TwinSpires.com Blog

The weekend began on Friday, Sept 6 with a lightning storm so intense that Mohawk cancelled its program. With it went the eliminations for the William Wellwood. Those two events were raced on Saturday as non-betting events. The “Wellwood” goes next week.

Yes, the harness blog for TwinSpires is still at this location. Make a note that the TwinSpires harness blogs are moving to a new address—the official TwinSpires website; we missed our Sept. 4 deadline, as technical glitches are being worked out. Soon the move will been established. We will guide you to the page from this residence and our personal pages on Twitter and Facebook.

The Breeders Crown Countdown blog will stay at its current location and we will be linking to it for coverage of races connected to “Crown” eligibles leading to the championship events in November. Don’t miss one episode and look for archived race reviews at the Hambletonian Society site.

This week’s “Countdown” races were at Mohawk for frosh and soph, colt and filly pacers. We had one winner there with The Show Returns ($4.90, $3.30, $2.40), a second with Winds Of Change ($5.80, $3.60; Exacta $14.50), and a third with Shes A Hot Mess ($2.80).

It was a big sires stakes finals weekend and our best results came from Northfield, which we displayed as part of the horses-to-watch list (H2W). Of the eight Ohio Sires Stakes finals we nailed four, including, from high price to low (see below for exact pay outs), Honey B, Lofty Chip, Friskie Til Dawn and Crown Time Keeper.

We only had a single winner at Hoosier Park’s state-bred parade of finals, with Always B Miki ($2.40, $2.10, $2.10 ok). We were second with Andi’s Alana ($2.20, $2.10) and third with Golden Big Stick ($3.20).

We were off the board with the Pocono state-breds on Saturday. On Sunday at Philadelphia we had Father Patrick ($2.40, $2.10, n/s) and second with Limelight Beach ($2.80 n/s Exacta $8.60).

TwinSpires and Hoosier continue a three-pronged power-packed program for harness players. Tuesdays, wager all you want and earn 10 TSC Elite Points per dollar bet. Click here for details. Every Thursday night, there is a 20-percent bonus on hitting the Pick 4 starting at Race 3. Click here for details. And the ongoing 10-percent Pick-4 bonus every racing night on Pick-4 hits continues through the meet. Click here for details.

In between published harness blogs, follow @FrankCotolo and @TwinSpires on Twitter to get tips on Hoosier contenders you can use in your tickets. Other possibilities appear in exclusive H2W list.

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). This week, there were 49 active horses on the H2W list.

Winners

Honey B, $53.40, $16.20, $7.80, Northfield
Lofty Chip, $15.60, $6.80, $3.80, Northfield
Friskie Til Dawn, $12. $4.80, $2.80, Northfield
Tempster Hanover, $9.40, $5, $4, Scioto
Lawgiver Hanover, $5.50, $2.20, $2.70 ok, Yonkers
Winmando, $5, $2.40, $2.20, Ocean
Whowhohoosier, $4.80, $4.20, $3.40, Scioto
Crafty Time Keeper, $4.40, $2.20, $2.10, Northfield
Jetting Around, $2.80, $2.20, $2.10, Maywood

Seconds

Emilene’s Future, $6.80, Northfield
Pro Deuce, $6.40, $4.60, Scioto
Impersonal, $5, $3.80 (Exacta $13.80), Maywood
Gallie Bythe Beach, $4.60, $3.20 (Exacta $16.40), Philadelphia
Delightful Dot, $4, $3.40 (Exacta $21.40), Maywood
Painting The Town, $2.80, $2.80 ok, Plainridge
Student Of Life, $2.80, n/s, Northfield
Peter Pumpkineater, $2.70, $2.20 (Exacta $12.20), Batavia

Thirds

Ten Yard Penalty, $6, Tioga
Donald Himself, $5.20, Maywood
Money Paige, $4.40, Ocean
Incredible Dragon, $4.20, Meadows
Mr Thomson, $3.80, Freehold
Fancy Pants Sandy, $3.20, Freehold
Big Jer, $2.90, Yonkers
Canbec Jewell Charlie, $2.50, Vernon
Dellou, $2.20, Northfield
Can’tcutthatchip, n/s, Scioto

News & Notes

Scioto Downs is still one outpost for our exclusive H2W but the track’s seventh decade in 2010 was a grim shadow of the once lucrative Ohio track. GM of racing Stacy Cahill had said there may be no choice but to close. But by June, 2012 after a racetrack-casino law was passed, Scioto became Ohio’s first “racino.” Cahill said the change met its promise and horsemen are happy. After dropping to $2.39 million in total purses in 2010, Scioto offered $9.89 million in purses during 2014 which more than doubled the $4.73 million at the track in 2012. Before this past weekend’s program, Scioto offered total purses of $11.71 million through 78 programs.

Midwest champion trainer Virgil Morgan, Jr. said Scioto is the best it has been. He has stayed, along with other popular horsemen, including Ronnie Wrenn, Jr., Josh Sutton and Aaron Merriman. “The money is unbelievable,” Merriman told the Cleveland Plain Dealer “[Many horsemen] ot racing for [good] money for so long, everybody wants it so bad now. And the horses are so much better.” There are purses and full fields, many with 10 horses. Scioto horses will continue to be monitored and will stay on the H2W list because the racing is great and TwinSpires bettors deserve the best competition possible when playing.

When Yonkers Raceway hosts the 25^th edition of the New York Night of Champions on Sept. 13, with $1.8 million in purses (eight sire stakes finals for two- and three-year-olds at $225,000 each, the track will offer a $10,000 guaranteed Pick 5 pool. The 50-cent wager includes races 5 through 9. As per existing Pick 5 rules, should no one select all five winners, the entire pool (minus takeout) would carry over to the Sept. 15 card.

The next big thing in harness for the season is the Little Brown Jug and the TwinSpires harness social network will be in session all week, from Sept. 14 through “Jug” day, Sept. 18. Look for suggested contenders for many of the great stakes events the Delaware, Ohio meet offers. The track publicity department ranks Mcwicked as the number-one contender, followed by He’s Watching, Somewhere in LA, Sometimes Said, Lyonssomewhere, Limelight Beach, At Press Time, Cammikey, On Golden Ponder and Beat The Drum. Seven of those are Ontario-trained colts. We are keeping a close eye on Limelight Beach’s preps before the Ohio heats. With a new home in the Ron Burke barn and Burke feeling this one is his shot for a Jug, the price may be right, especially against the popular Mcwicked, who doesn’t always live up to his one-dimensional penchant for speed.

Continuing our scan on drivers with streaks, we make note that Dave Palone’s seven-win program at the Meadows on Sept. 4 tossed a profit of $10. However, one horse made that possible, an $11.20 winner in Race 6. The next highest price paid by a Palone winner was $7 and the lowest was $2.20. As well, some of his losers in the other seven races in which he participated were big favorites. Palone continues to be a great driver, of course, but he is not a flat-bet profit regardless of his humungous number of career wins.

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 ~ For more Thom Pye cartoon, informative harness history and products, click here ~

With all of the stakes action focused at Mohawk this weekend, we found some fair prices on some obvious contenders that won. Next Saturday’s Mohawk program will present the lucrative finals to the elim events of the past weekend as we see more racing than usual during the U.S. Labor Day holiday weekend.

In the Casual Breeze splits on Aug. 22 at Mohawk we were in tune with everyone in one elim with Lifetime Pursuit ($2.90, $2.10, $2.10 ok) and off the board with My Inspiration at 7-1.

Aug. 23’s winners were topped by Go Daddy Go ($6, $3.10, $2.50) who offered a generous win price as a second choice in one of two Metro Pace elim splits. We tried to beat the huge favorite, Artspeak, but could not.

Sweet Lou ($2.30, $2.10 n/s) easily won his 10^th-straight race in a Canadian Pacing Derby elim for all of us. In the second split, our choice scratched (see News and Notes below).

Again, the best we could do in the She’s A Great Lady trio of elims was the obvious Jk Shesalady ($2.40, $2.10, $2.10 ok), with our other two choices at 8-1 and 61-1 quite out of the mixes.

A fascinating note of cashing on our contenders appears in our horses-to-watch list (H2W). The highest paying winner of the week was at Yonkers; we were following Insane In Spain on Friday night. He went off at 23-1 and shared the win with a huge favorite in a dead heat. The win prices were obviously compromised by the dual victory and instead of paying $48 to win, Insane In Spain paid 9-2 to win and more to place. We did, of course, win both exactas (using the favorite, as we suggest with our H2W choices).

We continue this year’s Breeders Crown Countdown blog in our weekly TwinSpires harness previews, linking to it for coverage of races through the rest of the season leading to the championship events in November. Don’t miss one episode and look for archived race reviews at the Hambletonian Society site.

TwinSpires and Hoosier continue a three-pronged power-packed program for harness players. Tuesdays, wager all you want and earn 10 TSC Elite Points per dollar bet. Click here for details. Every Thursday night, there is a 20-percent bonus on hitting the Pick 4 starting at Race 3. Click here for details. And the ongoing 10-percent Pick-4 bonus every racing night on Pick-4 hits continues through the meet. Click here for details.

In between published harness blogs, follow @FrankCotolo and @TwinSpires on Twitter to get tips on Hoosier contenders you can use in your tickets. Other possibilities appear in exclusive H2W list.

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). This week, there were 30 active horses on the H2W list.

