Twin $30 Scores At Red Mile, Hoosier; Bluegrass Babes Pay Off

This past week we had some good winners mow down their foes in the Bluegrass Stakes at The Red Mile. The Grand Circuit at the Lexington, Kentucky track continues Wednesday, Oct. 7 through the weekend, highlighted by the Kentucky Futurity. Watch our TwinSpires blogs for all the best betting coverage.

Our second highest paying winner of the week was in the first Bluegrass event on Oct. 2. Tipton Teeez ($34.20, $15.40, $3.80) was the frosh-filly pacer score. The highest paying winner of the week came from Victor Hall, leading the H2W (horses-to-watch list—see below). Our other suggestions were all off the board.

TwinSpires.com in league with the Hambletonian Society featured more Bluegrass action in our Breeders Crown Countdown blog, covering The Red Mile’s opening Wednesday, Sept. 30. We survived with only two horses making the board—All The Time ($2.60, $2.10) and Waitlifter K ($2.60), as two of our other contenders broke (one a 6-5 choice) and another at 100-1. Watch the blog this coming Tuesday for more Grand Circuit action from Lexington.

Elsewhere on Friday, the double Dayton Derby program at Dayton Raceway brought us two seconds. Shake It Cerry ($3.80, $2.40) lost the trot version and Shamballa ($5.20, $3.80) lost the pacing contest. In the latter, the exacta with the favorite, State Treasurer, paid $10.20.

Saturday, Oct. 3, Mission Brief ($2.10, $2.10, $2.10) was not upset by Livinginthefastlane (14-1), our possible scenario and the other filly Bluegrass trot had Katniss (18-1) in sixth.

The Bluegrass filly paces gave us two of three Bluegrass winners. Wicked Little Minx ($11.80, $4.80, $3.00) took the first split and Bedroomconfessions ($4.60, $3.00, $2.40) nabbed the second division.

In the soph-colt trotting Bluegrass miles we were one for two. Muscle Diamond ($8.80, $3.00, $2.80) was our winner and Billy Flynn (52-1) was our loser. We failed in both soph-colt paces, losing to the favorites with National Seelster (8-1) and Revenge Shark (10-1).

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 29-percent win hit rate and a 43-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

Victors Hall, $37.40, $8.00, $4.20, Hoosier
Action-broadway, $19.80, $8.00, $4.80, Dayton
Every Day, $10.90, $4.70, $7.30 ok, Charlottestown
Sumatra, $10.40, $3.80, $3.40, Yonkers
Shes A Ladro, $9.20, $3.10, $4.80 ok, Century
Pondas Image, $5.00, $4.40, $3.00, Dayton
Braggin Hanover, $4.60, $2.80, $2.20, Northfield
White Mountain Top, $4.20, $2.80, $2.40, Pocono
Spirit Of America, $4.10, $2.10, $2.10 ok, Charlottestown
Canepa Hanover, $2.10, $2.10, $2.10 ok, Red Mile

Seconds

Molon Lave, $7.20, $2.10 (Exacta $11.00), Saratoga
Wrangler Potogold, $4.50, $5.10 (Exacta $31.10), Century
Luann Dunn, $3.80, $2.60, Dayton
Bluebird Reverend, $2.40, n/s, Hoosier
Churita, $2.10, $2.10 ok, Hoosier

Thirds

N o n e

News & Notes

A lot of news about future harness racing plans at raceways in North America is being generated. First, Jamie Martin, Woodbine Entertainment Group ’s executive VP of racing, told the press that Mohawk could be home to year-round harness racing in a few years. Martin said that there is a desire for a second thoroughbred turf course to be installed at Woodbine and that the likely location of that track would be on the current harness course. According to Martin, the concept is just being discussed and analyzed.

Also in new about harness raceways, Maywood Park in the Chicago area of Illinois met its doom Friday, Oct. 2, while Balmoral Park upstate in Crete is destined to cease racing at the end of this year. The tracks were operating in bankruptcy since December of 2014, succumbing to the casino business and political woes. The Illinois Racing Board awarded harness dates to Hawthorne with a Jan. 6—Feb. 5 winter meet and a May 6—Sept. 26 summer meet with five nights a week of racing. The half-mile Maywood Park opened in 1946. Balmoral Park is a 1-mile track that owns the longest stretch in harness racing.

Pompano Park kicked off its 52nd season of harness racing on Sunday, Oct. 4, the first of 126 racing programs. Beginning on a Sunday-Tuesday two-night-a-week schedule for October, the season will expand to three nights – Sunday, Monday and Tuesday – Nov. 9 – before going to a five-night-a-week schedule beginning in December. This blog’s good friend, racing secretary Greg DeFrank has put together 19 late-closing events to “spice things up a bit,” including an Open Pacing Series that will feature three legs and an estimated $100,000 final, scheduled for March 6. The other Open events – one for pacing mares and the other for trotters – will also have a trio of legs with an estimated purse of $80,000 for each. Late-closing events for several classes of claimers are also written into the agenda with well over $700,000 earmarked for the late closers. DeFrank said, “In addition to our late closers, we will also offer ‘pop-up’ events, which will have a quick leg and a race-off featuring enhanced purses from our regular events.” Pompano will offer the popular Super Hi-5 on the last race and a new Pentafecta contested on Race 4. The Pentafecta will pay 100 percent of the net pool to any multiple winners with a carryover only if no ticket has the required first five finishers in order.

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 ~