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As an early winter storm continues to work its way up the Eastern Seaboard in advance of the Thanksgiving weekend holiday, sustained winds of 20-30 miles per hour and gusts of up to 40 mph have caused New York Racing Association officials to cancel the racing program atAqueduct for Wednesday, Nov. 27. 
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Robert Masterson's Tepin picked an opportune moment for her first stakes score, as the 2-year-old filly ran down favorite Bahnah for a facile victory in the $500,000 Delta Princess Stakes (gr. III) at Delta Downs Race Track Casino Hotel Nov. 23 (VIDEO).
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The New Meadowlands’ new season got underway on Saturday night, with many of the top free for all trotters and pacers in the sport competing in the TVG FFA Series. The team of trainer Ron Burke and driverYannick Gingras swept both contests as Wishing Stone captured the trot and Foiled Again the pace. In the $50,000 final preliminary leg of the TVG FFA Trotting Series before next Saturday's $500,000 final, Wishing Stone and Yannick Gingras led at every quarter, hitting the first quarter in :28.3, stalked by Arch Madness (Trond Smedshammer) and Uncle Peter (David Miller). That trio stayed in the same order through the :56 half and 1:24.4 three-quarters. With about an eighth of a mile to go, Market Share was out and moving, but could not overtake the late leaders, Arch Madness, who came off the rail to challenge and the winner in 1:54 by 1-1/4 lengths, Wishing Stone. Arch Madness was second and Market Share was third.
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Hometown-boy-done-good Doug McNair is off to France to defend Canada’s title in the 2013 International Weekend Of The French Trotter. The 23-year-old Guelph resident will be the fourth harness racing driver invited to represent Canada in this international race. Last year, Billy Davis Jr. of Cambridge won the competition. The event kicks off at the Hippodrome Paris-Vincennes on November 29 and concludes on December 1. McNair is currently second in the Canadian driver standings for earnings, having driven horses to purse earnings in excess of C$5.6 million in 2013. He’s also fourth in the top dash category with 283 season wins.
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The fifth leg of the three-track NAADA Trotting Series was contested in two non-wagering divisions prior to the betting card getting underway at Yonkers Raceway on Thursday night (Nov.21) and both Dave Offenberg and Kelly Walker emerged victorious in their respective $6,000 splits.
Offenberg scored a 2:00.1 triumph with his own (Allister Stables LLC) Whatnblazes in a time of 2:00.1 while Walker, in from the Wolverine State, guided Christine Baggitt’s Lets Go Baby Go to a 1:59.4 triumph.
In his division Offenberg sat chilly in the four-hole most of the way as Bobby Krivelin and Saint Patty’s Doll cut even fractions of :29.4 and 1:00.3 and then passed the third stanza in 1:30. Krivelin and his trotting mare were still on the lead as the field headed for home but Offenberg had Whatnblazes in high gear and they rallied down the center of the track to nail Saint Patty’s Doll at the wire to score a head victory. NAADA Series point leader Dr. John Kokinos enjoyed a two-hole trip with Impressive Earl and they were right there in the three-horse photo but third best by a short neck.
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Eighteen of the country's top amateur drivers will convene at Harrah's Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon, Nov. 24, to compete in the Delvin Miller Memorial Driving Gold and Silver Cup Championships--the final contests in the seven-month C.K.G. Billings Harness Driving Series. The Delvin Miller Harness Drivers Association has announced that the entire $2,000 in drivers' commissions to be earned in these events will be donated to the fund being established to assist Anthony Coletta, the young driver severely injured in a driving accident at Harrah's Philadelphia last weekend. Two nine-horse divisions will comprise the championship finals with the $15,000 Silver Cup carded as Race 10 and the $25,000 Gold Cup race as Race 12 on Sunday's pari-mutuel program. Both divisions will be contested at the distance of 1 1/4 miles.
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fter a comfortable victory in the second round of the Autumn Series, Samira Hanover has established herself as the horse to beat heading into the C$33,600 final next Friday at Woodbine. The 3-year-old trotting miss captured her division in the opening round last week before cruising to a new lifetime best of 1:55 to kick off the Thursday (Nov. 21) program.
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Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment presented nine preview qualifying races on Monday evening looking toward Saturday's grand opening and the last few races showcased several of harness racing's top performers. The most exciting news of the fall season is that top 3-year-old pacing colt Captaintreacherous is slated to face older horses in the $500,000 TVG FFA final on Nov. 30, a feat that hasn't been attempted in decades. The "Captain” used Thursday night'squalifier to hone to a razor's edge with a 1:49.3 waltz around the racetrack. Tim Tetrick guided him through even fractions with a :27 kicker on the end. Captaintreacherous has also held his form remarkably over the long and taxing summer and was turned out beautifully for Thursday'srace by trainer Tony Alagna and his team. All that remains is for the connections, ownership group Captaintreacherous Racing headed by Myron Bell, and Alagnato deem him fit for the race and we'll get to see the match-up that we'd like to see.