Winners

Insane In Spain, $11, $17.20 ok, $4.30 (Dead-Heat Exactas, $42.60, $8.40)
Art For Arts Sake, $6.60, $3.60, $2.80, Pocono
Rules Little Man, $4.40, $3.40, $2.80, Ocean

Seconds

Bridges Beauty, $14.80, $9, Hoosier
Spirit Of Desire, $8, $3 (Exacta $29), Pocono
Whitesville Ted, $5.80, $3.80, Ocean

Thirds

Hobsons Choice, $6, Scarborough
Scorpius, $3.90, Batavia
Upfront Billy Boy, $3.40, Meadows
Red Star Fiona, $2.80, Batavia
Wilfully Scootereva, $2.80, Maywood

News & Notes

Captaintreacherous was scratched from a Canadian Pacing Derby elimination, according to trainer Tony Alagna, due to sickness. “We ran a scope down him because he was off his feed and he had a lot of mucus,” said Alagna. “He is fighting off an infection and we just didn’t think it was in his best interest to race him if he’s not a hundred per cent.” Alagna said it’s disappointing to have to pull out of the race, as the pacer is undefeated is six starts at Mohawk, “but we don’t want to compromise the rest of the year or the horse if he isn’t a hundred per cent.”

Three Ontario-owned three-year-old pacing colts have paid $35,000 supplements to race in the Cane Pace at Tioga Downs on Sept. 1. With them there are only eight colts entered so eliminations will not be required. We will analyze the $437,325 final along with other Labor Day weekend features in our Thursday blog.

Another great pacer has passed away. Life Sign, the 1993 Little Brown Jug winner and Hall of Fame member, died in Australia, on Aug.14, at the age of 24. A son of the incomparable Abercrombie and world champion filly Three Diamonds, Life Sign raced only at a two and three, amassing $1.9 million from 18 wins, 10 seconds and five thirds in 35 starts. Besides his record-breaking “Jug” success, most memorable for the outside trip on the half-mile in Ohio, he won the three-year-old Breeders Crown, Art Rooney, Governor’s Cup and others. At the stud Life Sign left the winners of more than $113 million in stakes in North America, placing him among the top-10 money-winning sires at his gait. While in Australia his stock earned $12.4 million and in New Zealand they amassed almost $2 million.

There is still no word if Father Patrick will race in the “Zweig” at Tioga on Labor Day weekend. The once-immaculate gait of Father Patrick was compromised when he broke at the beginning of the Hambletonian and galloped all the way around. Then he showed up for a Tompkins-Geers and finished second to Datsyuk, just another in the division that could not get to “Patrick” all season. The race was reported as having an “uneventful” start, though Patrick went wide for a spell to take the lead. But he has never been “short,” and struggled to dismiss a challenge late even with difficult starts. All of his is leaving questions about his health and immediate racing plans and unless the Jimmy Takter team releases some information about a problem or Patrick is not scratched from the Zweig, we can only suspect something is amiss.

Our continuing look at drivers streaking on programs brings us this week to Aaron Byron, who races at Tioga Downs. On Aug. 22 he won five of his 10 drives and that 50-percent win rate for him translated into profits for those following him with win bets. Wagering solely on the fact that Aaron was driving, it cost a bettor $20 for the evening. Aaron’s winners returned $54.20, a profit of $34.20.

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 ~ For more Thom Pye cartoon, informative harness history and products, click here ~

Our best move of the weekend was Friday, Aug. 15, at Northfield Park when our projected scenario came to life on the “Home of the Flying Turns” and the strong third public choice, All Bets Off, defeated the crowd’s big favorite, Mcwicked. All Best Off ($16.60, $2.40 ns) paced by the two burning out speed ¾ lengths before the wire and won. Mcwicked and Luck Be Withyou could not be separated for second and that dead heat killed the place price.

Another, bigger upset can not be placed on our watch. Datsyuk ruined Father Patrick’s revenge race at Tioga by beating him at 25-1. Father Patrick was trotting, though, unlike his gallop jaunt around the Meadowlands in the Hambletonian. He dueled early on the outside but that is little excuse for the powerhouse trotter to have been short a few steps at the wire.

Dancin Yankee was not an upset but he defeated our choice, Heston Blue Chip ($5.20, $2.90), in the Joe Gerrity Memorial at Saratoga. That exacta (Dancin Yankee was the overwhelming favorite) paid $16.80.

In the frosh stakes at Mohawk we were no better than second in two Nassagaweyas. We had Cowgirl Tough ($7.20, $2.10) with the favorite for an exacta worth $32.10, as well as Go Daddy Go ($3.70, $3.20) among the colt affairs.

Our choice from last week won the Gold Cup & Saucer but this week we went with the fifth-place finisher, Scott Rocks, due to win-mutuel offerings. We were second in the consolation with Mach Wheel ($2.50, $3 ok).

Our opening essay for this year’s Breeders Crown Countdown blog is now on line. We will be linking to it for coverage of races through the rest of the season leading to the championship events in November.

TwinSpires and Hoosier continue a three-pronged power-packed program for harness players. Tuesdays, wager all you want and earn 10 TSC Elite Points per dollar bet. Click here for details. Every Thursday night, there is a 20-percent bonus on hitting the Pick 4 starting at Race 3. Click here for details. And the ongoing 10-percent Pick-4 bonus every racing night on Pick-4 hits continues through the meet. Click here for details.

In between published harness blogs, follow @FrankCotolo and @TwinSpires on Twitter to get tips on Hoosier contenders you can use in your tickets. Other possibilities appear in exclusive H2W list.

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). This week, there were 35 active horses on the H2W list.

Winners

Arrested Dreams, $14.80, $6.20, $5, Ocean
Mistery Woman, $9.60, $3, $2.40, Pocono
Pan Luis Obisop, $6, $4.30, $5 ok, Tioga
Back To The West, $4.20, $2.60, $2.20, Yonkers
Word Power, $4.20, $3, $2.60, Pocono
Nf Happenstance, $3.30, $2.90, $2.50
Lyonssomewhere, $3, $2.80, $2.40, Pocono
Jk Endofanera, $2.50, $2.20, $2.10, Tioga
Jolene Jolene, $2.10, $2.10, ok/ns, Tioga

Seconds

Crazy Wow, $4.40, $3.90, Tioga
Jitterbug Hanover, $2.80, $2.60, Scarborough
Father Patrick, nps, Tioga

Thirds

Head Of The Barn, $4.60, Scioto
Whitesville Ted, $2.80, Ocean
Winmando, $2.20, Ocean

News And Notes

Returning from an eight-month layoff after being treated for a knee fracture, I Luv The Nitelife, now four, finished fifth in a fillies-and-mares pacing event at Mohawk on Aug. 15. She was sent to the top by driver Jack Moiseyev and set quick fractions. After a 1:23.3 three-quarters 35-1 Hope For Paddy challenged her. That one passed “Nitelife” and held off a closing American In Paris (which finished second). Nitelife faded to finish behind four others in the seven-mare field (a $27,000 event).

The newest harness track, Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway, is set to open in October. The track operates in lieu of Raceway Park, the Toledo half-mile that closed last season when Penn National Gaming, Inc. purchased the facility and received permission to move the track so it is part of a new Ohio casino spread. The five-eighths oval has a ship-in barn for horses that will race Mondays and Wednesdays through Saturdays through Dec. 27 in 2014. In 2015, Dayton plans to open after Labor Day to race through the end of the year.

Yonkers Raceway has received approval from the New York State Gaming Commission to conduct a half-dozen Sunday matinee cards—from Nov. 9 through Dec. 14, inclusive—as part of a new wagering relationship with the French pari-mutuel agencies. The races are to be televised and wagered on through much of Europe. First post of these trotting-dominated programs is scheduled for 11 a.m. ET, with more information regarding field sizes and race distances as it becomes available. Six Sunday cards replace five Tuesday evenings (Nov. 11 through Dec. 9, inclusive) on the live schedule.

On the night of the Carl Milstein at Northfield, trainer Mark Headworth had three of his students racing in three different events on the card. In Race 3 his horse won and paid $12.40; in Race 12 his horse lost at 8-1; in Race 14 his horse won and paid $49.20. Keep Mark in mind as a trainer to watch. You won’t hear about him from the track publicists or handicappers because they are calculating top trainers by raw wins, not win percentages or win prices.

It was tough going for Illinois’ hottest harness fair in Springfield recently when a precautionary quarantine affected horses and the usual racing schedule was disrupted with cancellations. Thirty-three horses were isolated based on a horse having shared barn space at Balmoral with a horse showing symptoms of equine herpes virus. State officials took measures to prevent any possible spread of the equine herpes. While being tested, the opening programs of the harness meet were cancelled. Bad weather also contributed to nixing cards. When the horse in question was tested and the results were negative, Springfield continued its fair meet.

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 ~ For more Thom Pye cartoons and products, click here

A timid weekend in the price department resulted due to massive public choices winning. We had some of them since some of them, we felt, deserved the attention. So, we begin with the headlining Dan Patch Invitational Aug. 8 at Hoosier Park.

We made a call that we did not feel was bold when we added to the fact that Sweet Lou would win the Dan Patch he would also put together Hoosier’s quickest mile in its harness racing history. There was a lot of hype about Dancin Yankee, a foe in the Dan Patch and the only horse this year to defeat “Lou,” but we dismissed it.

Sweet Lou ($2.40, $2.20, $2.10) became the fastest horse in the history of Hoosier Park when he won the $258,000 Dan Patch Invitational in 1:47.2. To our dismay, Heston Blue Chip (33-1) put in a giant mile first over but could not sustain the place position, quashing our hopes for a strong exacta price.

“I really didn’t think we were going that much,” Pierce said after the record mile. “I saw the splits and I was amazed.” He voiced some concern for second-place Bettor’s Edge. “He just kept coming and coming and coming and coming. This is a very long stretch but my horse raced great again.”

Bettor’s Edge has, however, been second to Lou a number of times this season and always appears to be coming and coming and coming but never gets there, so Pierce may have been overly concerned.

