Freehold Win Tops At $19; Miami Pick-4 Combo Spills $128 Exacta; Place Prices Soar

Our betting weekend began on Thursday, Feb. 11 with our top winner of the week coming in our first call, the beginning of the Late Daily Double at Freehold, Quiet Cammile ($19.00, $11.00, $4.80). Our second choice, Sleazy Does It (8-1) finished seventh.

In the second half of that Daily Double, we were seventh and fourth with Rusty Skipp (12-1) and Northern Ideal (6-1), respectively. The public choice won that race, which, when partnered with our winning first leg horse, paid $73.00.

The Feb. 13 Miami Valley Late Pick 4 was well within reach for readers of our preview blog last Thursday. A combination of choices suggested from our features’ texts of the races in that exotic and from the most recent horses-to-watch list (H2W)—some that were listed in the features’ texts from last week’s Late Pick 4—and dead-on favorites we did not choose, bagged the 50-cent minimum wager, which was worth $224.65.

In the features section we lost with our first choice in leg one (The Ladies Man, at 7-1, finished seventh.). We had the place horse in leg one with Saulsbrook Astobo ($8.20, $3.40) and the show horse, Ally-con. In the H2W for leg one we had Pipecreek Yankee (see below results for price on all H2Ws mentioned). That also made for a cold exacta (Pipecreek Yankee to Saulsbrook Astobo) at $128.80.

In leg two we had the winner, Sunday Poker ($3.40, $2.80, $2.60). Poison Oak (10-1) finished seventh.

In leg three, the winner, Wilcox, came from the H2W list. We were second with Machin Music ($3.80, $3.20), while Blueridge Doc (5-2) finished fourth and Mr Dennis (the public choice at 2-1) was ninth.

In leg four, the 3-5 choice won while our top contender, Radar Warning, was second ($6.40, $3.60) and our other contender, My Temudjin N ($3.20) was third. The $1 trifecta with the favorite atop paid $34.80 and the $2 exacta with the favorite atop paid $21.20.

No convolution of horses mentioned in our recent blog could assist our features’ text for the Feb. 12 Meadowlands Pick 3. For the second-straight week our approach presented miserable results. We will probably look for more probable-potent features for next Friday. In that Pick 3, Mc Tinys Hope (7-2) finished fourth in leg one; Mojarra Hanover (20-1) finished sixth and Apricot Sour (race favorite) broke and did not finish in race two; and Montalbano BI (15-1) finished sixth with Muscerene (27-1) in leg three.

Debilitating winter weather settled on the east coast and caused a number of track cancellations. Many of the closures affected H2W members, all of which will be added to next week’s edition. Friday weather caused the closure of Western Fair and Buffalo. Saturday, Feb. 13 was hit hardest. Closing were Flamboro, the Meadowlands, Woodbine and Yonkers

 H2W LIST RESULTS

The H2W results list across-the-board prices. Also, exactas listed are included when a H2W horse finishes second with a race favorite or the first two finishers making up the exacta are H2W horses (an asterisk appears when both horses were listed to complete a cold exacta). The note “ok” determines that prices published are correct even when a show price exceeds a place price or any or all of the prices are the same. This week, there were 36 active horses (a 14-percent win hit rate and a 44-percent in-the-money hit rate).

Please note that some H2W results reflect win, place, show and exotic results occurring by press time but some horses race after the blog is posted (we list them the following week) It is up to you to follow horses that have not performed before this weekly review is posted.

Winners

Pipecreek Yankee, $18.40, $8.20, $3.60, Miami
Kayla Grace, $11.80, $5.80, $4.40, Woodbine
Wilcox, $11.80, $5.40, $6.40 ok, Miami
Whistys Paradise, $2.80, $2.20, $2.10, Woodbine
Getter Queen Flush, $2.40, $2.80, $2.30 ok, Fraser
 
Seconds

Taylorlane Cruises, $23.40, $11.20 (Exacta $55.40), Freehold
Artsmah, $14.40, Meadows
Outlawcoltfortyfor, $9.80, $4.50, Fraser
Twinky, $3.60, $3.40 (Exacta $14.20), Northfield
Majorley, $3.40, $3.00, Cal Expo
My Marisa Clair, $3.00, $2.20, Northfield
 
Thirds

Hot N Shooting, $5.00, Miami
Exquisite Glide, $3.80, Meadowlands
Ally-con, $2.60, Miami
Starface, $2.50, Fraser
Rocknroll Power, $2.10, Dover
 
News & Notes

The Breeders Crown, harness racing’s annual year-end series of 12 championship events, valued at $5.8 million, will return to the Meadowlands for 2016. TwinSpires hopes to be there live this year covering all of the day’s stakes events along with its exclusive Hambletonian Trail blog that follows the two- and three-year-olds racing to battle in the Hambletonian and Hambletonian Oaks finals. 

For just the second time in its 40-year history, the Meadowlands will race harness cards in September and October, setting the stage for optimum dates for the “Crown” events. The new Meadowlands, built by Jeff Gural, opened in November, 2013, and hosted the Crown events in November of 2014. “The Meadowlands has been an extraordinary host to some of the best racing in the world for more than four decades,” said Tom Charters, president and CEO of the Hambletonian Society, which owns and administers the Breeders Crown and partners with TwinSpires for unique racing coverage. “Our partnership with Jeff Gural and his management team and the Standardbred Breeders and Owners of New Jersey continues to carry that legacy forward.”

The Breeders Crown  will feature the four Open events on Friday, Oct. 28. The eight freshmen and sophomore races will be held on Saturday, Oct. 29. Crown two-year-old races have $600,000 finals in each gait and gender. Eliminations for all events, if needed, would be held the prior week. “It is always an honor for the Meadowlands to host the Breeders Crown,” said Jason M. Settlemoir, Meadowlands CEO and GM. “We have a very long and positive relationship with the Hambletonian Society … We are looking forward to hosting two of the most exciting nights of racing.”

Hoosier Park, home of harness racing in Indiana, will host their first ever Crown events in the fall of 2017. The seven-eighths mile track, which opened in Anderson in 1994, was awarded all 12 championship races, becoming the 31st racetrack to host the Crown. “The Breeders Crown series, the horsemen, owners, fans and racetracks benefit in every way by rotating among the best tracks in North America,” Charters said. 

Tioga Downs have announced that the track has revamped its 2016 late-closing program, making opportunities available for three-year-olds to race in conjunction with the New York Sire Stakes (NYSS) schedule. There will be a quartet of $25,000 (est.) finals scattered through the moths of May and June. The Gail's Diner and Nichols True Value Series, for three-year-old pacers (n/w2 or $25,000) will take place entirely in the month of May before the NYSS season begins. The M&J Oil & Lube and Williams Auto Series, for trotters under the same conditions, are scheduled to take place in June, while premier trotters will compete in the Empire Breeders Classic at Vernon.

Extraordinary Extras

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

Ray Cotolo contributed to this blog

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