Finals of Thanksgiving Marathon Challenge Fri Eve

What an exciting race we have in store for you on Friday evening at bestbet Jacksonville. The finals of the 2016 Thanksgiving Marathon Challenge will run in the 11^th race on the card, and it is going to be one humdinger of a race over the 770-yard course. The field is stacked with talent, as the top four finishers from each of the qualifying races move on to the finals of this effort. Let’s take a closer look at the finals and see if we can get you cashing some tickets this weekend at bestbet.

Friday evening November 25^th –

Race 11 – Really this race comes down to two greyhounds for me. The track record holder over this distance, Herstal, and the 770 stakes winner from Naples, Barts Risingstar. Both greyhounds put up impressive wins in round one and both are custom made for this distance. Flip a coin on a good night as I feel that both have the talent to beat the other, but in this race post and who is next to you plays a role as well. Barts Risingstar gets the much better post position here with the 8 box and gets the big time early speeder Atascocita Warm right next door. That will pull him out of the box and give him more room early on as Warm will head toward the rail early on. Don’t count our Herstal just yet though. Even though she has a tough middle post, she too can break well, and when she does, she wins races for fun. If both greyhounds decide to break and run early on, this could be a knock down drag out battle all the way to the wire. Grade A mainstay and second time 770 runner Lk’s Centuria looked good in her first trip over the added, added distance. Breaking close, she chased the pace through and held on for next best at the finish line. Clearly, she was not a match for Risingstars raw speed in the open, but she held her own and might just give a better run here after a warm up effort over the distance. If she gets loose early on, she too could be a greyhound worth watching in this final. Now for the greyhound you cannot leave out, the best early speed in the bunch, Atascocita Warm. Warm has won several 770 grade A races, but this is not the one box. From the outside, she can run into trouble if she sits in the box early on. Here I expect more of what she gave us in the first round, a strong break, a big front running effort, and for her to surrender late to the big dogs as they come flying up to catch her in the later stages of the race. I think she can hold on in the superfecta though, so you can’t forget about her on your tickets. Play the big two, over the also rans, and score, score, score in this race. (8-4-2-7)