by James Witherite, Vernon
Downs racing media
VERNON, N.Y. -- The opening
round of the Catherine Burton late-closing series share center stage with a
$9000 Open Trot on opening night at Vernon Downs, and the Miracle Mile unveils
its new 50¢ Pick 5 wager in the last five races of Friday (April 22) evening's
program.
Twenty-two trotters contest a
trio of Catherine Burton divisions on Friday night, each one for a $4,000
purse. Among the standouts are Pompano invader Ado Duharas (race 3, John
Cummings, Jr.), who enters off back-to-back wins, stakes-placed Love Crazy Love
(race 5, Gaetan Brunet), who took second in her New York Sire Stakes
consolation as a 2-year-old, and Royal Right (race 11, Chris Lems), a stakes
winner in Massachusetts during her freshman campaign.
The evening's top event is the
$9000 Open Trot, carded as race 9 on the 12-race program. P L Houdini
(post 3) has been installed the 2-1 morning line favorite after three wins in
his last five races, including a 1:55.4 triumph in an upper-level event at
Pocono on April 9. John Cummings, Jr. drives the 5-year-old Kadabra
gelding for trainer Mike Sinclair. Among his six rivals are Pounce K
(Billy Davis, Jr., post 6), who returns to Vernon for defending training
champion Dave Dewhurst, and 26-time winner A Penny Earned (Lems, post 5), who
proved a consistent contender in the local Open ranks throughout the past two
seasons.
The 2016 season at Vernon
Downs features a brand new wager to Central New York: the 50¢ Pick 5. The
wager will take place on the last five races of each program, with a carryover
provision should no bettor correctly select all five winners.
Additionally, a mid-card double has been slated for races five and six on a
nightly basis.
Post time for the first of 84
programs this season at Vernon Downs is 6:45 p.m. EDT.
