The Grand Circuit was on display this past Monday at Yonkers with the Borgata and Matchmaker Finals being contested. The Millionaire Lit De Rose finally got her big win with a first up score in the 276,200. According to Pat Lachance she will stay at Yonkers and keep going this year. Hard to fault the 9 year old mare who has been many places and just makes $. I was talking to John Rallis about the Borgata Final this weekend before it was contested. He has always been quite high on Linedrive Hanover, and I have always been skeptical. The way Linedrive had raced in the series it was hard to knock him. He seemed to think that either him or Desperate Man would win the Final given the way they had raced up until that point vs these horses. The rub was that they both wanted to be in the same spot, dictating the pace and controlling the race. Well after a 53 1/5 half mile, both Linedrive Hanover and Desperate Man were desperate, because no matter how sharp they were, the duel had cooked them both. What can one say about Hellabalou and Yannick Gingras. Both just seem to find a way when the $ is on the line. What a great drive by YG there, blast away from the gate and get position. There really is no one better away from the wings. Watch the two chalks rip each other apart on the front end. Move to the outside at the exact right time to be able to get the jump, then finish it off. Coaches Corner looked a winner around the turn but lost ground in it. He seems much faster in the straights vs the turns. I think he is going to have a sharp year at this level. For a horse that isn’t mentioned among the top of the older pacers the past few years, Hellabalou seems to just win when he’s not expected. 47-1 last year and 11-1 this year for Ron Burke to push the horse’s earnings to 1.3 million. Desperate Man was large in defeat, and is another that should have a fantastic season. The older pacers are always fun to watch, and its setting up to be a fun ride.
Tons of Derby coverage on the ITM network right now. No bigger race in the World, but harness racing can take advantage of the extra eyes on horse racing these next few weeks when the Triple Crown is front and center. Get out to a local track and watch some races. Many of the tracks are racing right now and the Stakes horses are coming back in full force. Expose others to the track and the sport we all love. You never know who may catch the racing bug.
The weekly pods are going to be changing up with the end of the Borgata. Fraser has one more week before going away for awhile. Stay tuned. Sweden is back next week!
Lots of great feedback from the Laura Brower podcast. If you didn’t catch it you can find it here: https://inthemoneypodcast.com/harness-players-podcast-thestable-ca-special-showcase-w-laura-brower/
Meadowlands also changed their wagering menu this week. Pick 8 is going away and a late Pick 5 is being added.
More on this next week….
Enjoy the weather changes and the races and all the spot plays this week….
~Mikee P
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Upcoming Races for The Stable Horses
A variety of racing covered this week on the Harness Players’ Podcast by host Edison Hatter and co-host Ray Cotolo starting with Fraser Downs in Surrey, British Columbia and its Late Pick 4 sequence for Friday (April 26), which covers Races 7 through 10.
Then, Hatter and Cotolo talk the Monday (April 29) Pick 5 sequence at Yonkers Raceway, which has a 50-cent minimum, covers Races 5 through 9 and features a $10,000 guaranteed pool.
Woodbine Mohawk Park wraps the racing discussion with the two talking strategies for the Mandatory Hi-5 payout on Saturday (April 27). The carryover heading into the payout night stands at $204,166.53 on the 15-percent takeout wager with a 20-cent minimum and is offered on the last race of the card.
As we turn the page on the Borgata and Blue Chip Matchmaker series and make our way towards May, the excitement picks up as more and more of last year's stars are working their way back to the races. We're all over the place in this week's edition of The Week Ahead.
Woodbine Mohawk Park continues their Canadian Graduate Series, which all feature4YOs. The three events spanning Friday and Saturday feature three likely big favorites: Ghostly Casper, Talk Curdy To Me, and Write Me A Rose.
Saturday also features four Ontario Sired Spring Series finals, giving the Ontario sired 3YOs a chance to shine on their 12-race card. One of the horses to watch that night is Convoy Hall, who looks to extend his unbeaten streak to six wins. He has looked untouchable so far in his short career.
