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Tuesday, July 10, 2012

M1 - Sweet Lou Is 5-2 Favorite In $600,000 Meadowlands Pace

Sweet Lou was installed the 5-2 favorite in the $600,000 Meadowlands Pace, the track’s signature event for 3-year-old colt pacers on Saturday, July 14.

As one of the two elimination winners, Sweet Lou earned the right for his connections to pick their starting post in the final.  They chose post four, while the team behind Heston Blue Chip, the other elimination winner, opted for post three.

Sweet Lou, driven by Dave Palone, who last week surpassed Herve Filion for the most victories in North American harness racing history, won his Meadowlands Pace elimination race last Saturday by beating A Rocknroll Dance by a neck in 1:49.1.  The son of Yankee Cruiser has won four of five races this year, and finished fourth in the $1.5 million Pepsi North America Cup in his start prior to the Pace elimination.  He was named the Dan Patch Award winner as 2-year-old colt pacer of the year in 2011 after winning 10 of 12 races and posting a world-record 1:49 in the Breeders Crown.  Trainer Ron Burke shares ownership of the colt with Larry Karr and Phil Collura, both NJ residents, and Mark Weaver and Mike Bruscemi, from western Pennsylvania.  All are bidding for their first Pace win.

Heston Blue Chip, who will be driven by Tim Tetrick, is rated as the 7-2 second choice.  Last weekend, Heston Blue Chip won his Meadowlands Pace elimination by a half-length over North America Cup champions Thinking Out Loud in 1:49.  He has won all five of his starts this season and 16 of 18 in his career for trainer Linda Toscano and owner Ken Jacobs.  Toscano and Jacobs mapped out Heston Blue Chip’s schedule this season with the Meadowlands Pace as their goal.

“Right from the beginning that was the race we were trying to point him to and get him as sharp as we could for,” Toscano said. “We elected not to do the Rooney or the North America Cup and to keep our eye on the ball and just try to have a fresh horse coming into this race. Hopefully, it will work out.”

Toscano is seeking to become the first woman to train a Meadowlands Pace winner. She is the all-time leading female trainer at the Meadowlands.   Toscano has had two previous Pace starters, Kenneth J (fourth in 2007), also owned by Ken Jacobs, and Share The Delight (third in 2008).

The Meadowlands Pace is the eleventh race on the card, with an estimated 10:15 p.m. post time.  The Pace is part of a $100,000 guaranteed Pick Four pool that spans races 10-13. 

2012 Meadowlands Pace - Saturday, July 14 - Race 11


Probable Post: 10:15 p.m.



PP        Horse                               Driver                         Trainer                               Odds

1           A Rocknroll Dance            Yannick Gingras          Jim Mulinix                        4-1

2           Pet Rock                          Brian Sears                 Virgil Morgan Jr.                12-1

3           Heston Blue Chip              Tim Tetrick                  Linda Toscano                   7-2

4           Sweet Lou                        Dave Palone               Ron Burke                         5-2

5           Bolt The Duer                    Mark MacDonald         Peter Foley                       6-1

6           Simply Business               Ron Pierce                  Jimmy Takter                     15-1

7           Thinking Out Loud             Randy Waples            Robert McIntosh                5-1

8           State Treasurer                  David Miller                Ian Moore                          20-1

9           Time To Roll                     Andy Miller                 Jimmy Takter                     12-1

10         Allstar Legend                   Jim Morrill Jr.              George Teague Jr.             20-1



MEADOWLANDS PACE NIGHT AT A GLANCE


Gates open: 4:00 p.m. / First race: 6:35 p.m.

¨      $600,000 Meadowlands Pace: probable post time: 10:15 p.m. - Race 11

¨      Streaming live video on the Meadowlands website, www.meadowlandsracetrack.com


Wagering

¨      Two guaranteed Pick 4 pools – Races 6-9 ($50,000), Races 10-13 ($100,000)

¨      $20,000 guaranteed Pick 5 pool – Races 1-5

¨      $20,000 guaranteed Super High-Five pool – Race 13



Entertainment

¨      T-shirt Giveaway: to paid admissions, while supplies last

¨      JETS Flight Crew Cheerleaders – 6:30 – 8:30 pm

¨      Live music by The B Street Band (Bruce Springsteen tribute)

¨      Boardwalk-style rides, games and food

¨      Fortune tellers

¨      Vodka tasting – 6 samples for $10 at the Don Q Wedge Bar

¨      Horse Play Car Giveaway (after race 9) - $1 donation to charity gives fans a rubber horse to throw and a shot at winning $100 and the chance to come back and win a car on August 17

¨      $5 martinis 6:30 – 8:30 pm in Pegasus Restaurant


Admission

¨      $2 general admission; $5 Pegasus (admission includes live program and t-shirt)

¨      Kings Super Markets Food Drive (through August 4) – receive free admission and a Hambletonian poster with a donation of a non-perishable food item