Barbarian has 10 post
for Open Pace
By Mark Ratzky, publicity – Cal Expo Harness
Barbarian, in razor-sharp
form with a hat trick in tow, will now be asked to do his work from the
assigned No. 10 post position in Saturday night’s Open Pace at Cal Expo.
There will be 12 races
decided under the Watch and Wager LLC banner and things will get underway at
6:15 p.m. The Open Pace occupies the eighth-race slot on the card and
there will also be a pair of California Sire Stakes for 3-year-old pacers going
as non-betting contests before the regular card.
Barbarian is a 6-year-old son
of Somebeachsomewhere out of the Western Ideal mare Rightous Renee who carries
the banner of Robert Orr, is conditioned by Sparky Clarke and will once again
have Luke Plano at the controls.
The hard-hitting performer
was 7-2 when he made every pole a winning one in the February 24 Open as Plano
was able to carve out the fractions without challenge and came to the line with
four and a half-lengths on his nearest rival in a sparkling 1:52 4/5 mile.
In his March 10 tally,
Barbarian left from the outside slot in a field of seven and was dispatched as
the 6-5 favorite. Once again they were able to set the tune up front, this time
with fairly modest splits, and held safe by a neck over a fast-finishing Doc’s
Deal that evening.
In his most recent
appearance, the Clarke colorbearer was dispatched as the even-money choice and
once again did no disappoint as he made every pole a winning one in a 1:53 2/5
mile. It will be interesting to see how things shake out now that he has the
testing No. 10 slot.
Taking him on this weekend
are Allymx’sliventexas from the Bob Johnson barn, the Chip Lackey-trained pair
of Why Ask Why and Doc’s Deal; Lodi Machette Man from the Kathleen Plested
barn; and the Lino Pacheco-conditioned Bettormeboy.
Reduced takeout wagers
offer great value
There are two bets here each
night that come with a reduced 16 percent takeout rate – the 50-cent Pick 5 on
the first five events and the 20-cent Pick 4 on the penultimate four races on
the program. The latter also features a $40,000 guaranteed gross pool.
Last Friday night, despite
the Pick 4 kicking off with Barbarian proving a punctual even-money favorite in
the Open Pace, three nice-priced winners followed and the 20-cent ticket
returned a whopping $32,756.
To put things in perspective,
using the normal takeout rate, the Pick 4 would have returned $29,246, a
difference of a cool $3,510. Now that’s value.
Driver Chip Lackey had a lot
to do with that healthy payoff, as he piloted Cenalta Diesel ($29) and
Cantholdmebackmack ($17) for trainers Edwin Quevedo and Lino Pacheco,
respectively in the two middle races.
The icing on the cake came
when David Siegel guided V Mack to a $46 upset for trainer George Reider in the
final leg, also triggering a large exacta, trifecta and superfecta in the
process.
Whether favorites, longshots
or a mix of those complete the Pick 4 and Pick 5, you are assured of getting
maximum value with that reduced takeout in place.
Jump right in, the pool is
fine.
