East Rutherford, NJ - Saturday night at The Meadowlands offers thirteen races with
every slot taken of the ten positions available in each. The result promises to
be an action filled evening of harness racing.
The twin features are
races six and eight, each filled with veteran campaigners chasing the winner's
share of $13,000. The sixth race features a pair of millionaire eleven-year-old
warriors, Alexie Mattosie and Dial Or No Dial, both of whom have been to the
mountaintop over the course of their illustrious careers.
Alexie Mattosie's resume
includes the winning the very first race in front of the New Meadowlands
grandstand in November of 2013. His biggest score was in the 2011 WR
Haughton FFA where he edged out another famous senior citizen of the sport
named Foiled Again in a career best of 1:48.1.
That win was a huge
step in the career of Nik Drennan, a young, aspiring trainer trying
his luck at The Meadowands. Remarkably in this day of the "rent a
horse" mentality, Alexie remains in Nik's stable belonging
to the same ownership group composed of Canadians Donald
Lindsey, Paul W Kleinpaste, Wil Alempijevic and Dennis Mavrin. While
the level of competition is not what it once was, the old boy can still get it
done as evidenced by an easy 1:50.3 win just a week ago for Brett Miller and
the role of favorite in Saturday's race.
Dial Or No Dial's past
parallel's that of his rival in that he has been in familiar hands throughout
his career, having had but a single owner. Bred by Jules and Arlene
Siegel' Fashion Farms, he has raced for the breeders throughout his storied
career with longtime caretaker Marita Berglund now calling the
shots as lessee of her old friend.
Dial Or No Dial, a very
precocious youngster, was a factor in the major stakes at two and
three amassing over $750,000 in earnings but battled soundness issues
throughout. He captured the prestigious Allerage Farms FFA at the Red Mile a
four-year-old and battled the top open types for several seasons. At this
stage he is raced thoughtfully by Marita and trainer Chris Freck and
comes in off a two month break for driver Marcus Miller.
It should be fun to
watch these gallant race horses tee it up, battling a deep and competitive
field on Saturday.
On the promotional
front, cash prizes totaling $2017 will be disbursed
to lucky contestants and delightful dining
options abound for the hungry horseplayer. Free program
pages are available for the $50,000 Guaranteed Late Pick 4 courtesy
of The Meadowlands and Trackmaster.
Horseplayers should be
advised that the first World Harness Handicapping Contest qualifier is
next Saturday, January 14 at The Meadowlands. Sign ups remain open until 6:00
p.m. that evening.
The Tattersalls January
Select Mixed Sale comes up on Monday, January
16 beginning promptly at 11 a.m. The inventory is deep and talented, come
and get them.
Post time is 7:15 p.m.
