East Rutherford, NJ - While we are many months away
from the warm spring and summer months and the marquis Championship Meet at the
Meadowlands, the unseasonably mild conditions provided a hint of summer on the
track. In what was the fastest mile witnessed so far at the new
Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment, Validus Deo opened eyes going a huge
first over trip and stopping the teletimer in an extremely sharp 1:48.4 in the
3 Year Old B-1/A-2 Handicap Pace.
Corey Callahan drove the winner for owners Bamond Racing LLC
and trainer P.J. Fraley. Sweet Talkin Satin did a lot of the work on the front
end, getting to the half in 53.4 while ensuring a rapid clip. He held his
ground well, finishing a game second. Perhaps even more impressive was
the effort of Dovuto Hanover who overcame a break at the start and made up 15
lengths to finish a fast closing third, pacing the mile in 1:49.1 with a final
quarter in 26 seconds flat.
Hypnotic Blue Chip also paced a sub-1:50 mile on Saturday,
winning the 7th race B-1 Pace in 1:49.3. It was one of three
wins on the night for John Campbell. Corey Callahan, Yannick Gingras,
Jeff Dauplaise and Joe Bongiorno all scored driving doubles on the card.
Once again, all three guaranteed pools returned massive
dividends. Of the Early Pick 4, Late Pick 4 and Pick 5, none returned
less than $1,807.60 and the Late Pick 4, a sequence that saw winners that paid
$8.80, $22.40, $6.20 and $12.60 returned a monstrous $10,407. A four-race
parlay of those same prices would have returned just over $1,660, reinforcing
the value of the Late Pick 4 wager at The Meadowlands as the best bet in
harness racing.
As the month of December rolls along, total handle at the
Meadowlands continues to climb. The $2,885,432 wagered on the 13-race
program was the most of the month and was a 23-percent increase from the last
time the Meadowlands raced on this Saturday in 2010.
Racing returns on Friday December 27th with first
post time at 7:15 P.M. The Meadowlands management and staff would like to
wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.
