Lettucerockthem A In Last ‘Levy’ Leg Leads Exacta/Trifecta; $26 Philly Strike; Miami Pick-4 Yields $213

We started out the week on Twitter with spot plays at Buffalo Raceway but none of the four tweeted won: Amoreuble Hanover (12-1) and Vals Jett (38-1) finished fifth, while Lakers Vett (11-1) and La Reina Road finished fourth.

Our tweets for Twinspires Twitter members come from @FrankCotolo –retweeted by @twinspires—and the raceway involved. Losers from April 13 at Buffalo will appear on next week’s horses-to-watch (H2W) list. Watch for special tweets from raceways on various Wednesdays.

Our wagering weekend began on Thursday, April 14 at Harrah’s Philadelphia, where we made up for a few Thursdays in the red. Our winner was Ashlake ($26.60, $5.40, $3.20). Prior to that win we had a third with Phantom Rusty ($6.60). That one completed a trifecta with the two top public choices to return $229.00.

Friday at Yonkers we enjoyed some success in one of the two Matchmaker divisions with our evaluation of Krispy Apple ($7.00, $3.20, $2.10), who won with our second choice, the race-favorite Sell A Bit ($3.20, $2.20) for an exacta worth $20.80. In division two we were fourth with Regil Elecktra (43-1), who lost to the first-and-second public choices.

Saturday night, April 16 we improved our averages for the “Levy” series in the last of the legs (next Saturday night, April 23, Yonkers presents the series finals of the Blue Chip Matchmaker and George Morton Levy Memorial).

Our three choices for the exotics covered the results of a puny trifecta ($22.40) and a fair exacta ($13.60) with the winner Lettucerockthem ($4.50, $2.60, $2.10), the place-horse PH Supercam ($2.90, $2.10) and the show horse All Bets Off ($2.20) in the first of three divisions.

In episode two on Saturday, our top choice, Lucan Hanover, scratched, while second-choice Domethatagain (8-1) finished fifth the public choice.

Then, our choice to beat Wiggle It Jiggleit, Bit Of A Legend ($2.10, n/p, n/s) shared the third-division win in a dead-heat finish.

If you put together the suggestions we offered for the April 16 Miami Valley Pick 4 you may have hit it for $213.80. The favorite took the first leg and then we scored with leg two’s Freedomformysoul ($13.60, $5.60, $2.40). Truly Kissed ($10.20, $3.80, $3.20), leg three’s winner, Our Dragon King ($5.00, $3.80, $3.20), appeared in both our analysis and the H2W.

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 79 active horses (a 15-percent win hit rate and a 47-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

Avartartist, $23.00, $7.30, $3.80, Mohawk
Dark Prince, $16.20, $8.00, $5.40, Cal Expo
V’la Faire, $12.40, $6.10, $3.50, Buffalo
Smoke Pan Mirrors, $9.80, $5.00, $2.80, Philadelphia
One Hot Future, $6.40, $4.20, $2.60, Hoosier
Hoofenanny, dh-$6.00, $5.80, $2.90, Century
Sing Like An Angel, $5.30, $3.00, $2.40, Century
Our Dragon King, $5.00, $3.80, $3.20, Miami
Forever Lover, $4.40, $3.60, $2.40, Northfield
Miss Princess Leah, $4.00, $2.40, $2.40 ok, Miami
Credit The Shark, $3.80, $2.50, $2.10, Century
Sunfire Blue Chip, $2.40, $2.10, $2.10, Yonkers
 
Seconds

Cruize Commander, $9.80, $3.00 (Exacta $45.00)
Selmas Wish, $8.60, $6.00, Mohawk
Centaltafirecracker, $8.00, $4.80, Miami
People Like Me ($6.80, $3.80, (Exacta $22.40), Northfield
Townlinedaliscard, $6.80, $5.60 (Exacta $14.20)
Shark Festival, $6.60, $4.80 (Exacta $41.70), Century
MMs Roanie, $5.40, $3.80 (Exacta $14.60), Miami
Text Me Hanover, $5.40, $4.80, Rosecroft
Donna Party, $4.60, $3.50 (Exacta 24.20), Mohawk
Coronations K, $3.60, $3.00, Freehold
West River Text, $3.40, $2.40, Scarborough
Big Bambu, $2.10, $2.10 ok, Yonkers

Thirds

Royaltyhasarrived, $5.80, Meadows
Lyons Jimmydean, $5.40, Hoosier
Trojan Seelster, $4.70, Buffalo
BJs Guy, $4.60, Yonkers
Romantic Escape, $4.00, Rosecroft
Shes Swanderful, $4.00, Meadows
Beyonces Rockn, $3.20, Mohawk
Girls Luv Diamonds, $3.00, Buffalo
Ky Liz, $2.20, Plainridge
Ufdragons Rocket, n/s, Mohawk

News & Notes

Harness racing is embracing the warmer weather as 2016 raceways launch their seasons. Some of the tracks already have entries to our H2W list and more will be added through the end of April and into May.

Vernon Downs is poised to open again. The track will begin racing on April 22 and shuffle New York circuit horses as well as host Grand Circuit events. Vernon will race through Nov. 5.

Vernon’s sister track, Tioga Downs, will begin racing on May 7 and enjoy featuring many of the same horses in the lower rungs of the Empire State circuit as does the upstate raceways that include Saratoga and Monticello (open now). Tioga will close on Sept. 17.

While Illinois’ tracks Maywood and Balmoral are being taken apart piece by piece, with many of those pieces being auctioned, Hawthorne Race Course, the surviving Lincoln State harness venue, will open on April 25. Hawthorne will present many of the state-bred stakes that were mainstays at Maywood and Balmoral, as well as other featured events.

Dover Downs hands over the harness horses and horsemen for half-mile action at Harrington Raceway on May 6. This is a long meet, rolling through the prime stakes action of summer when it points the circuit trotters and pacers back to Dover just after Sept. 25.

In Maine, Bangor joins Scarborough as they both struggle for starters. Bangor opens on May 7 and races with scattered programs until Nov. 16, while Scarborough does the same until December.

Ohio summers wouldn’t be the same without the hoards of harness races at Scioto Downs, which opens May 10 and presents state-bred and overnight stock until the week before the Delaware, Ohio fair launches the Little Brown Jug week on Sept. 18.

On May 17, Running Aces Harness Park hosts its standardbred meet, a run until Sept 3 that should be a main attraction to harness-racing bettors. The Minnesota raceway attracts a good number of veteran horsemen that are very serious about making money and push their stock strongly through the conditions offered to make a living.

Extraordinary Extras

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

Ray Cotolo contributed to this blog

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