Inaugural Potomac Pace Will Highlight Next Tuesday Card at Rosecroft

Harness racing fans looking to get an early start to their Thanksgiving weekend will certainly want to catch a glimpse of the Tuesday, Nov. 22 card at Rosecroft that will feature the inaugural edition of the $100,000 Potomac Pace Invitational for aged pacers.

Although the debut edition of the Potomac Pace will not have Wiggle It Jiggleit - who was actually expected until being sidelined belatedly with a minor foot injury - it will include eight of the best aged pacers in the land with combined earnings of over $8 million. The other 108 entrants on the card have combined earnings of just over $13 million.

The field from the rail out for the inaugural Potomac Pace reads Mel Mara (Corey Callahan), Shamballa (Scott Zeron), All Bets Off (Matt Kakaley), Keystone Velocity (Daniel Dube), Split The House (TBD), Wakizashi Hanover (Trace Tetrick), Dealt A Winner (David Miller) and Mach It So (Tim Tetrick).

Three of the entrants have earned in excess of $1 million, topped by All Bets Off at $2.1 million and four of the eight have a lifetime mark of 1:48.2 or faster, led by Mel Mara's 1:47 mark and followed closely by Shamballa at 1:47.1. The current all-age track record is 1:48.2 set nearly 10 years ago by local standout Nuclear Breeze for owner-breeder Tom Cooke.

Shamballa, Mach It So, All Bets Off and Dealt A Winner have been in many of the major stakes all season and all four exit the $400,000 TVG FFA final at The Meadowlands last Saturday won by division leader Always B Miki in his career finale. Mach It So finished second in that event and earlier he was second to Wiggle It Jiggleit in the $150,000 Bobby Quillen Memorial at Harrington.

The Potomac Pace is scheduled as the 10th race of a solid 13-race card and will offer the full menu of wagering options. To this point the fastest clocking of the fall meet has been 1:50.2, but that is certainly going to be lowered by the winner of the Potomac Pace next Tuesday and the all-age track record is in serious jeopardy.

(A more detailed look at the Potomac Pace and the entire card will be posted Monday)