East Rutherford, NJ—Give
them a big racetrack and a good purse and add that another amateur trot is also
scheduled that evening and they'll come. And come they did on Friday night at
the Meadowlands.
Not only did the local
$11,000 GSY series attract 10 horses but the granddaddy of all amateur racing
events, the CKG Billings Series, had 12 entrants, so many that instead of
splitting the field into two divisions it was decided to lengthen the race and
go with the 12 horses at a distance of l-1/8th miles.
It was a grueling contest
and much to the delight of “Joltin' Joe” Pennacchio his Super Manning overcame
the traffic and rallied to a 1-1/2 length triumph and took home the lions share
of the $12,500 purse.
With the huge field all the
drivers were seeking a good position in the early going but it was the six-
horse, Roundtown Rocker ("Lady Monica" Banca), who
grabbed the early lead in the :27.1 first quarter. while Pennacchio and Super
Manning followed in third position along the pylons.
Roundtown Rocker led the
cavalry charge past the three quarters before yielding to Super Manning who
then went on to a 2:13 victory in the lengthened event and gave Penncchio, last
season's Amateur Driver of the Year, a stellar victory.
Billings president Tony “the
Capo” Verruso hustled Santini home ahead of Roundtree Rocker to garner second
money while the latter earned the show dough.
Super Manning, an
11-year-old altered son of Diamond Goal, notched his third seasonal victory and
35th of his career while raising his lifetime earnings to over
$655,000.He's owned by Joe P RacingLLC and trained by Cory Stratton. He paid
$11.60. mutuel
