East Rutherford, NJ - Friday night's card offers another densely populated twelve
race program with a balanced mix of six trotting races and six
on the pace.
Friday's trotting feature is the seventh race for a purse of
$18,000. The ten horse field led by a pair of stakes tested
four-year-old mares starting from the far outside posts.
Kelsey's Keepsake (post nine) picked up checks in both the
$170,000 Muscle Hill at Vernon Downs in August and the $200,000 TVG FFA
final last month, facing the best of her division in both. She has been at her
best recently, following up a solid second here at The Meadowlands by
winning the Mare Open Trot The Meadows one week ago. Kelsey's Keepsake seems to
maturing nicely under the tutelage of trainer Richie Johnson and has
drawn the favor of the track handicapper, listed at 3-1 on the morning
line for owners David Heffering and Barbara Bongiorno. Joe Bongiorno will
drive.
Just to the right leaves Classical Annie from post ten at 4-1. She
is closing out a six-figure season for the Burke Racing Stable after spending
much of 2016 on the Grand Circuit stakes trail that included a fifth
in the $250,000 Breeders Crown and fourth (just in advance of Kelsey's
Keepsake) in the $200,000 TVG FFA Final. Classical Annie has tactical speed
and first time driver Marcus Miller may need to use it to get her into the
race early.
Friday's lead promotion is a $2,016 giveaway and there's still time to join the Own a Horse promotion
if you sign up by December 31.
Free program pages
for the Late Pick 4 are available.
Horsemen are reminded of the NYE party
offered by The Meadowlands and Allerage Farms to ring out the old and ring in
the new on Saturday night.
Post time is 7:15 p.m.
