By Dave Little, Meadowlands Media Relations
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – The target for
next week’s $631,650 Meadowlands Pace for 3-year-olds is clearly on Tall Dark
Stranger’s back. And his trainer, Nancy Takter, seems to be just fine with
that.
Tall Dark Stranger took over the lead
just after the quarter and rolled down the road from there in the lone
Meadowlands Pace Elimination at The Meadowlands Saturday night, establishing
himself as the clear-cut one-to-beat in the track’s signature event next week (July
18).
“He’s a great colt,” said Takter.
“He’s been great since Day One. He performs every time I put him out on the
track.”
Hard to dispute given his lifetime
record of 10 wins from 11 starts.
Major Betts left the gate quickly
from post one, as did Tall Dark Stranger from the three. Major Betts went the
quarter in :26.1 before TDS took over and hit the half in :54.4. Capt Midnight
– who finished ninth and failed to qualify for the final – came calling
first-over to apply token pressure at three-quarters in 1:22.1.
Then Tall Dark Stranger got serious.
Off the far turn, driver Yannick
Gingras asked the son of Bettor’s Delight-Precocious Beauty for more speed, and
he provided just that, extending his advantage to two lengths at the head of
the lane.
In deep stretch, 23-1 shot Captain
Kirk was closing well after going an inside trip to get second while 4-1 second
choice Papi Rob Hanover, who again had to come from well off the pace after
drawing poorly (post 10), grabbed third.
Tall Dark Stranger won it by a half-length
after stopping the clock in 1:48.1. After earning half of the $50,000 purse,
his lifetime bank account stood at $751,889 for owners Crawford Farms Racing,
Marvin Katz, Caviart Farms and Howard Taylor. He returned $2.80 to his backers
as the 2-5 favorite.
By winning the elim, TDS earned the
right to draw a post position from one through six. He got the five for the
big-money final in the draw conducted shortly after the race.
“Post five is a great place,” said
Takter. “It gives Yannick a lot of options. That’s his job. I was super happy
with my horse tonight.”
The top eight in official order of
finish made the final, with two horses – Allywag Hanover and Chief Mate –
earning byes based on seasonal earnings. Mocha On The Rocks finished 10th and
last in the elim.
MEADOWLANDS PACE FIELD
The field for the $631,650
Meadowlands Pace for 3-year-old open pacers, which takes place at The
Meadowlands on July 18 and has a post time of 10:05 p.m., with post position,
horse (driver, trainer) and morning-line odds:
1. Roll With JR (Corey Callahan, Jeff
Cullipher), 20-1
2. Catch The Fire (Mike Wilder, John
Ackley), 10-1
3. Captain Barbossa (Brian Sears,
Tony Alagna), 10-1
4. Allywag Hanover (Tim Tetrick,
Brett Pelling), 5-1
5. Tall Dark Stranger (Yannick
Gingras, Nancy Takter), 7-5
6. Manticore (Jordan Stratton, Bruce
Saunders), 15-1
7. Chief Mate (Andy McCarthy, Tony
Alagna), 20-1
8. Major Betts (Dexter Dunn, Mark
Harder), 10-1
9. Papi Rob Hanover (David Miller,
Brett Pelling), 4-1
10. Captain Kirk (Joe Bongiorno, Tony
Alagna), 15-1
HUGE HANDLE: With two of the races on the card
serving as the catalyst with over $350,000 in action, total wagering was
$3,440,248, a 2020 Meadowlands best for a 13-race program.
When total handle reached $4,100,386
on June 20, the per race average for the 18-race program was $227,799. On
Saturday, the average per race was a season-high $264,634.
The night got off to a fast start, as
$368,907 in bets were taken on the first race, $98,457 of which was bet in the
20-cent Pick-5 pool, another Big M best.
A LITTLE MORE: Gingras led the driver’s colony with
four winners on the card. … The 20-cent Jackpot Super High-Five carryovers
continued to swell. This Friday, when racing resumes at 7:15 p.m., JSH5 players
will shoot for big green, as the fifth race carryover stands at $65,089, and
the 13th race will start out with $80,368 in the hat. … On Saturday,
July 18, Meadowlands Pace Night, post time will be 6:30 p.m.