That night in frosh Indiana Sires Stakes (INSS) finals, we delivered one winner in four events, Airman Batten ($2.80, $2.20, $2.20 ok). In another INSS final we were second with Feetonthedashboard ($4, $3).

At the Meadows on Friday we scored with the first of two Currier & Ives splits for soph-colt trotters. The winner was Wheelsandthelegman ($4.60, $2.20, $2.20 ok). In the second split we had the two trifecta participants, Skates N Plates ($3.20 n/s) and Southwind Sprit (n/s). With the favorite, Il Sogno Dream, on top, the trifecta paid $10.60, the exacta paid $5.40.

The first Gold Cup & Saucer trial found us second, as Bigtown Hero ($2.10, $2.10 ok) raced strongly against the favorite (Exacta $8.10). The second trial is Aug. 11, after press time, and we are looking for Mach Wheel to win it.

Saturday night at Hoosier we had one winner in the INSS finals for sophomores. It was no surprise to anyone that Always B Miki ($2.20, $2.10, $2.10 ok) won the colt pace. Our other three INSS final selections were off the board.

Sunday at Tioga, Hes Watching defeated our choice Jk Endofanera again in the Empire Breeders Championship. We were second ($2.90 n/s) and the exacta paid $4.90. We had a soft choice in the filly split (5-2), finishing fourth.

TwinSpires and Hoosier continue a three-pronged power-packed program for harness players. Tuesdays, wager all you want and earn 10 TSC Elite Points per dollar bet. Click here for details. Every Thursday night, there is a 20-percent bonus on hitting the Pick 4 starting at Race 3. Click here for details. And the ongoing 10-percent Pick-4 bonus every racing night on Pick-4 hits continues through the meet. Click here for details.

In between published harness blogs, follow @FrankCotolo and @TwinSpires on Twitter to get tips on Hoosier contenders you can use in your tickets. Other possibilities appear in exclusive H2W list.

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). This week, there were 20 on the H2W list.

Winners

Ok Amelia, $12.80, $4.40, $4, Ocean

Seconds

Whipmeintoshape, $3.70, $5.30 ok, Batavia

Thirds

Tellitlikeitis, $2.10, Philadelphia

News And Notes

Rosecroft Raceway’s 27-date meet starts Saturday, Sept. 13 with live racing every Tuesday through Saturday through Dec.13. A purse increase of approximately 5 percent will be part of the fall purse structure, bringing the overnight purses to an average of approximately $65,000 per race date. Rosecroft will continue to provide additional incentives for Maryland racing participants including entry preferences and a 15-percent purse earnings bonus for “Maryland Preferred” horses and horsemen. “The racing program at Rosecroft continues to improve and Maryland horsemen and horses are the biggest beneficiary with over eighty percent of the starters and purse earnings going to Maryland owners, trainers or horses bred, sired or foaled in the state,” said Chris McErlean, VP of Racing for Penn National Gaming, parent company of Rosecroft.

As a precursor to the return of Yonkers Raceway’s International Trot next season, the Raceway is planning to host an Invitational Trot this fall, according to track publicist Frank Drucker. The date is Saturday, Oct. 25, the evening featuring the finals of the Yonkers Trot and Messenger Stakes (along with their companion filly events). “The purse would be commensurate with the quality of the field,” Drucker said. “We are gauging the interest of bringing the best trotters on the continent here,” COO Bob Galterio said. “We feel the date is perfect, a few weeks after Lexington and a few weeks before the Breeders Crown.” Yonkers will be getting in touch with the connections of elite trotters in the United States and Canada. As for the International, first held at Roosevelt in 1959 and last contested at Yonkers in 1995, there is no date set for its presentation in 2015.

Trainer Bob McIntosh’s Go Daddy Go won Grand River Raceway’s premier event, the $217,140 Battle of Waterloo, on Aug. 4. John Campbell, fresh off finishing second in the Hambletonian with Nuncio, drove the pacer. McIntosh hired Campbell to return to southern Ontario, where both the horsemen got their starts in the business, and Campbell averred, winning the final at a juicy 7-1.

Sectionline Yankee, twice a winner in overnights for our H2W list this season, became much faster on Aug. 8. The five-year-old mare equaled the track record of 1:50.4 for older pacing mares in a $15,000 conditioned event at Scioto Downs. You may have noticed that some higher class horses are being added to the H2W list. These are pacers and trotters that have stepped down into conditioned and Open events for lack of more stakes races available to them. Keep an eye out for some names that have been popular in the stakes coverage of divisions this season as they hit the H2W list. Horses we have chosen to win bigger events but lost have gone on to win less classy affairs, including Monkey On My Wheel, Let’s Drink On It, The Lunch Pail, Stevensville and Rossini, to name a few.

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 ~ For more Thom Pye cartoons and products, click here

The new Meadowlands is a compact, convenient, clean and carefully measured facility for fans. The house that Jeff Gural built used the same racetrack as its out-dated predecessor, which is still standing. The old building sits like a giant, aging tombstone over what is now the backstretch.

Those of us visiting the new plant for the first time were impressed with it and the many places to view the show, including the roof, which hosts more than the media and in-house racing staff—there is room for wagering, watching the races from the farthest point north without a helicopter and comfortable space for guests.

This was the first Hambletonian day in the compact theater, which will also host this year’s Breeders Crown over two programs this fall. On Aug. 2, most of the greatest horses of the current season were flying, with the main features at the end of  The Hambletonian Trail. Our annual essay on the main event is currently available for your inspection. Archives of the races that paved the trail are available at the Hambletonian Society site.

The Hambletonian was not a winning race for us, nor was it for the majority of the wagering public as super favorite Father Patrick broke at the gate and was unable to regroup his gait and get back into the fray.

The Hambletonian Oaks was also a loss for us, since Shake It Cerry was passed in the stretch and finished fourth. The filly the crowd adored, Designed To Be, did not beat her; another Jimmy Takter filly, Lifetime Pursuit, beat her. “Cerry” (also trained by Takter) has beaten that one all season. Takter told us that Cerry’s driver, Ron Pierce, was extremely upset at how he handled the race and blamed himself for Cerry’s loss. Takter said that Pierce felt he “misjudged the [fractions]” and moved too quickly and too soon, causing Cerry to tire while giving Lifetime Pursuit cover.

Pierce could do no wrong with our choice and everyone else’s choice, Sweet Lou ($2.80, $2.20, $2.10) in the US Pacing Championship. He was awesome and never asked while winning. Captaintreacherous, wide for the first turn and into the backstretch leaving from post 8, finished fifth in front of our other triple-element Bettor’s Edge.

Next year’s Hambletonian favorite as of Aug. 2, was our choice Centurion Atm ($4.20, $2.80, $2.40). He gets the title for winning the Peter Haughton Memorial for frosh-colt trotters.

Sebastian K ($2.60, $2.20, $2.10) beat our first choice for an upset, Uncle Peter, in the John Cashman Memorial. Another favorite we tried to beat was our second choice in the Miss New Jersey,  Gettingreadyto roll ($3.20, $2.20, $2.20 ok). We finished fourth with Cut A Deal (63-1).

In the Merrie Annabelle we were second with Jolene Jolene ($8.80, $4.40) in league with our other choices, Mission Brief and Lock Down Lindy. That triple paid $76.40.

Another triple we nabbed by using an outsider was the Ima Lula. Though favorite Classic Martine beat Bee A Magician, our outside contender Nf Happenstance was third ($5) at 81-1 for a $36.60 triple.

We hope to be back at the New Jersey racing arena for the Breeders Crown finals. All of the top horses in each division will be covered starting next week in races that will decide their “Crown” status and which will be great betting affairs en route to the championships in the Breeders Crown Countdown blog, in cooperation with the Hambletonian Society, which organizes the events, and our headquarters at TwinSpires.

TwinSpires and Hoosier continue a three-pronged power-packed program for harness players. Tuesdays, wager all you want and earn 10 TSC Elite Points per dollar bet. Click here for details. Every Thursday night, there is a 20-percent bonus on hitting the Pick 4 starting at Race 3. Click here for details. And the ongoing 10-percent Pick-4 bonus every racing night on Pick-4 hits continues through the meet. Click here for details.

In between published harness blogs, follow @FrankCotolo and @TwinSpires on Twitter to get tips on Hoosier contenders you can use in your tickets. Other possibilities appear in exclusive H2W list.

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). This week, there were 29 on the H2W list.

Winners

Deadhead Royalty, $9.60, $4.60, $4.30, Vernon
Putnams Attack, $7.50, $3.50, $2.50, Yonkers
Luck Be Withyou, $5.20, $3.40, $2.20, Pocono
Josie’s Joy, $4.60, $4.20, $5 ok, Meadowlands

Seconds

Guilty Man, $8.50, $5.10
King William, $5.20, $4.50, Batavia
Sweet Thing, $3.40, $2.40 (Exacta $8.60), Meadowlands
Baximum, $2.60, $2.40, Philadelphia
Bullseye, $2.40, $2.20 (Exacta $6), Scarborough

Thirds

Oaklea Winfrey, $6, Georgian
Amigo Ranger, $5.20, Saratoga

News And Notes

Bad weather in the East did not affect New Jersey’s afternoon of classy racing but in upstate New York the rain caused flooding and traffic problems. Batavia Downs could not finish its evening program on Aug. 2. Rain caused cancellation of the card after Race 2. The next day Batavia delivered a 15-race program on a very sloppy track. Also on Sunday, the two top glamour-boy colt pacers, Jk Endofanera and He’s Watching, battled at Tioga in the soup. He’s Watching won the Empire Breeders Championship elimination by a nose over Jk Endofanera. The triple, with an 18-1 shot coming in third, paid $3.45, which was 55-cents less than the exacta of $4.

