On Saturday June 15 trainer Bob Lounsbury trucked his
stellar pacing mare, Tracys Song, from Monticello Raceway to Tioga
Downs to race without a claiming tag and for the first time since late
January the 8 year old daughter of Astreos tasted defeat.
Asked if he was disappointed that the mare finished last in
the 1:53.2 clocked mile, Lounsbury replied quite philosophically. ”Absolutely
not, we have nothing to be ashamed of, It was bound to happen sooner or later.
That’s horse racing.”
Lounsbury continued adding; “Although
they’ve got a good racing surface at Tioga ‘Tracy’
couldn’t grab the racetrack there and she was even hitting her
knees. ”
And Lounsbury didn’t hesitate to cite the long truck
ride to Tioga Downs saying it might have taken something out of her
since she wasn’t used to being a vanned along distance and then asked for her
best performance.
Since regular driver Bruce Aldrich, Jr. who has been
racing regularly at Saratoga Raceway on Saturdays , Lounsbury
contracted Greg Merton to handle the driving chores behind Tracys Song.
Merton, currently the leading driver at Tioga and also a
longtime Mighty M regular and former driving champ, concurred with Lounsbury’s
assessments.
“There’s little doubt that she was overmatched in the class
she was in but she surely was struggling to get over the racetrack,” Merton
said. “ They just went too much for her. But she’s a true champion.”
Asked what’s next for Tracys Song Lounbury said it’ll
be back home to Monticello.
“We went out of town instead of moving her up to a
higher claiming price where she’d have to race against the boys.
“Trying to keep her win streak alive has been a long
tough ordeal. Now, at least, the pressure is off.”
