by Michael Chamberlain, Vernon
Downs Publicity
Rocks N Bagels scored her
fourth victory from four starts this season at Vernon Downs on Friday Night,
winning the $8,500 feature race. However, she did not have an easy time of it
at all in the one-mile pace, having to overcome being parked outside during the
majority of the mile. The early pacesetter was Love You Bye, who took the lead
almost immediately and dictated matters through solid opening fractions of 27.4
for the quarter, 56.2 for the half, and 1:24 for three-quarters. The pocket
trip went to Market Dynamics, who waited patiently behind the leader before
trying to make a move of her own at the top of the stretch. This move forced
Rocks N Bagels to try and rally three-wide through the stretch, which she did
behind a perfectly-timed drive from John MacDonald. The final time for the mile
was 1:52.1. Love You Bye stubbornly held off Market Dynamics and persevered to
finish second. The other finishers were Artic Byrd fourth and Got The Munchies
fifth. Rocks N Bagels is owned by Kelly Dawn Hope of Vernon, NY and trained by
Jordan Hope.
The driving star of the rainy
and chilly Friday night at Vernon Downs was Rick Plano, who picked up four
driving victories on the evening. Plano won the third race with Carousel Hall,
the 4th race with Natural Woman N, the seventh race with Ziegler Hanover, and
the ninth race with Ella V Horse. Plano doubles as the trainer on three of
these winners. The only winner he didn't have double duty on was Ziegler Hanover.
Live racing resumes at Vernon
Downs on Saturday night with a nine-race program, starting at 6:45pm. There
will be a fireworks display in honor of the Memorial Day holiday weekend
following the conclusion of the live racing program.
