Power Plays Triple For $124, Exacta $31; Five Exactas With Favorites Atop, $40, $39, $32, $30 And $7

Our Power Plays race at Saratoga on Thursday, March 2 was the most productive of our personal features this weekend (through Saturday, March 4) with three out of four, presenting the exacta and trifecta. The favorite, Moonlight Spin ($3.30, $2.40, $2.10) won, with outsider Forever Effie ($7.50, $3.80) finishing second. The exacta combo paid $31.60. We also nailed the third horse, Northern BB ($3.40), returning a trifecta of $124.50. Our fourth horse, Island Adventure (8-1) just missed getting into the superfecta, finishing fifth.

At Freehold that day, our feature was won by the public choice while our horses, Max Profit (33-1) finished seventh and CC Jermey (4-1) was eighth.

Friday, March 3, at the Meadowlands, we were knocked out of the race when one of our best picks, Madman Hall (67-1) broke at the start and was eliminated. We were in the mix with the favorite, Wind Of The North ($2.10), who finished third, while Marion Millionair (4-1) made the “super,” and DW’s NY Yank (12-1) finished sixth.

At Saratoga on that night we settled for second with Band Windsome ($4.00, $3.20) our featured race and along with the winner, the crowd’s choice, nabbed an exacta worth $17.60.

Saturday we settled in again at Northfield for Power Plays and contributed for second with a rank outsider we liked, Barbra Carol Lynn ($14.80, $7.60), a price that pushed the exotics up. We had the fourth-place “super” finisher with DC Uprising (5-2) and bombed with the bomb Lyric Of Life (29-1), who finished seventh and Esteemed Members (2-1), finishing sixth. 

All horses that did not win in our personal features—including Power Plays—if not scratched—appear in the following week’s H2W list as second-time (noted: +) entries. Keep an eye on their second times around; more than a few come back to win.

On various Wednesday nights we tweet for TwinSpires Twitter members from @FrankCotolo –retweeted by @twinspires—and the raceway involved. Losers from each week will appear on the next week’s horses-to-watch (H2W) list unless they race before that blog is published, so watch for them returning to the races on days in between blogs. Watch for special tweets from raceways on various Wednesdays.

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 50 active horses (a 10-percent win hit rate and a 44-percent ATB [across-the-board] 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

ER Maria, $11.80, $5.60, $5.20, Northville
Hillbillysweetshrk, $7.90, $3.70, $2.50, Saratoga
Bahama Bay, $7.00, $3.80, $2.70, Buffalo
Roll With Faith, $3.40, $3.00, $3.00 ok, Pompano
Bye Bye Michelle, $3.10, $2.20, $2.10, Saratoga

Seconds

Mister Chaos, $10.00, $5.40, Meadows
Duneside Life, $9.40, $5.60, Freehold
Keystone Dalton, $9.00, $3.70 (Exacta $40.60), Buffalo
Armbro Hall, $7.40, $4.40 (Exacta $39.00), Meadows
Mikes Hope, $6.40, $3.20 (Exacta $32.20), Miami
Upfront Charleyboy, $5.00, $3.00 (Exacta, $30.00), Meadows
Cladslastimpression, $4.20, $2.80, Miami
Rockinaroundheaven, $3.80, $2.80, Cal-Expo
Rockinaroundheaven, $3.60, $2.80 (Exacta $7.80), Cal-Expo
KRs Power Surge, $2.60, $2.10, Dover
 In Commando, $2.50, $2.10, Yonkers

Thirds

J Black, $5.80, Pompano
Ella V Horse, $4.70, Saratoga
Cajon Beat, $3.30, Fraser
Duet, $2.60, Cal-Expo
Ideal Willie, $2.50, Yonkers
Soapy Sap, $2.40, Freehold

News & Notes

Woodbine Entertainment Group announced that 60 sophomore pacers are nominated to the 34th edition of the Pepsi North America Cup Final, the $1 million pace on June 17at Mohawk Racetrack. Headlining the group is Ray Schnittker’s Huntsville and  Brian Brown’s Downbytheseaside. Huntsville’s accomplishments includes the Pennsylvania Sires Stakes championship and Breeders Crown. Downbytheseaside won multiple Grand Circuit events, including the Governor’s Cup. They  are both sons of Somebeachsomewhere.

Metro Pace champion Beyond Delight is also on the eligible list. The Tony O’Sullivan trainee picked up all three victories in consecutive weeks by sweeping the Metro Pace and capturing a division of the Champlain Stakes. Ontario Sires Stakes (ONSS) Super Final champion Arsenal Seelster and ONSS standout Streakavana are two of 11 Ontario sired 3-year-old are also eligible, as are other productive pacers Beyond Delight, Miso Fast, Fear The Dragon, Normandy Beach, Darlings Dragon and Streakavana. Nominations to the 2017 “Cup” were up over last year’s nomination total of 58.

Rosecroft kicked off its 34-day spring harness meet March 5 with an expanded spring-meet schedule and racing on Kentucky Derby Preakness days. It will feature the inaugural running of the $100,000 Potomac Pace, the first $100,000 race to be contested at Rosecroft in nearly a decade. Rosecroft will race Sunday and Tuesday the weeks of March 5 and March 12 with a 4:40 p.m. post on Sunday and a 6:40 p.m. post on Tuesday. The track will go to a three-day week beginning March 19 with a Wednesday post time of 6:40 p.m. Rosecroft will also add Saturday programs on April 15, May 6 (Kentucky Derby), and May 20 (Preakness). Post time on Saturdays are to be announced. Returning to Rosecroft will be driver Russell Foster, who shared last year's spring driving title with Jonathan Roberts and the fall driving title with Roger Plante Jr.

Harrington Raceway’s 71st season of harness racing will get underway on April 24 with a 5 p.m. nightly post time. The richest program of the year will once again be the Governor’s Day program (July 27, with a 7 p.m. post time) during the Delaware State Fair with approximately $600,000 in total purses. The track’s marquee race, the $150,000 Bobby Quillen Memorial is on Sept. 18.

Russell Williams was elected president of the USTA by association directors during the first general session of the USTA board on Feb. 27. Williams, who represents District 7 as a membership director and most recently served as USTA’s vice chairman, was elected over four other candidates. Williams, who works as chairman of both the Standardbred Horse Sales Co. and Hanover Shoe Farms, said, “We have something quite powerful: we have ideas. A good idea -- sooner or later -- is going to be embraced. Commissions watch us. And when we deliberate and argue over rules, commissions watch and see what we think as a breed.”

You can still donate to race-caller Sam McKee’s recuperation expenses at https://www.gofundme.com/sam-mckees-medical-fund. Sam suffered a debilitating stroke a few weeks back. His family set up this GoFund Me account. Donate whatever you can to the care and well-being of great figure in our sport and a great human being. .

Extraordinary Extras

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

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