Another Meadowlands Pace character (along with the two glamour-boy colt pacers mentioned above), second-place Always B Miki, won at Hoosier on Aug. 2 in an Indiana Sires Stakes elimination. Always B Miki is a son of Always A Virgin, who is having a profitable stud career in the Midwest. “Miki” trounced the field in 1:49.

Sweet Rock, the 92-1 New Jersey Classic winner, was Brett Miller’s first win on the first Hambletonian day program where he competed as a driver. The shockingly priced winner is not on the eligible list for this year’s Little Brown Jug. He defeated four others that are “Jug” hopefuls—Dancin Hill, Doo Wop Hanover, Beat The Drum and Western Village—all New Jersey-breds.

The 140th season of live racing action kicked off on Sunday, Aug 3 at The Red Mile. Sunday nights feature a $5,000-guaranteed Pick-4 pool in Races 6–9, in partnership with the USTA Strategic Wagering Program. The $1.4-million Kentucky Sires Stakes Super Night comes up on Sunday, Aug. 31, and will feature a $15,000-guaranteed Pick 4-pool. The popular 10-cent superfectas have returned and will be available on every race with the exception of the start of the Pick-4 and the final race of the evening. A 20-cent Super Hi Five will be part of the wagering menu on the last race of each card, where 100-percent of the net pool will carry over if no one selects the top five finishers. Live racing continues on Sunday and Thursday evenings with a first post of 7 p.m. Grand Circuit racing begins on Thursday, Sept. 25, with live racing Thursday–Sunday for the two week meet.

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 ~ For more Thom Pye cartoons and products, click here

The Hambletonian Trail reaches its destination next weekend, with the Cotolos on hand, live on site at the “new” Meadowlands. Our Thursday blog at TwinSpires and at the Hambletonian Trail page will cover all of the action on the strong stakes program for Saturday, Aug. 2. Remember you can read the archives of the “Trail” races for the colts and the fillies and enjoy other related features at the Hambletonian Society site.

There were no Hambletonian Oaks elims, just a prep that took place Saturday, July 26 at the Meadowlands and once again our choice won and delivered a fair price as the public dismissed her again (as the did in the Del Miller Memorial) for Designed To Be. Shake It Cerry ($6.80, $2.60, $2.60) won over the favorite for a $13.80 exacta.

Friday, July 25, we nailed the Peter Haughton Memorial elim with Centurion ATM ($8.40, $2.40, ns) with a $10.40 exacta. We were second in one Merrie Annabelle elim with Jolene Jolene ($11.60, $7) with a $25 exacta.

Back to Saturday, the “Cashman” elims found everyone on our side again, as Sebastian K ($2.20, $2.10, ns) won his split (we were fourth in the first elim).

It was Adios weekend at the Meadows and we were online live offering tweets during the stakes portion of the program and redirecting viewers to the blog analysis for the major Adios events. The Adios Final went to the dead-on favorite McWicked, with one of the three contenders we suggested could upset, Somewhere In LA ($4.40, $3.60) getting second for a $9.60 exacta. In the Adioo Volo, our choice Marathon Day ($6.60) was third. We failed to hit the board in the consolation. Our tweets for the Arden Downs resulted in only one second, Chaxiraxi Hanover ($3.40, $2.60), with an exacta worth $13.60. Those races were very chalky.

TwinSpires and Hoosier continue a three-pronged power-packed program for harness players. Tuesdays, wager all you want and earn 10 TSC Elite Points per dollar bet. Click here for details. Every Thursday night, there is a 20-percent bonus on hitting the Pick 4 starting at Race 3. Click here for details. And the ongoing 10-percent Pick-4 bonus every racing night on Pick-4 hits continues through the meet. Click here for details.

In between published harness blogs, follow @FrankCotolo and @TwinSpires on Twitter to get tips on Hoosier contenders you can use in your tickets. Other possibilities appear in exclusive H2W list.

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).

Winners

O’Sundland, $7.40, $4.60, $3.20 (Exacta $22), Hoosier
Request For Parole, $4.80, $3, $2.30, Mohawk

Seconds

Malak Uswaad N, $3.40, $2.40, Harrington
Bunkerhill Bill, $3, $2.80, Running Aces
Nefertiti Bluechip, $2.80, $2.50, Mohawk

Thirds

Oaklea Winfrey, $6, Georgian
Amigo Ranger, $5.20, Saratoga

News And Notes

Qualifiers at the Meadowlands on July 26 began with Hambletonian favorite Father Patrick, his mile the only prep before next week’s Hambletonian. His performance was as sterling as expected, with driver Yannick Gingras steering him around the two turns in 1:52.

The return of 2013’s champion three-year-old filly pacer, I Luv The Nitelife, was another feature of the Saturday qualifiers, winning after being nursed back from injury by trainer Chris Ryder with a smooth 1:53.2 mile.

A pair of Meadowlands Pace finalists also sparred and Lyonssomewhere got the best of JK Endofanera in a 1:51.1 mile. Trainer Jimmy Takter put the speedy colt on the lead and stayed there to rebuff JK Endofanera’s closing move.

The last of the season’s frosh divisions made up the rest of the events. Among the notables were Trond Smedshammer’s Yankee Glide colt Finish Line in 1:58.1 and his Andover Hall filly Chezando in 2:00.4. Jimmy Takter’s French Laundry, a Muscles Yankee colt, won in 2:00.1, holding off the impressive closing rush of the $175,000 Cantab Hall colt Colbert, making his very first start for Ake Svanstedt.

Pacers featured ASAP Hanover by Somebeachsomewhere, winning for the third time in morning trials, this one in 1:52.4. Linda Toscano trains the colt. Trainer Tony Alagna had a good day beginning with a pair of his pacing fillies that went to the wire together. They were Martinique and Cashaway in 1:54.1. New Jersey Sires Stakes champion Artspeak won in 1:53.2 for Alagna and A Plus completed an Alagna hat trick by winning in 1:54.1. She’s an American Ideal filly. Ed Hart’s Cam’s Card Shark colt Dealt A Winner won over Alegna’s Rock On The Hill in 1:54.2.

Last year’s Hambletonian champ, Royalty For Life, has been retired. While the four-year-old was getting ready to race in the “Cashman” he suffered a serious suspensory injury. Trainer George Duchame conferred with the owners and the decision was made that he should probably not race again. Since taking the Hambo crown, “Royalty” has had some problem or another.

He missed the Breeders Crown Final last year with a health issue, took his hiatus, turned four and came back in the Hambletonian Maturity a few weeks back, racing poorly during traffic in the crowded field. That excuse being noted, he came back to finish third in an overnight and was going into the Cashman looking for his first win of the season against some of the toughest competition he had yet to face in his short career.

With the passing of founder Bill Perretti this year, the future of one of harness racing’s most successful breeding farms is uncertain, according to USTA’s Ken Weingartner. Most of the farm’s mares and yearlings have been sold and 29-year-old Matt’s Scooter died in June. However, all farm properties are being maintained with the high standards set by Mr. Perretti and visitors are welcomed and expected during Hambletonian week to the Cream Ridge, N.J. spread.

You can stroll the grounds visit the stalls of Rocknroll Hanover, Muscles Yankee, Matt’s Scooter, Windsong’s Legacy and others. You may take a guided tour, get an update on our active stallions Lucky Chucky and Muscles Yankee, enjoy a snack and view a collection of Hambletonian and stakes race memorabilia recording the legacy of Perretti Farms. Visitors can take home a Perretti Farms hat as a memento of their visit. Visitors are welcome from 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, July 30, Thursday, July 31 and Friday, Aug. 1. Please contact the farm to arrange a visit. You can call 609-259-7555 or email nicolaa@perretti.com.

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 ~ For more Thom Pye cartoons and products, click here

It was a poor weekend of harness racing feature wins for us. However, we have added something extra to the horses-to-watch results below, which deserves everyone’s attention, since the wins, places, shows and exactas have been calculated for your benefit to record total investment data.

Before any good news, however, we offer a sad story concerning one of the weekend’s features to open the review.

The Maple Leaf Trot, Mohawk’s feature on July 19, featured a major upset, with superstar Sebastian K beaten a nose by local Intimidate, who was over 30-1. Worse than the fact that we called for an upset but our choice, Mister Herbie, lost, is the story that followed the race on the “sloppy” surface.

Modern Family, a horse familiar to our blog readers due to our cashing on him in exactas this season with Sebastian K, finished fourth in the race, strolled to the paddock and dropped dead. Reports indicate that the five-year-old simply collapsed. The trotter was owned by his trainer, Daryl Bier and co-owned with Charles Dombeck and Richard Poillucci. Modern Family was a winner of 19 of 51 lifetime starts. At three, Tony Alagna trained him. Bier bought him at four for $110,000.

As an elder, Modern Family won nine of 16 starts and took a mark of 1:51 at the Meadowlands with his “Cutler” elim win. The week before, he knocked off some of the best four-year-olds in the $100,000 Meadowlands Maturity. In 2014, Modern Family had six wins, six places and one show in 15 starts. Three of those second-place finishes had come at the hands of Sebastian K, all projected cold to our readers. His lifetime bankroll was $575,925. We offer our condolences to the connections.

In the wake of that tragedy, losing a few bucks this weekend seems moot. Still, here is the damage: On the Hambletonian Trail blog, we gave you a non-surprising winner in one Canadian Breeders Championships (CBC) soph-colt trot—Harper Blue Chip ($2.70, $2.20, $2.10). In the second, there was no success defeating Nuncio. Then, at the Meadowlands’ Reynolds soph-colt trot, we were second with 6-1 Datsyuk ($2.40, $2.10) to the obvious Trixton (the exacta paid $4.40).

