By Dave Little, Meadowlands Media
Relations
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – While being
interviewed on the in-house simulcast show before the start of the card,
trainer Andrew Harris spoke glowingly about his Joey Bats, who would go up
against the best trotters currently racing at the Meadowlands in the Preferred
Handicap for trotters Friday night.
And Joey Bats lived up to the hype.
Using explosive early speed to get
the lead from post 6 in the seven-horse field, Joey Bats reached the quarter in
a quick :27.2. Looking for his second straight win in the weekly feature, 2-1
favorite Rich And Miserable came after the leader, poking a head in front while
parked at the three-eighths, before clearing and hitting the half in :56.2.
Max, a 25-1 chance, tried to mount a
challenge around the far turn from first-over, but was not up to the task at
hand. Rich And Miserable continued to move well through the stretch, but driver
Andy McCarthy moved Joey Bats out of the pocket with a little more than a
sixteenth-of-a-mile to go and cruised past that foe with ease to win by 1½
lengths in 1:52.2, a lifetime best. Southwind Chrome was way back most of the
way before sprinting home in :26.2 to grab third.
“Joey is maturing into a serious
horse,” said Harris after the race. “He is long-strided and is still learning.
Andy (McCarthy) got off the bike and said he thinks Joey will trot in (1):49
this summer.”
Joey Bats, a 4-year-old gelded son of
Holiday Road-JN Daytona, returned $8.20 as the second choice in the betting for
owners Scott Dillon, Michele Nelson and Marc Reynolds. He now has 17 wins from
55 lifetime starts, good for earnings of $304,787.
MEET-HIGH HANDLE: Wagering on the first race was giant
at $355,775 ($98,455 in the Exacta pool alone) and Big M fans kept on playing
with both hands throughout the evening, betting a meet-best $2,907,339 on the
14-race program. The previous high was $2,730,886, which occurred on Nov. 2.
A LITTLE MORE: McCarthy and Harris teamed up to win
three times on the program while McCarthy finished the evening with five
victories overall. Corey Callahan drove three to victory lane while Vinny
Ginsburg had a driving double. Tony Alagna had a training double. … Two players
lasted four legs in the 20-cent Survivor Pick-10 and walked away with $6,324
each. … The fifth race 20-cent Jackpot Super High-Five was hit, paying off a
serious $23,262 for the winning combination of 10-6-5-3-9. Narcian Jewel won
the race at odds of 21-1. … Wagering on the 50-cent Pick-4 was vigorous, with a
total pool of $93,243. … Racing resumes Saturday at 7:15 p.m.
