by James Witherite, Meadowlands Media Relations
East Rutherford, N.J. -- Healthy dividends--including a late
Pick 4 which paid nearly $4,000 on a 50¢ ticket and a 52-1 upset from Fan of
Terror in the featured ninth race--contributed to a ninth consecutive card with
over $3 million in handle at The Meadowlands on Saturday (February 27) evening.
A total of $3,342,144 was wagered on the 14-race program,
extending the streak of racing programs with over $3 million in handle to
nine. Over seven cards in the month of February, total turnover on
Meadowlands races exceeded $22.4 million.
In the featured $20,000 top-level conditioned pace, Louis
Frascella's Fan of Terror ($106.00) stunned at 52-1 odds, overcoming traffic
trouble in mid-stretch to narrowly prevail in 1:51 over the favored pair of Jet
Airway and Ashley's Husband. Andy Miller prompted the pace with the
4-year-old Western Terror gelding before yielding to dueling leaders Itrustyou
(Yannick Gingras) and Aslan (Andy McCarthy) through a :27.3 initial
quarter. As Jet Airway (Marcus Miller) commenced outer flow through a
:55.1 half, Fan of Terror found himself hard-pressed for racing room, only able
to shake free in the final 150 yards when he split mid-stretch leader Jet
Airway and a flattening Calvin B (Corey Callahan). Fan of Terror lunged
to the line to just collar Jet Airway, and 8-5 favorite Ashley's Husband (Tim
Tetrick) charged down the grandstand side off a fourth-over trip to claim
third. Dovuto Hanover (Scott Zeron), who made his seasonal debut in the
race, rallied up the pegs late for fourth, just missing Fan of Terror by a
length.
Andrew Harris trains Fan of Terror, now a 14-time winner.
The featured win was one of two for Miller, who took the
finale as well with Rockin Jimmy ($6.80) in 1:53.2. Top driving honors on
the night went to Marcus Miller, who captured three of the evening's 14
races. Andy McCarthy, Anthony Napolitano, and Tim Tetrick each also notched
driving doubles.
Earlier in the program, the KJ Stables and Purple Haze
Stables' Missile J ($2.60) earned his second consecutive win, holding pocket
rival Connecting Flight at bay for a 1:52.2 win in a $10,000 event for
non-winners of two races or $20,000. Tetrick drove the quickly developing
3-year-old American Ideal gelding for trainer Linda Toscano.
As the seventh race 20¢ Jackpot High 5 was hit for the
second time in three cards--this one paying $8,016.64, only one pool carries
over to next Friday's card. The final race Jackpot High 5 will see
$116,448 added to the pool on Friday evening should one lone player prove
successful.
Live racing returns on Friday, March 4. First post for
the next two weekends of racing at The Meadowlands will remain 6:35 p.m.
Eastern.