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Trainer Pat Byrne took a look at weather forecasts for the next few days and decided that Nov. 21 was the best shot at good conditions for the final pre-race work for Chuck and Maribeth Sandford'sAlmost Famous, a contender for the Nov. 30 running of the $150,000-added Kentucky Jockey Club (gr. II) at Churchill Downs on the Stars of Tomorrow II closing day card. The 2-year-old son of Unbridled's Song headed to the fast main track at the Louisville oval just after the morning maintenance break, breezing three furlongs in :36 2/5 under jockey Corey Lanerie.
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The prospective field for the 139th running of the $500,000 Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (gr. I) Nov. 29 now includes another grade I winner following trainer Kenny McPeek's decision to run Magic City Thoroughbred Partners'Golden Ticket in the "Black Friday" event atChurchill Downs. The 4-year-old son ofSpeightstown joins multiple grade I winner Game On Dude and the 3-year-old Will Take Charge, runner-up by a nose to Mucho Macho Man in the Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I) and winner of the Travers (gr. I) and Pennsylvania Derby (gr. II), among the grade I winners being pointed to the 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-olds and up.
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Two-year-old filly trotter Shake It Cerry moved into this week’s Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown Top 10 after her seven length win in her Matron Stakes elimination Sunday at Dover Downs. It was the third consecutive victory for Shake It Cerry, who has won six of nine starts overall. Bee A Magician and Captaintreacherous, both coming off wins in their respective divisions of the American-National Stakes on Saturday at Balmoral, remained 1-2 in the poll.
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Ed Peconi Jr. would love nothing more than for Ramas Last Son to capture his final start of the season on Friday at Woodbine. After finishing first and fourth in the preliminary rounds, the rookie trotter will leave post five in race three in the $28,200 final of the Autumn Series. Three other Autumn Series finals will also take place on the Friday program for 2 year olds of both gaits and sexes. Ramas Last Son, a gelding by Majestic Son, has banked $33,290 this season along with an impressive 4-2-1 record from 12 appearances. His impressive 1:56.4 speed badge was taken earlier this year at Mohawk.
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Hallandale Beach, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Breeders' Cup Classic champion Mucho Macho Man will make an appearance Saturday at Gulfstream Park. The 5- year-old, owned by Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, will be paraded during the inaugural running of the $1 million Sunshine Millions Preview Day Championships. Trained by Kathy Ritvo, Mucho Macho Man held on last Saturday night to defeat Will Take Charge by a nose in the $5 million Classic at Santa Anita Park. The horse, second to Fort Larned in last year's race, was ridden by Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens.
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On a cold Sunday night at Dover Downs, there was a "Bonfire" in the winner's circle after the $35,000 Progress Pace elimination where 20-1 Twilight Bonfire got his picture taken. With race favorite Vegas Vacation scratched earlier in the day when trainer Casie Coleman said the sophomore gelding was not "100 percent” after winning last Sunday's Matron final in 1:48.3, razor-sharp Sunshine Beach, the second-place finisher a week ago, was the public's choice. Driver John Campbell elected to race the colt from off the pace while Jason Bartlett sent Messenger Stakes champion Ronny Bugatti to the early lead and continued to cut out the fractions. When Sunshine Beach moved to the outside and up to challenge, Tim Tetrick and Twilight Bonfire, who started from the second tier, quickly came out to follow.
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Paul and Andrena Van Doren's Rise Up, who rolled to a 6 1/2-length victory for trainer Tom Amoss in the Oct. 26 Jean Lafitte Stakes at Delta Downs, continued to impress with a sparkling gate-to-wire triumph in the $1 million Delta Downs Jackpot Stakes (gr. III) Nov. 23. The 2-year-old son of Rockport Harbor rolled through 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.71 while finishing six lengths ahead of his nearest competitor. He was ridden by Gerard Melancon, who with the victory became the only rider to have taken two editions in 12 runnings of the Jackpot (he won in 2011 with Sabercat).
