Trio Of $30-Plus Winners; Dover $109 Exacta And $53 Place Payoff Among Successes

Playing “outside the box,” so to speak, gave us some great across-the-board prices and big winners in the horses-to-watch list (H2W). Check out the H2W pool results below.

Our features’ contenders began with the Matrons at Dover Downs on Nov. 5. The big news here comes from the soph-colt pace final where the favorite won and our contender took the obvious winner into big-exacta territory. We were second with Beach Ogre ($29.40, $4.20), making for an exacta worth $109.00. In the Matron frosh-filly trot we took third with Radiant Beam ($5.00) and we also had third in the frosh-filly pace with Skinny Dipper (n/s). The public choices, by the way, won the quartet of frosh finals.

Speaking of favorites, on Nov. 7 it was difficult to topple American-National choices at Balmoral. We did contribute to exactas, however, with frosh-colt pacer New Talent ($2.60, $2.60 ok) in a paltry exacta paying $4.20 with the favorite.

Breeders Crown-champ and public-choice The Bank won the soph-colt trot, with our contender, Habitat ($3.80, $2.80) second for an exacta worth $14.20. Freaky Feet Pete ($2.10, $2.10 ok n/s) soared to a win in the soph-colt pace with Roland N Rock (42-1) sweeping too late to get the exacta. Always B Miki ($2.10, $2.10 ok n/s/) was obviously the best in the older pace. Rockin Good (12-1) was fourth in the soph-filly pace. The only longshot was not supported by us in the soph-filly trot, where we had E L Love (13-1), who finished fifth.

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 the 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 35 active horses (a 20-percent win hit rate and a 60-percent in-the-money hit rate). One note: the list included three horses at Batavia that at the time we thought would be betting races; they turned out to be non-betting races.

Please note that some H2W results reflect win, place and/or show results occurring after press time and that it is up to you to follow those horses that have not performed before this weekly review is posted.

Winners

Pegasus Point, $37.80, $11.60, $4.80, Vernon
Niyama, $35.60, $8.00, $3.80, Rosecroft
Hail To The Master, $30.20, $53.40 ok n/s), Dover
Son Of Anarchy, $16.60, $7.20, $2.60, Fraser
Reachinforthestars, $11.40, $4.80, $2.80, Batavia
Ms Neutralize, $9.00, $7.60, $3.20, Bangor
Dontmesswiththebest, $5.20, $2.60, $2.40, Plainridge

Seconds

Fuzzylegsandall, $9.20, n/s, Plainridge
Winners Streak, $4.40, $3.00 (Exacta $10.40)
Lil Miss Bourbon, $3.80, $2.20, Rosecroft
Wrapped To Go, $3.80, $2.90 (Exacta $7.30), Fraser
Hey Carrie Ann, $3.70, $3.50, Fraser
Osprey Impact, $3.40, $4.50 ok, Charlottestown
Norma Rei, $2.60, $2.20, Northville

Thirds

Realist, $8.20, Bangor
Ona Dream, $6.20, Batavia
Always Wearable, $3.00, Hoosier
Banging The Drum, $3.00, Plainridge
Logan Runn, $3.00, Scarborough
Kanaris, $2.80, Hoosier
Mach It So, $2.10, Yonkers

News & Notes

Glamour-boy pacing colt In The Arsenal is done racing for this season. Trainer Kelvin Harrison hopes to have the horse back for the FFA division in March, 2016. “The race in the Breeders Crown was disappointing but he has not been healthy since he choked in the Meadowlands Pace,” he told the Canadian press. “Even now his throat looks like raw meat, so what he needs is time. Most of the season he was considered a contender and he was responsible for pushing Wiggle It Jiggleit to a loss in the Meadowlands Pace by forcing a break-neck duel. Before that, he won the Art Rooney Memorial, elims of the North America Cup and Meadowlands Pace and a Bluegrass Stake division to earn $951,000 lifetime. Harrison goes into the winter with a stable of 25.

Live racing begins at The Meadowlands on Friday, Nov. 13 with post time at 7 p.m. Some well-known horses were prepping on the track for campaigns, including Classic Martine, Doo Wop Hanover, Bedroomconfessions, Wicked Little Minx, Stacia Hanover, Boston red Rocks and Talk Show.

Woodbine announced a post time change for harness programs. Beginning Monday, Nov. 9, post time will be 7:30 p.m. The new post will be used for each card of live racing during the Woodbine fall/winter meet except for the special Boxing Day, Dec. 26 matinee card when first post will be 1 p.m.

Sunday matinee racing returned to Yonkers Nov. 8, and will continue through the final program of the season, Dec. 13. First post each Sunday is listed at 11:15 a.m., with the exception of a dark Sunday (Dec. 6). The return of Sundays means the end of Thursdays, the final one having been Oct. 29. Monday, Friday and Saturday evenings (first post at 7:10 p.m.) and Tuesday afternoons (first post at 1 p.m.) remain unchanged.

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 ~