We share the results of our soph-trot analysis’ here with our weekly update. The Hambletonian Trail comes to you in cooperation with TwinSpires and the Hambletonian Society. You can read the recap race stories and data on the history of the August classics at the society’s archives. Soon it will be Hambletonian day. We hope to be at the Meadowlands for the spectacular program and the first Hambo at the new facility.

Friday at the Meadowlands we suggested the favorite, Handover Belle ($4, $4 ok, $2.10) in the first leg of the Ima Lula (see paragraph on Perfect Alliance in “News” below).

The Adios elims were strewn with favorites, one which we called. Lets Drink On It ($3.20, $2.40, $2.20) won the second elim, while we were second with Bushwacker ($5.60, $3.60) in another.

At Northfield in the Battle of Lake Erie we were second with our tied-first-choice Night Pro ($4.60, $3.80) while Apprentice Hanover finished off the board.

Our third choice finished third in the Lawrence Sheppard Final at Yonkers, doing so at 83-1. Parklane Eagle paid $14.20.

In the CBC soph-colt paces at Mohawk, we had only a third with Victor Bayama ($5.90).

TwinSpires and Hoosier continue a three-pronged power-packed program for harness players. Tuesdays, wager all you want and earn 10 TSC Elite Points per dollar bet. Click here for details. Every Thursday night, there is a 20-percent bonus on hitting the Pick 4 starting at Race 3. Click here for details. And the ongoing 10-percent Pick-4 bonus every racing night on Pick-4 hits continues through the meet. Click here for details.

In between published harness blogs, follow @FrankCotolo and @TwinSpires on Twitter to get tips on Hoosier contenders you can use in your tickets. Other possibilities appear in exclusive H2W list.

H2W RESULTS

For the first time in this blog, we offer the stats for the H2W’s past week. We do not suggest you play any or all of the horses we list weekly; the list suggests live horses for which you may want to use in any wager of your choice. However, now and again we do the math to see how the list would result if every horse was played across the board ($6) and every horse was boxed in an exacta with the public choice ($4), using a $2-base bet.

This week, inventory of such play reveals that the total cost would have been $220. The return would have been $276.20. That is a profit of $56.20 (25%).

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).

Winners

Astarisontheway, $15.20, $5.80, $4.60, Hoosier
Talbot Redneck, $11.20, $4.80, $3.40, Ocean
Donna Party, $9.80, $3.60, $2.60, Philadelphia
Fox Valley Shannon, $9.20, $3, $2.80, Scarborough
Stage It Right, $5.60, $3, $2.40, Yonkers
The Wizard Of Odz, $4.40, $3, $2.60, Running Aces
Luck Be Withyou, $2.80, $2.10, $2.10 ok, Pocono
Dancin Yankee, $2.80, $2.10, $2.10 ok, Pocono

Seconds

Midas Blue Chip, $6.20, $3.70 (Exacta $39.20), Vernon
Chocouture, $5.60, $3.20 (Exacta $35.00), Vernon
Bunkerhill Bill, $3.80, $2.60 (Exacta $17), Running Aces
Carson City Road, $3.30, $2.70 (Exacta $19.40), Buffalo
A Major Impuse, $2.80, $2.10
Swingin Beauty, $2.80, Philadelphia
Mattacardle, $2.40, $2.20, Meadows

Thirds

King William, $5, Buffalo
Malak Uswaad N, $4.20, Philadelphia
Sir Lehigh Z Tam, $3, Yonkers
Eat Your Enemy, $2.20, Scarborough

News And Notes

Drivers on a win skein during a single program often make the headlines but rarely prove they are worth the support of bettors. Ronnie Wrenn, Jr. won nine of the 15 races on July 16 at Northfield Park. The raw number sounds impressive but once again we have a case where following a driver’s streak is rarely the road to riches for a bettor.

Ronnie’s win prices on the nine wins (high to low) were $6.80, $6.40, $5.00, $4.60, $4.00, $3.00, $3.00, $2.40 and $2.20. He had a drive in all 15 races, losing six. It would have cost a player $30 (base price, $2 a bet), to cover all of his rides. His total win pay off was $37.40, leaving the Wrenn supporter with a profit of $7.40. To make a comparison on the matter of playing drivers as your main handicapping element, consider the Keith Kash, Jr. supporter. On the night Wrenn won nine, Kash won a single race (he drove 11 horses). His sole winner paid $123.80. It coast a Keith Kash bettor $22 to make a profit of $101.80. Once again, we rest our case.

Perfect Alliance won her first 11 races this year and then there was a kaboom. She finished seventh in the third round of the Miss Versatility Series on July 12 at the Meadowlands. Afterward, it was discovered she bled, and she scoped sick. She was put on Lasix in July 18’s $20,000 first round of the Ima Lula Series for four-year-old female trotters at the Meadowlands (see above, where we won with Handover Belle). She finished sixth in the field of six, never making any threatening moves. Julie Miller trains perfect Alliance. The second round of the Ima Lula is July 25 and the $55,000 estimated final is Hambletonian day, Aug. 2, at the Meadowlands. We’ll be inquiring as to the mare’s health and report as soon as facts are public.

Casie Coleman, Canada’s five-time trainer of the year, nearly quit the game at the height of her career, according to a report from Standardbred Canada. The 33-year-old’s students have won many of the sport’s biggest races but she says she nearly walked away from the game at the height of her career. Despite her success, her stable was too big, her health was suffering and she says she was miserable.

“There were times I would say ‘I’ve had enough, I want to get out. I don’t like it.’ I didn’t like going to the barn,” she said. Regardless of what happens on the track, Coleman says her biggest victory came this winter when she lost 57 pounds and worked herself into peak shape in Florida as part of a number of major life changes. “I hired a personal trainer. I worked with him all winter. Basically, I was doing anywhere from two to four hours every single day. I never took a day off,” she said. “The diet thing was a huge. All I drink is water and green tea now, whereas before I would drink about four coffees a day, Grey Goose and Sprite …  I was drinking about 3,000 calories a day, I figured out. Now, all I have is a thousand calories a day …  I couldn’t be any happier. I’m glad I’ve finally seen how out of shape I was and I wasn’t training my own horses and a million different things that I was doing wrong. I got them all corrected and back on the right path now … I feel awesome.” 

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 ~ For more Thom Pye cartoons and products, click here

Let’s begin this week’s review with something quite amazing. It comes from the Hambletonian Trail blog, where we covered and won both of the soph trots offered at the Meadowlands on July 12. Shake It Cerry, the filly we have been applauding at two and now at three, was our choice in the Del Miller Memorial. We assumed she would be the choice of most bettors and perhaps a prohibitive favorite. Wrong! Shake It Cerry went off and won at an astounding 7-2 ($9.60, $4.60, $2.60). Our second choice followed her over the wire at 5-2—Heaven’s Door ($4, $2.40) completed an exacta worth $30.80, also a terrific gift.

Everyone was on board for the soph-colt trot winner, Father Patrick ($2.80, $2.20, $2.10), in the Stanley Dancer. No exotics here, as both of our possible exacta partners broke and were eliminated from competition.

We share the results of our soph-trot analysis’ here with our weekly update. The Hambletonian Trail comes to you in cooperation with TwinSpires and the Hambletonian Society. You can read the recap race stories and data on the history of the August classics at the society’s archives. It is less than a month away until Hambletonian day. We hope to be at the Meadowlands for the spectacular program and the first Hambo at the new facility.

Also in the winning column, we had a mild victory with the frosh stakes as Artspeck won a colt pace ($3.40, $2.80, $2.40).

Stepping back a moment to July 11 at Mohawk, We gave you the chalk in a Maple Leaf Trot elim and it won—Sebastian K ($2.10 n/p n/s wagering). The exacta was playable, however, and our second choice, Creatine completed the $6.60 combo.

Back to Saturday, we pick up the pieces in the stakes at the Meadowlands.

We cannot report success with the big feature of the weekend because Hes Watching won the Meadowlands Pace, finally gaining respect from his doubters, of which we were some. Our third choice, Always Be Miki, came in second ($5.80, $4.60). The race went as we suggested it might, however, Hes Watching was in the spot where we suspected our choice, JK Endofanera would be in late stretch. The “Pace” did look a lot like the North America Cup, especially with another one of our choices, Lyonssomewhere, soaring to the lead as he did in the “Cup” and cutting breakneck fractions—:25.3, :53.2, 1:20.3. “JK” was first over into the speedy turn of the mid two panels, and it was Hes Watching that zoomed off the pace late to win (1:46.2). The top three finishers were fifth, ninth and sixth, respectively, in the first quarter. Hes Watching was the second choice at 2-1.

In the ad hoc Pace consolation, we were third with Brioni ($6.20). In the “Haughton,” Captaintreacherous was third ($3), ruining our boxed exacta and the probable winner, Sweet Lou, won ($4, $3, $2.40). The only other pay horse was in the Miss Versatility, as Bee A Magician won as the public heroine and our choice, D’Orsay finished third ($10.20).

Speaking of huge place and show prices, peruse the horses-to-watch (H2W) list below, where our live contenders rolled out some big numbers across the board. There are no typos in the prices!

TwinSpires and Hoosier continue a three-pronged power-packed program for harness players. Tuesdays, wager all you want and earn 10 TSC Elite Points per dollar bet. Click here for details. Every Thursday night, there is a 20-percent bonus on hitting the Pick 4 starting at Race 3. Click here for details. And the ongoing 10-percent Pick-4 bonus every racing night on Pick-4 hits continues through the meet. Click here for details.

In between published harness blogs, follow @FrankCotolo and @TwinSpires on Twitter to get tips on Hoosier contenders you can use in your tickets. Other possibilities appear in exclusive H2W list.

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).

