March 23. Matt says he will return to Pennsylvania unless Burke makes him an offer worthy of staying in New York. Burke has been quoted saying, “I want to try to assign Matt some of the younger horses this year … He will be their regular driver … Yannick [Gingras] has other commitments in stakes races. I am going to try to give Matt the opportunity to drive better horses because I think he has earned it.”

Kakaley is the youngest driver ever to reach the 2,000-win plateau. He is 23.

The 2013 stake schedules for Illinois harness tracks Balmoral and Maywood have been released by racing secretary Doc Narotsky.

Upstate mile Balmoral begins its high-profile affairs on March 30 with the Taurus Bomber Stake for Illinois conceived and foaled (ICF) three-year-old pacing colts. Maywood’s stake season starts April 12 with soph-pacing colts in the Sportsmaster Stake.

The first major state-bred stake of the season is May 19’s race for three-year-old pacing fillies, the $45,000 Violet Stake at Balmoral. There will also be Violet and Cardinal stakes for ICF pacers and trotters on May 26, May 29 and June 1 at Balmoral.

Maywood’s first big event will be the $100,000 Filly Maywood Pace for ICF three-year-old fillies on June 14. The $100,000 Maywood Pace for ICF soph-pacing colts will be held June 21.

The first Hanover Stakes of the season at Balmoral will feature a trio of events for three-year-old trotters and three-year-old filly pacers on July 13.

The Southland Festival of Racing will provide plenty of state-bred action at Balmoral on July 27, July 28 and July 31 with pacers and trotters in $50,000 battles like the Mini Me Stake, Loyal Opposition Stake, Incredible Finale Stake, Ann Vonian Stake, Kadabra Stake, Fox Valley Evita Stake, Fox Valley Flan Stake and Plesac Stake.

A pair of $50,000 Hanovers for two-year-old colt and filly pacers are scheduled for Aug. 3 at the upstate oval. Balmoral will also play host to Illinois’ biggest night of racing, Super Night, on Sept. 14 for more than $1 million in purses. The American Nationals kick off on Sept. 18 with a pair of $90,000 trotting stakes for two-year-olds.

October promises to be a busy month for youngsters as the $100,000 Lady Lincoln Stake for two-year-old trotting fillies takes place on Oct. 2 while their male counterparts battle in the $100,000 Lincoln Land Stake on Oct. 6 at Balmoral. Maywood will also host the $60,000 Cardinal and Violet Stakes for two-year-old colt and filly pacers on Oct. 4. A pair of $60,000 Hanovers for two-year-old trotters are also slated for Oct. 13 at Balmoral.

Saturday, Nov. 9 and Friday, Nov. 15 the Grand Circuit action comes to town. Balmoral will play host to the $250,000 three-year-old colt pace, $225,00 American National three-year-old colt trot, $200,000 American National Aged Pace, $180,000 aged trot, $175,000 American National three-year-old filly pace, $150,000 three-year-old filly trot, $125,000 two-year-old colt pace and $125,000 two-year-old filly pace on Nov. 9.

Maywood’s biggest card of the season is Nov. 15 with the $225,000 Windy City Pace for three-year-old pacing colts, the $130,000 Abe Lincoln Stake for two-year-old pacing colts, the $120,00 Galt Trot for three-year-old trotting colts and the $100,000 Cinderella Stake for three-year-old pacing fillies sharing the spotlight. The $30,000 Associates-McKeever Stake for ICF pacers is also scheduled for that same night.   

Extraordinary Extras





Cartoons by Thom Pye