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Saturday, August 1, 2020

BIG CARRYOVERS MEAN BIG PAYOFFS AT BIG M

By Dave Little, Meadowlands Media Relations

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – It was a night for the players who love The Meadowlands’ multi-leg wagers Friday night, as a pair of big carryovers led to windfalls for shrewd bettors.

Right off the bat, the first race saw the 20-cent Pick-5 attract $330,061 in “new money” on top of the $52,665 carryover. The pool total was $382,726, and those who had winning tickets where the winner’s odds were 7-2, 3-2, 17-1, 12-1 and 2-1 cashed in for $3,974.94.

Twenty-cent Pick-6 winners also cashed in for big green. After $61,325 was pumped into the pool on top of the $13,524 carryover, a total of $74,489 was in the hat. Winner’s odds for that sequence were 12-1, 2-1, 7-1, 6-5, 5-1 and 7-2, and those who held live tickets walked away with $4,689.20.

With the boost provided by the big Pick-5 betting, the total pool on the first race was $483,599, which set the tone for the rest of the evening, as total wagering exceeded the $3-million mark for the eighth time this year with $3,065,942 pushed through the windows on the 13-race card. That number represented a 34 percent increase over the corresponding program from a year ago.

ON THE TRACK: Plumville Prince scooted up the rail after three horses vacated the pylons on the far turn, then split rivals in deep stretch to record a 1¾-length score in the lone Peter Haughton Memorial elimination for 2-year-old colts and geldings on the trot.

Sent to the gate as the 5-1 third choice in the wagering, Plumville Prince stopped the clock in 1:54.2 in winning for the first time in three lifetime starts. Scott Zeron drove the product of Father Patrick-Lady Athens for his father, trainer Rick.

Finishing second through seventh, respectively, were Moonstone S, Venerate, Media Mogul, Caruso, Zenith Stride and Incentive. They will join three horses who accepted byes – Locatelli, Type A and Spy Booth – in the $324,000 Final on August 8.

Chalk players took it on the chin in both eliminations of the Jim Doherty Memorial for 2-year-old filly trotters.

In the first elim, 2-5 choice Insta Glam broke on the far turn, setting up a win from well off the pace from 12-1 chance Darlene Hanover (Chapter Seven-Danielle Hanover), who scored in 1:54.4 in registering her first lifetime score for trainer Brett Bittle and driver Andy McCarthy.

Material Girl, Hot As Hill, Ineffable and May Karp finished second through fifth, respectively, earning berths in the August 8 final, which will go for $310,000.

Altar, also 2-5 in the betting, was sailing along on the lead in mid-stretch before going off stride in the second elim, allowing Mazzarati (Cantab Hall-Falls For You) a trip to the winner’s circle. Driven by Tim Tetrick for Lucas Wallin, Mazzarati hit the wire in a lifetime-best 1:56.

Avenir, Ixia Maculata S, Altar (finished 3rd, disqualified and placed fourth) and Sel’s Choice were second through fifth in the official order of finish to advance to the final.

In a pair of $40,000 divisions of the Home Grown, Caviart Audrey (Somebeachsomewhere-Darlin’s Delight) used a wicked late kick (:25.4 final quarter) to catch 3-5 favorite Grace Hill in taking her lifetime debut in 1:51.4 at odds of 2-1 for Yannick Gingras and Nancy Takter in the split for 2-year-old pacing fillies.

The division for 2-year-old colts and geldings on the pace saw Summa Cum Laude (the 6-5 slight second choice) blast directly down the road for Dexter Dunn and Ron Burke. The son of Somebeachsomewhere-Western Graduate hit the wire in 1:51.4, a lifetime best. Monterrey Jack, also 6-5, finished third.

BEFORE THE BETTING CARD: Shake That House, a son of American Ideal-Shake That Junk, went wire to wire in 1:49.1, taking the New Jersey Breeders Maturity Final for pacing 4-year-old horses and geldings for trainer Tony Alagna and driver Joe Bongiorno. It was 1¼ lengths back to Hurrikane Emperor in second.

A Beach Cowgirl (Somebeachsomewhere-Limestone Cowgirl) sat a perfect pocket trip and got up as they hit the wire to gun down JK American Beauty by a nose in a lifetime-best 1:49.4 for Annie Stoebe and Andy McCarthy in the New Jersey Breeders Maturity Final for 4-year-old mares on the pace.

HAMBO PROPS: Fans who want to stop into the FanDuel Sportsbook at the Big M will have a chance to make some prop bets on Saturday night’s Hambletonian eliminations.

You can get +220 on Zeron to finish on the board in both elims, or maybe you have a strong opinion on who will finish in front of whom in the matchup pitting Ramona Hill (-125) and Beads (+110). There will be a handful of bets available, including the winning margins of both elims.

A LITTLE MORE: Dunn, Zeron, Bongiorno and McCarthy all recorded driving doubles on the program. … Betting in the Late 50-cent Pick-4 surpassed the $100,000 mark for a fourth straight time, as $106,675 was put in play. … Racing resumes Saturday at 7:15 p.m., featuring two eliminations for the $1,000,000 Hambletonian.