Winners

Too Shy, $25.10, $7.80, $4.80 (Exacta $54.70), Mohawk
FB Seelster, $23.60, $12.60, $5.90, Buffalo
Nifty Prescott, $21.20, $9.70, $6.50, Buffalo
I Do Hanover, $14.20, $5.60, $3.20 (Exacta $30), Vernon
Emmasphere, $6.20, $3.60, $3), Running Aces
Morwyn Hanover, $4.80, $3.80, $3), Running Aces
Cheryl Leigh, $2.80, $2.20, $2.60 ok, Scarborough

Seconds

Chrome Cruiser, $53.80, $43.20, Pocono
Captain John Henry, $6, $5.80, Hoosier
Kaliska, $4.50, $3.40, Tioga
Zinthruthehall, $4.10, $2.80, Buffalo

Thirds

Northern Obsession, $11, Tioga
Sky Deperado, $5, Pocono
The Wizard Of Odz, $3.20, Running Aces
OK Amelia, $2.60, Ocean
Summertime Lea, $2.50, Yonkers
Bullseye, $2.20, Scarborough

News And Notes

Sportswriter was never a huge favorite of this department at two and did not impress us as he was promoted to be a division leader at three, even though he went zooming to win the North America Cup. But when he lost the Meadowlands Pace in a terrible performance we were convinced he would never be as sharp as Rock N Roll Heaven, who we rightfully made king of the division in 2010 and covered as he scourged the group all the way through the Breeders Crown finals.

Giving the devil his due, though, Sportswriter’s first crop (he stands in Canada) has hit the track with speed and success. Sportswriter was best at two, so it remains to be seen if his progeny can maintain their frosh shines as sophomores. On July 11, Sportswriter’s frosh fillies won all three divisions of the Ontario Sires Stakes (ONSS) Gold Series at Mohawk. Southwind Mischief (1:54), trained by Casie Coleman, who was also Sportswriter’s conditioner, won the first $70,000 split; Blake MacIntosh’s Sports Chic took the second (1:54.2); and Pop Writer (1:54.3) won the third for trainer Tony Alagna. We’ll be keeping an eye on the stallion’s average earnings and his colts in ONSS action and how they fare among all North American babies.

Foiled Again will try for his third win in the Battle of Lake Erie when the event is presented on July 19 at Northfield Park. The sport’s highest earner, now 10, should face familiar foes, also nominated—Bolt The Duer, Clear Vision, Heston Blue Chip and Michaels Power to name four. Foiled Again won the event in 2009 and 2011. He is trained by Ron Burke and won over $6.3 million. We’ll analyze the race in our July 17 blog.

Kawartha Downs will celebrates its 42nd anniversary on July 19, featuring the $12,500 Billyjojimbob Memorial Trot. The program will include 12 races with 25 percent higher purses than on a regular race card. The Billyjojimbob Memorial Trot celebrates a great trotter who began his career at Kawartha and went on to become the only Canadian horse to win the prestigious Elitlopp in Sweden in addition to the Breeders Crown.

Contemporary mare pacing great and World Champion Miss Easy is dead at 26. Miss Easy was a $30,000 a yearling broken and trained by Bruce Nickells. In 1990 she was voted frosh pacing filly of the year. She won 15 of 17 starts and earned more than $1 million. In 1991, she was voted soph pacing filly of the year. She won 10 of 15 starts, earned $648,700 and concluded her racing career with earnings of more than $1.7 million. Unfortunately her racing success did not translate in the breeding shed. As a broodmare she did not produce quality racehorses. Her lack of production found her being offered for sale in 2002 as a barren broodmare. Jim Simpson, Dr. Bridgette Jablonsky and Murray Brown of Hanover Shoe Farms decided Hanover would purchase her and she would be guaranteed a home as a retired mare.

As fate would have it, when booking season came along Dr. Jablonsky suggested that Miss Easy be booked along with the rest of Hanover’s active mares and she subsequently produced eight foals for Hanover, bringing a total of $220,500. She never became a great producer but she spent her remaining years enjoying the good life that she had earned and deserved. Miss Easy was laid to rest in the farm's cemetery opposite its main entrance.

John Gilmour, 76, a Monticello Raceway mainstay horseman for more than 47 years, is dead. Mr. Gilmour’s record speaks for itself. It spanned six decades, in which he earned 4,492 winners as a driver in years when the racing seasons were short and driving at two tracks in one day wasn’t an option. John was one of the famous Gilmour brothers, William (Buddy), George and Lloyd, who together accounted for more than 14,250 driving victories. For John, Monticello had been home since the early 1960s although he began his career at Buffalo Raceway and Batavia Downs, two tracks near his hometown of Lucan, Ontario.

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 ~ For more Thom Pye cartoons and products, visit  PYESITE

The crowd was sharper than us over the weekend, for the most part, but our skim horses-to-watch list (H2W) broke through with a decent percentage of winners and a monstrous place list. Check out the seconds in the review below; many of those place prices are more generous than a lot of win tickets offered in features and overnights.

Friday’s frosh events at the Meadowlands for New Jersey state-breds were no bargain for our choices. One colt scratched and the other two finished fifth (38-1) and seventh (16-1), respectively. Saturday, July 5, we stayed put at the Meadowlands for the highlighted events, looking over at Pocono in Pennsylvania for a few soph-colt trotters on the Hambletonian Trail.

The industry focused upon the Hambletonian Maturity’s debut on Saturday at the Meadowlands for reasons obvious to any harness followers. The 1 1/8-mile event featuring only four-year-old trotters pitted Bee A Magician against male foes—a dozen of them—in a field of 14. The unusual double-tiered field featured a few well-known names, including last year’s Hambo winner, Royalty For Life and the Kentucky Futurity winner Creatine, our choice.

All of the handicappers we know faced the same problem we faced with a field that large and extra real estate. Traffic was expected and could not be predicted. To truly appreciate the French-harness-like configuration of the race before we write about it here, we offer you a look at the replay by clicking here.

Bee A Magician was the favorite, Royalty For Life was 4-1 and our choice was 9-1. The first two quarters were deciding points for some losers, as “Royalty” went to the top in :25.4 and Creatine was parked three wide for that call and the :55 second call. Creatine took the first-over spot in that whirlwind while Spider Blue Chip took over. Then, “Spider” broke, ending chances for Royalty beside him. Before a blistering 1:23.2 third call, Your So Vain flew three wide to pass them all and take command. Creatine found a second spot inside but was a victim of the fiery fractions to three-quarters and was passed past the 1:51.3 mile point established by “Vain,” who stayed easily to the finish in 2:05.3. “Bee” was all out to finish second, having saved a ton of ground during the speedy quarters and ultimately she passed tired horses to complete the exacta.

Ake Svanstedt is the driver and trainer of Vain. He adds this win to his ever-growing stable of hot horses, including Sebastian K. The Swedish horseman is all the rage this season. Oddly enough, we liked Creatine for class reasons and his trip demoted all chances to win the “Maturity,” but it was Vain that was beaten by Creatine in their battle at three on The Red Mile in the “Futurity.” Creatine finished fifth in the Maturity.

In the Meadowlands Pace elims we gave you two of three in the first split, with JK Endofanera, at 1-5 this week, won ($2.80, $2.20, $2.10) and Lyonssomewhere third ($3). Doo Wop Hanover (7-1) finished fourth but made the final field. In round two, we were fourth with Jet Airway (12-1) as He’s Watching won off of a pocket trip.

We won the Mistletoe Shalee elim mile with Sandbetweenurtoes ($5, $3.20, $2.60), with our second choice, Gallie Bythe Beach third ($3.20).

The week’s results from the Hambletonian Trail blog come from Pocono Downs, where the soph-colt trotters in the Pennsylvania All Stars splits produced Jett Star second ($5.40, $3.40), who with the favorite delivered an exacta worth $18.60.

We share the results of our soph-trot analysis’ here with our weekly update. The Hambletonian Trail comes to you in cooperation with TwinSpires and the Hambletonian Society. You can read the recap race stories and data on the history of the August classics at the society’s archives.

TwinSpires and Hoosier continue a three-pronged power-packed program for harness players. Tuesdays, wager all you want and earn 10 TSC Elite Points per dollar bet. Click here for details. Every Thursday night, there is a 20-percent bonus on hitting the Pick 4 starting at Race 3. Click here for details. And the ongoing 10-percent Pick-4 bonus every racing night on Pick-4 hits continues through the meet. Click here for details.

In between published harness blogs, follow @FrankCotolo and @TwinSpires on Twitter to get tips on Hoosier contenders you can use in your tickets. Other possibilities appear in exclusive H2W list.

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).

Winners

Rush Rules, $14.40, $8.90, $3, Buffalo
Blissful Escape, $7.10, $4.40, $2.50, Buffalo

Seconds

Captain John Henry, $17.20, $8.60, Hoosier
Best Risque, $13.40, $7.80
Summertime Lea, $7.40, $3, Yonkers
Rub N Tug, $6.80, $3.70, Mohawk
Mary Rose Of Topaz, $5, $3.40, Scarborough
Light N Shadow, $3.40, $2.80, Meadows
Im A Lucky Man, $2.60, $2.20 (Exacta $4.60), Scarborough

Thirds

Nothinbutanallstar, $8.60, Hoosier
Insane In Spane, $7.80, Yonkers

News And Notes

The $5 million Breeders Crown championships will return to Canada in 2015 after a two-year hiatus. Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG) has signed a letter of intent to host all 12 events in the fall of next year, announced WEG Executive Vice-President of Racing Jamie Martin and Tom Charters, president of the Hambletonian Society, which owns and administrates the series. Woodbine hosted all 12 races in 2011 and 2012, handling more than $8.5 million and luring international stars Rapide Lebel and Commander Crowe.

