It’s safe to say that Odds On Equuleus has left his 0 for 15 three year old campaign behind him. Tonight at The Meadowlands, he flashed the turn
of foot that caught everyone’s attention as a two year old, winning tonight’s
$30,000 Free-For-All Hanidcap in a lifetime best, 1:48.2.
Leaving from post position three and sent off as the 2-1 second choice, Marcus
Miller gathered Odds On Equuleus back towards the rear of the field, settling
in next to last through an opening quarter of 26.2 and a rapid half-mile of
53.3, established by Aracache Hanover. He awaited the move of Wake Up
Peter, who in turn flushed out Dovuto Hanover, positioning Odds On Equuleus
third over through three-quarters of 1:21.3 Turning for home it appeared
to be anyone’s race, with Aracache Hanover grimly holding onto the lead, Dovuto
Hanover grinding away first over and Wake Up Peter gathering momentum off
cover. But then, seemingly in an instant, Odds On Equuleus appeared
widest of all in deep stretch and accelerated dramatically to win going away,
pacing the final quarter mile in 26 seconds flat. Wake Up Peter was a
very solid second and Dovuto Hanover a game third.
The winner is owned by Odds On Racing and trained by Tony Alagna.
A pair of Meadowlands Pace contenders earned strong confidence builders
Saturday night as well.
First up was Beat The Drum, who showed early speed, caught a bit of a shuffle,
moved first over as the 2-1 second choice and just kept on coming to win a
non-winners of four event in 1:50.1. Beat The Drum will likely make his
next start in a Meadowlands Pace elimination for Bender Sweden Inc and trainer
Staffan Lind. Dan Rawlings guided the son of Tell All to his new lifetime
mark.
Not to be out-done was Let’s Drink On It, who faced seven older rivals in the
sixth race B-2 event for $18,000. Moving to the half mile pole, the 4-5
betting choice made the lead through a sharp 54.2 half mile, then paced a 54.1
back half mile to win by over four lengths over the veteran Silent Swing in an
extremely sharp, and lifetime best 1:48.3. Currently eighth on The Road
to The Meadowlands Pace, Let’s Drink On It is owned by Seekman, Bond, Hewitt
and Boido Jr, trained by Joe Seekman and was driven to victory by his regular
pilot, Tyler Smith, who had a career night, winning five races on the program.
For the second consecutive night, live handle at The Meadowlands showed slight
gains over the previous year, gathering momentum into the strongest month of
the meet.
Next weekend begins the Championship stretch at The Meadowlands. Friday
night features New Jersey Sire Stakes for the two year old trotters, while
Saturday night carries the freshmen pacers as well as eliminations for The
Meadowlands Pace, Mistletoe Shalee and William Haughton Memorial. Also on
the card is the $450,000 est. Hambletonian Maturity for four year old trotters
at one mile and one eighth, with a field that could hold up to 16 entrants.
The intriguing matchup in that event is that of 2013 Hambletonian winner
Royalty For Life pitted against the 2013 Hambletonian Oaks Winner (and Horse of
the Year), Bee A Magician.
Please note that while the Friday July 4th
program will begin at 7:15 P.M., Saturday July 5th will carry a
special 6:30 P.M. post time, with fireworks to follow the live racing
program. For more information, go to playmeadowlands.com.