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Eight horses will compete in Saturday’s last preliminary leg of the TVG Free For All Championship Series for pacers at Meadowlands Racetrack, but two of the expected finalists already have done their work for the week. Captaintreacherous, who will try to become the first prominent 3-year-old male pacer in more than 30 years to defeat older rivals in a stakes-caliber event, and Pet Rock both prepped for the Nov. 30 $500,000 final with qualifiers Thursday night at the Big M. Captaintreacherous won in 1:49.3 while Pet Rock won in 1:50.4. Niatross was the most recent 3-year-old colt pacer to win against older foes in a major race when he captured the 1980 American Pacing Classic at Hollywood Park. Captaintreacherous received an invitation to the TVG final as the result of winning the Breeders Crown for 3-year-old male pacers in October.
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Three-time grade I winnerGame On Dude has been assigned high weight of 126 pounds for the Nov. 29 running of the $500,000-added Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (gr. I),Churchill Downs officials said Nov. 22. Racing secretary Ben Huffman gave the Bob Baffert trainee 126 pounds for the 1 1/8-mile event, three pounds more than 3-year-old Will Take Charge, winner of the Travers (gr. I) and recent runner-up in the Nov. 2 Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I). Will Take Charge receives a three-pound break in the weights as a 3-year-old facing older males, and will carry 123. Baffert said Game On Dude will work over the weekend at Santa Anita Park. He'll consider that move and the weight assignments in making a final decision on the trip to Churchill for the Clark.
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Bill Augustine, co-owner of Breeders Crown Open Trot winner Market Share, has pledged to donate 50 percent of his share of the horse's Saturday night earnings to the Anthony Coletta fund. Installed as the early morning line favorite at 4-5, Market Share will face five other trotting stars in the $50,000 final leg of the TVG Free For All at the new Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment's opening night. Moved by the overwhelming support that the industry has shown Coletta and his family during this difficult time, Augustine notes that the decision was easy. "I have known Tony since he was a young boy," he said. "He lived right next door to our Blueberry packing house in Hammonton. He used to bring packages of my Blueberries to Chester!”
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Willis Horton's Will Take Charge, gearing up for a bid in the Nov. 29 Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (gr. I), breezed five furlongs Nov. 22 at Churchill Downs in 1:01 for Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas. Exercise rider Rudy Quevelos was in the irons as the 3-year-old son of Unbridled's Song was clocked in splits of :12 2/5, :24, :35 2/5, galloping out six furlongs in 1:16 2/5 over a good track. It was his second work back since finishing a nose behind Mucho Macho Man in the Nov. 2 Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I); he returned to the tab Nov. 16 with a four-furlong move in :49 flat.
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When Helene Gregory goes to Julie Miller’s barn, Master Pine is always thrilled to see her and it’s not because she dispenses the best treats. The 10-year-old son of Master Lavec is simply looking forward to being ridden. “When I have the saddle in my hand, he always nickers at me,” Gregory said. “He really likes it.” The ‘it’ Gregory is referring to is trotting under saddle or racing under saddle and it is near and dear to her heart. Also known across the pond as monte, RUS was something she had seen in her native Sweden, but Gregory decided it was definitely something she wanted to experience and has now expanded that initial interest to create Monte America, which is simply a group of Standardbred participants that enjoy this aspect of the sport.
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Key Vista led all the way to win the $48,000 feature by 2¼ lengths at Betfair Hollywood Park on Thursday. Ridden by Martin Garcia, Key Vista ran six furlongs on Cushion Track in 1:10.50 and paid $3, $2.80 and $2.10 as the 1-2 favorite for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.
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A harness racing driver was in critical condition Monday after being thrown to the ground and trampled by horses during a race in Chester, Pa., officials said. Anthony Coletta was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Sunday afternoon, after being involved in an accident at the Harrah's Philadelphia track with four other drivers and horses, WPVI-TV, Philadelphia, reported Monday. WPVI-TV added Coletta struck the track after becoming airborne, and was then trampled by horses.
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Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment has made a slight change to one of its late-closer series. The Charles Singer Memorial Series has been pushed back one week, since the Meadowlands will be closed for live racing due to the Super Bowl festivities from Jan. 23 until Thursday, Feb. 6.
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Top ranked Bee A Magician gained nine first place votes in this week's Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll. After recording 18 first place votes last week, the unbeaten sophomore received 27 this week and widened her overall lead in points to 36 over runner-up Captaintreacherous.
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Gai Waterhouse, Australia's first lady of racing, enjoyed her first victory in the nation's most famous race whenFiorente took the Emirates Melbourne Cup (Aus-I) from Red Cadeaux in a thriller at Flemington Nov. 5. The winner and runner-up delivered a rousing battle in the race worth $6 million ($5,696,731 in United States funds) while more than 100,000 fans roared as the two horses pulled clear of the field inside the final 200 meters.
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