Champion racehorse and stallion Matts Scooter, 29, was euthanized in New Jersey last week. He had been residing at Perretti Farms, where he had stood at stud virtually his entire career. During his three-year campaign as a racehorse for trainer Harry Poulton, Matts Scooter won 37 times in 61 trips behind the gate, with earnings of $2,944,591. He was voted Horse of the Year in the United States in 1989 and was Canada’s Horse of the Year in ‘88 and ‘89.

Lightly raced at two and ineligible for the Little Brown Jug and Cane Pace at three, Matts Scooter still managed to earn $1.78 million in 1988, winning 11 races and finishing out of the money only twice in 22 starts. He became the fastest pacer in the history of the sport that fall when he time-trialed in 1:48.2 at The Red Mile. Coming back to the races at four, Matts Scooter earned $1.14 million. His career stakes wins included the Meadowlands Pace, Messenger, Breeders Crown Open Pace, American-National, New Jersey Classic, Prix d’Ete, Nat Christie Memorial, Confederation Cup, Driscoll, Mohawk Gold Cup, Stewart Fraser Memorial, Cornell Memorial and U.S. Pacing Championship.

During his 20 year career at stud Matts Scooter sons and daughters include numerous divisional and world champions. Mach Three ($2.17 million) was his richest performer and Royal Mattjesty (1:48.4) his fastest. His offspring earned $74.39 million and 210 were $100,000 winners. He also sired 358 1:55 performers and 792 with 2:00 marks. Matts Scooter was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Living Horse Hall of Fame in Goshen in 2006.

Sid Alpert, a master innovator of raceway video and sound systems at a number of racetracks and a holder of a number of patents during the last half of the 20th century passed away at age 87. Alpert was a photographer at The Washington Times Herald with Jacqueline Bouvier (later wife of President Kennedy) as one of his protégés. Mr. Alpert became interested in harness racing and seeing a need for improved filming of races, formed his company, Electronic Race Patrol (ERP). Mr. Alpert began his career in racing by filming races in the 1950s at Maryland tracks. He teamed with the DuPont Chemical Company to develop a special film for use at night and was the first to film nighttime races.

Alpert was the first to introduce live closed circuit race monitors at the tracks he serviced. He was first to show live races and replays on a split-screen. Next, he introduced color to showcase races on television. In the 1960s he was the first to bring live video broadcasting to racetracks in the Midwest. His company also made noted television broadcast advancements at the ill-fated Garden State Park. In 1977, with the track ablaze, Alpert was high atop the facility video-taping the disaster.

Alpert fostered a remarkable project in 1989 that was ahead of its time. He visualized making full-card racing a staple on cable TV. His concept was to race entire programs at a track in Pennsylvania without anyone in attendance. The races would be shown on an all-racing channel offering wagering. Alpert envisioned having a daily early evening harness racing TV program in the fashion of the popular late night shows. Alpert’s concept included transmitting wagering information to fans at home via fax machine. Unfortunately, due to many reasons, he abandoned the project and then retired.

The babies were at it again at the Meadowlands on July5. The star of the show wasn’t a two-year-old but a Hambletonain candidate at the very peak of his powers, Jimmy Takter’s Trixton. In a qualifier, Trixton waltzed around the oval in 1:53.3. He meets his stablemate Father Patrick in the Stanley Dancer Memorial on July 12. Perfect Alliance also got some work, touring the oval in 1:53.3 in preparation for the Miss Versatility leg next week.

Baby trotters led off the card and a couple of fillies. Credit Winner-filly Crazy Beautiful and Lilu Hanover impressed with identical 1:58.1 miles. Takter drove the Cantab Hanover colt Walter White to a 1:59.4 win. Takter pacing pupil Bet You won his third straight non-betting race, this one in 1:57. He’s by Bettors Delight. Trond Smedshammer won a couple, taking the second race with Finish Line, a Yankee Glide gelding in 2:00. Trond also won with Crazshana in 2:01.4. This one is a Crazed gelding. Jonas Czernyson sent out a pair of winners, Alderbaran Eagle in 2:00.3 and a Muscle Hill filly Jolene Jolene in 2:01.

Baby pacers started off with the speedy Sportswriter filly Yellow Mustang in 1:57. Joe Holloway trains. The cleverly named She’s A Hot Mess redeemed herself after last week’s miscue by beating a field of colts in 1:58. She’s an American Ideal homebred. The next group also contained some impressive colts. The winner was Major War, by American Ideal, in a 1:55.4 mile.

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 ~ Find more fun Pye art at PYESITE

The big news in the sport was not our repeat of a Sebastian K-to-Modern Family exacta ($7.20) but the fact that Sebastian K raced the fastest trotting mile in the history of the sport (1:49) on the Pocono five-eighths oval.

Veteran horseman and our official harness-blog cartoonist Thom Pye said, “I have lived to see the face of The Deliverer” and that is how many of us felt as we witnessed the monster mile. Amazingly enough, Sebastian K, appeared to record the trip easily and looked tremendous drawing away from Modern Family down the stretch.

The exacta did not match the one we had with the same two horses at the Meadowlands ($38) since Modern Family ($2.10, $2.10 ok) was only 6-1 and most other monies wagered across the board were on Sebastian K, who went off at 1-5 ($2.40, $2.10, $2.10 ok).

Since we are not proponents of the speed factor, the biggest news about our efforts on the Sun Stakes program were the prices for some of the winners we supported. Doo Wop Hanover’s “Hempt” consolation payoff was outrageous ($7, $4, $3). He was clearly an overlay, as was Dancin Yankee ($6.60, $4.40, $3) in the pace Invitational. As well, we watched a muscled Sweet Lou ($3.20, $2.20, $2.10) pay more than expected.

The freshman sires stakes at the Meadowlands on Friday, June 27, yielded two winners, one that was moved in a redraw for the frosh-colt pacing fields. Dealt A Winner ($8.20, $4.20, $3.20) won after being reassigned to division one. We scored, as did most bettors, in the first split for the filly pacers with Stacia Hanover ($3.20, $2.10, $2.10 ok). In the second division we were third with Smart Zone ($2.10). The single split for filly trotters gave us a hefty show price with Southwind Cartier ($9.20).

We share the results of our soph-trot analysis’ here with our weekly update. The Hambletonian Trail comes to you in cooperation with TwinSpires and the Hambletonian Society. You can read the recap race stories and data on the history of the August classics at the society’s archives.

The week’s results from the Hambletonian Trail blog covered the big soph-colt trot event on the Pocono program and here, too, was a surprise price for the magnificent Father Patrick ($3, $2.20, $2.10). On Sunday, June 29 at Pocono, we scored with the fillies Lifetime Pursuit ($4.80, $3.60, $3) and Shake It Cerry ($2.80, $2.20, $2.20 ok).

At Buffalo there were two splits for the colts and we only had one third with Flyhawk El Durado ($2.40).

TwinSpires and Hoosier continue a three-pronged power-packed program for harness players. Tuesdays, wager all you want and earn 10 TSC Elite Points per dollar bet. Click here for details. Every Thursday night, there is a 20-percent bonus on hitting the Pick 4 starting at Race 3. Click here for details. And the ongoing 10-percent Pick-4 bonus every racing night on Pick-4 hits continues through the meet. Click here for details.

In between published harness blogs, follow @FrankCotolo and @TwinSpires on Twitter to get tips on Hoosier contenders you can use in your tickets. Other possibilities appear in exclusive H2W list.

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).

Winners

Some Like It Hot, $24.20, $9.80, $5.90, Yonkers
What About Brian, $9.20, $5, $4.40, Tioga
Milliondollardad, $6.50, $2.50, $2.60 ok (Exacta $17.80), Buffalo
Geronimo Fame, $3.40, $3, $2.70, Tioga
Sling Shot Shooter, $3, $2.20, $2.20 ok, Hoosier

Seconds

Rocky Regal, $7.70, $5.40 (Exacta $21.80), Saratoga
Sassy Sarah, $2.80, $2.80 ok, Scarborough

Thirds

Insane In Spane, $7.80, Yonkers
Fresh Dream, $5.60, Pocono
Diamond Gambler, $4.60, Ocean
Lex Lugar, $3.60, Saratoga
Light N Shadow, $2.20, Meadows
Eagle Now, $2.10, Yonkers

News And Notes

Baby races at the Meadowlands on June 28 presented some fine progeny to watch as the frosh season ensues. The program began with a Cantab Hall colt, Musical Rhythm, heading to the front for a gate to wire 1:59.1 win for trainer Tony Alagna. Buzzy Sholty scored a double on the day with a nice pair of Donato Hanover fillies he trains—Donatos Babe, a 2:00.1 winner, and HS Carry On in 2:00.3

Explosive Matter-filly Shafina Hanover was a winner for Noel Daley in 2:01.1. Ake Svanstedt won the next couple. He brought a Yankee Glide filly named Thats So Ironic in 1:59.3. Lima Pride impressed for Svanstedt in 2:01.2. He’s from the first crop of Muscle Massive. Trond Smedshammer. had a winner in Buen Camino in 1:59. This is a good sized home-bred by Cash Hall

Shes Heavenly opened the pacing races with a handy 1:55.4 score. She’s another winner from the first crop of Rock N Roll Heaven. Casie Coleman sent out Oneisalonelynumber to win the tenth in 1:57. He is a Bettors Delight colt. Bedroomconfessions got a perfect trip to win convincingly in 1:55.2. She is by American Ideal and goes for trainer Tony Alagna. The day’s final race was the fastest with the Well Said colt Paparazzi Hanover winning.