Pocono Downs features some solid 3YOs in their Bobby Weiss Finals (and consolations) over the next few days. Saturday sees two likely big favorites in the two finals with Beautiful Roz (R8, PP7) and Captain Caveman (R10, PP1).
Monday's final is a competitive field of eight with the main contenders drawing outside. Blackhawk Zette (R10, PP6) and Victor Laszlo (PP8) are both 4-for-4 this season and finally clash.
The Meadowlands once again features a few returning stars early in the evening on Saturday. It's a trio of non-wagering events and a four horse field in the NJ Breeders' Maturity finals, allowing us to see Voukefalas, Tactical Mounds, and others as they prep for bigger and better this year.
The Meadows continues their Memorial Series race finals. It's a full competitive field in Friday afternoon's Terry Altmeyer Memorial Final in race 4. Carrera Hanover was finally beaten last week and will look to rebound.
Saturday's Tom Kirwan Final features a potential PA Sire Stake contender in Timeisonmyside for TheStable. He's 4-for-4 this year and most recently posted a 1:53.1 win despite being off over two months.
Finally, it's the beginning of the Buckeye Stallion Series, which is how you know stakes season is officially here. Miami Valley plays host to the first legs.
There may not be any huge purses up for grabs this week, but it will absolutely be another competitive week of Harness Racing with plenty of opportunities to make some money and watch potential future stars. That's all for this week!
Spot Plays for the Weekend of 4/26 and 4/27 presented by Nahupicks.com
Friday Century Downs Race 10 (5) Mcwicked Hurricane - crushed similar in last. Seems to have acclimated to Alberta. Her competition the ML fave was VERY steppy on turns last time out.
~Murray Slough
Friday Meadowlands Race 1 (3) Final Justice- Left hard from the ten hole in last but four others left so Tony Beltrami had to abort and dropped back. Parked the whole mile, ducked inside off the final turn and had a TON of pace at the wire.
~Inside Harness
Friday Woodbine Mohawk Race 1 (3) This Magic Moment - only two starts last year, both good and both in 100k stakes. Solid qualifier and maiden company here. No big price but at least a Pick 5 key.
~Doug “Number cruncher” Henwood
Friday Meadowlands Race 2 - (6) Bette Tina
~Steve Wi
Friday Meadowlands Race 3 - (5) Dealer’s Table will be my value play of the night. Dropping back to a more suitable level where he has won at before and gets a driver change back to Todd McCarthy; everything is goin in the right direction for him.
~Michael Carter
Friday Meadowlands Race 12- (8) JGS Pal Race 13 (1) Shelter in Pace
~Jeremy Day
Friday Yonkers Race 9- (4) Blue Note - I don’t see losing the 9th race. Sure, he will probably go off 1/9; so take your 20 cents and play a super in Race 10.
~Alan Gatto
Saturday The Meadows Race 12 - (3) Outer Banks - was placed in the Hackett Elim at Miami Valley off the bench after a stakes filled 2 yo season. Was on the outside for a while in that effort but still paced a good mile. He likely has more to show this week.
~Kevin Plowcha
Saturday Woodbine Mohawk Race 5- All Bets on Tex- if Tyler Moore doesn’t put this horse in play off the car both myself and Garnet Barnsdale (@gocashking) will lose what little hair we have left. Horse is more than capable when give the opportunity.
~Brad A
Saturday Woodbine Mohawk Race 6 - (8) Right Match has shown grit in her two wins in this series and she won’t be favored in this Spring Series Pace Final. I think she gets the measure of unbeaten Lightning Lizzie right on the wire.
~Garnet Barnsdale
Saturday Meadowlands Race 2 - Brutallyhandsome A (7/2 ML)- drops in class again after a rough trip. He can rocket home and will be in striking range.
~Rod Allums, Jr.
Also got a tweet this week about Jimmy Marohn and Austin Siegelman bringing bombs every week at Freehold. Same thing at Saratoga with Dobson.
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