After working in the breeding shed, seven-year-old trotter Wishing Stone made his 2014 racing debut in a conditioned handicap at the Meadowlands, winning at 9-1. Wishing Stone stood as a stallion at Deo Volente Farms in New Jersey. He fulfilled breeding contracts for 331 doses of frozen semen overseas and bred to 30 mares in North America. He follows the racing-stallion-racing pattern as have some successes abroad, including Ready Cash, France’s richest trotter and a popular sire, Coktail Jet and Mack Lobell, who both won the prestigious Elitloppet after stud duties. Wishing Stone is well known in Europe, having competed there at four and five. In 2011 he won the French trotting race Grand Prix du Sud Ouest at 1-5/16 mile and also the King’s Trophy in Sweden. He was second in the Gran Premio Continentale in Italy. A year later he won the Copenhagen Cup in Denmark. He returned to the U.S. in August 2012 to continue his career in North America.

Dresden Raceway opens the 2014 season on July 1. After the 10-race opening card, racing will be conducted at Dresden on Sunday afternoons through Labor Day, the exception being the two holiday weekends. Dresden will race on the Aug. 4 Canadian holiday Monday and on Labor Day Monday, Sept. 1. Post time for all 11 cards of racing will be 1 p.m.

To honor one of the greatest driver careers in the history of harness racing, the Meadowlands will present an evening that will celebrate the career of Cat Manzi. On Friday, July 25, the “Cat-Man” will return to the Meadowlands, not to drive but to take part in an evening that will pay tribute to his storied career. Manzi, a winner of 14,812 races, currently third all time among North American drivers, spent many of his best years driving in the tri-state area and came to the Meadowlands during the track’s opening seasons where he finished in the top five in the driver’s standings 12 times. Manzi’s greatest win at the New Jersey oval was undoubtedly the 2006 Meadowlands Pace with Artistic Fella. After two unprecedented race accidents that came in untimely succession, Manzi decided to end his career.

Running Aces is running programs and in this week’s blog we will be adding entries to our H2W list. Again this season, we warn you to keep your eyes on horses trained by California veterans Tim Maier and Gerald Longo. The stalwart horsemen from the heydays of the West Coast harness circuit handle competitive stock at the Minnesota raceway; these pacers and trotters are often ignored by bettors on site and through the simulcast network.

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
Learn more about Pye harness art and cartoons, click here

Sun Stakes Saturday at Pocono Downs on Saturday, June 22, was a speed showdown, with elimination miles that were decided after blistering three-quarters, duels for the lead and whiskers.

The headliner was the first Ben Franklin elim, where we supported Captaintreacherous against four-year-olds and older for the first time in 2014. He was tremendous racing on the outside after being forced to the lead early and burrowing through the stretch, having already put away Foiled Again (10-years-old), Bettor’s Edge (five-years-old) and four-year-olds Sunshine Beach, Sunfire Blue Chip and Beach Memories. At the wire, however, 29-1 Domethatagain nudged a quantum-nose ahead down the passing lane after having an extremely easy trip sitting behind the champ. Captaintreacherous ($3, $2.10) meets “Dome” again in next week’s final.

The second Ben Franklin elim went to the ever-improving Sweet Lou, now five. Our choice, Allstar Legend made the final by finishing fourth. The final will be a fascinating battle between “Lou” and “Captain,” as opposed to the projected duel between Captain and Foiled Again, as Lou is racing a hole in the wind in this division.

The week’s results from the Hambletonian Trail blog presented an upset and some easily predicted victories by soph-trotting mainstays. In elims for the Earl Beale, Jr., also at Pocono on Saturday, everyone’s favorite Father Patrick ($2.10, $2.10, $2.10) was an easy winner. So was Nuncio in the second of the two affairs, with our choice Datskyk ($2.10, $2.10) completing the $3.60 exacta.

We nailed both of the colt winners Saturday at Saratoga on the Hambletonian Trail with Gural Hanover ($5.90, $3.10, $2.10) and Lukas Hall ($3, $2.30, $2.30 ok).

Wednesday, June 18 in Pennsylvania Sires Stakes for fillies on the “Trail” at Pocono, the stunning defeat of Shake It Cerry ($2.10) was the work of Desgined To Be, who, strangely enough, was an 8-5 second choice. Our other choice, Donella Hanover finished fourth at 7-1.

We share the successes of soph-trot endeavors here with our weekly update. The Hambletonian Trail comes to you in cooperation with TwinSpires and the Hambletonian Society. You can read the recap race stories and data on the history of the August classics at the society’s archives.

In the Max Hempt elims, also on Sun Stakes Saturday at Pocono, our choice and the public’s choice in the first round, Always B Miki, suffered a tough outside trip, finishing third but placed fifth and not earning a berth in the final. Our second choice finished second—Limelight Beach ($3, $3.40 ok)—and our third choice finished third—Allstar Partner ($20.80).

In the second of three splits, Sometimes Said ($2.20) was third at 4-1, while top-rated Doo Wop Hanover (4-1) was skewered on the lead, finishing seventh (no final for him) and Western Vintage (7-1) put in a terrible effort, finishing eighth; neither, of course, make the final.

The third elim was taken by North America Cup choice-gone-bad Mcwicked, with our choice, Stratos Hanover seventh at 39-1.

Soph-filly pacers went in a trio of elims for the James Lynch final’s field. In the first split we were second with our second-choice Gallie Bythe Beach ($5.80, $3.20), with our top choice, Someislandsomwhere, finishing fourth at 5-2. Nothing went well for us in round two, as Allstar Rating (2-1) was paced down badly in the stretch and Katie Said broke from interference at 61-1.

More unpredicted antics served the results of the third split, with huge choice (and our choice) Uffizi Hanover ($2.20, $2.10) nipped at the wire after a scalding first half and our second choice, Also Encouraging ($5.80) getting third.

TwinSpires and Hoosier continue a three-pronged power-packed program for harness players. Tuesdays, wager all you want and earn 10 TSC Elite Points per dollar bet. Click here for details. Every Thursday night, there is a 20-percent bonus on hitting the Pick 4 starting at Race 3. Click here for details. And the ongoing 10-percent Pick-4 bonus every racing night on Pick-4 hits continues through the meet. Click here for details.

In between published harness blogs, follow @FrankCotolo and @TwinSpires on Twitter to get tips on Hoosier contenders you can use in your tickets. Other possibilities appear in exclusive H2W list.

A reader/bettor sent us an email when he noticed something odd about our H2W (horses to watch list) this past week. Over the course of a few weeks (we are in week 24 of the list this year) a great number of horses returning for their second and last entries on the list (notated with a “+” before their names) are coincidentally drawing tough, outside posts. It’s unfortunate and sometimes moot but it has resulted in many loses for second-timers. You may want to create a spin-off list of such horses and follow them when they come back for the third time. We will still only keep horses twice on the list, regardless of their posts either time.

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).

Winners

Rock Out, $22.20, $7, $2.80 (Exacta $64.80), Meadowlands
Lindys Real Deal, $18.60, $6, $3.20 (Exacta $51.50), Vernon
Muscles To Spare, $10.40, $5.80, $4, Tioga
The Real One, $6.20, $3.80, $2.40, Yonkers
That Friskie Feeling, $5.40, $4, $3.60, Scioto
JJs Jet, $4.60, $5 ok, $2.80, Scarborough
Dune Dude, $4, $2.80, $2.40, Maywood
H-andharleythejet, $4, $2.20, $2.10 (*Exacta $12.60), Plainridge
The Maniac, $3.80, $2.20, $2.10, Buffalo

Seconds

CJ Crystal, $4.40, $2.80 (Exacta $30), Ocean
Always Wearable, $4.20, $2.10, Hoosier
Geronimo Fame, $4.10, $4, Tioga
Pretty Place, $3.40, $3, Maywood
Miss Defiance, $2.60, $3.20 ok (*Exacta $12.60), Plainridge

Thirds

Clearly Possessed, $10, Buffalo
Milliondollardad, $5.60, Buffalo
Nothinbutanallstar, $5, Hoosier
Milliondollartouch, $4.80, Saratoga
What About Brian, $4.40, Tioga
Team Edward, $4, Vernon
Zampano, $3.40, Buffalo
Big City Jewel, $3, Yonkers
Sassy Sarah, $3, Scarborough
Winbak Wildfire, $3, Scarborough
Forty Carrots, $2.30, Saratoga

News And Notes

Northfield Park has added a $10,000-guaranteed total pool for a Pick-5 bet on Monday, June 23’s racing program. The pool includes a carry-over amount of $1,946.92. The wager begins with Race 3 that evening. Northfield’s Pick 3s, 4s and 5s offer a 14-percent take out rate.

Batavia Downs’ 68^th harness season is poised to begin. The 2014 season features 72 racing programs beginning July 23 and going through Dec.6. The racing days are Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons in July and August. After Sept. 1, Tuesday nights replace Sunday matinees. The evening post time is 6:35 EST and afternoon post time is 1:15 p.m.

Some feel it is about time and considering Bee A Magician’s losing season thus far at four it may be a way to show that her connections still have plenty of confidence in her. What this is all about is Bee A Magician racing for the first time against males. Last Saturday at Mohawk, “Bee” finished ninth in the Armbro Flight Final. It was a performance that raised questions since the only time that she ever missed the board in her career was in her second start at two. Trainer Nifty Norman told Trot Insider that she scoped sick after the “Flight” final. Norman said she is “feeling better already.” Bee has lost her first three starts of the 2014 season after never tasting defeat at three in 17 starts (remember, we gave you D’orsay who beat her and paid over $100 to win). Norman said she will race next on July 5 in the $400,000 Hambletonian Futurity for four-year-olds at The Meadowlands. ‎That race is open to all four-year-old trotters and it means she’ll skip the second leg of the Miss Versatility for trotting mares on Monday, June 30 at Mohawk.

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