East Rutherford, NJ — All it took for Franco Totem N to get back to the winner’s circle was a little class relief, and on Saturday night (Nov. 28) at The Meadowlands, he showed his class in taking the $21,000 featured pace for non-winners of $14,000 in their last five starts.

Franco Totem N and driver Dexter Dunn were all alone at the wire in the Saturday night feature at The Meadowlands. Lisa photo.

The gelded son of Changeover-Treaty Franco last won on Oct. 24. Three solid outings (two fourths and a second) would follow at the non-winners of $20,000 level, which prepped him perfectly for Saturday night.

In the early going, the Nifty Norman trainee sat third before vacating the rail and going after leader B Stoney. Franco Totem N led at the half in :55 while parked before settling on the point. De Los Cielos Deo, the 8-5 favorite who was seeking his fourth win in five tries, came calling first-over approaching and around the far turn, but never got close enough to make Franco Totem N sweat, as the Dexter Dunn-driven 7-year-old hit the wire 1-1/2 lengths to the good in 1:49.3 after coming home in :26.4. De Los Cielos Deo held second with Mindtrip rallying for third.

Owned by Enzed Racing Stable and Jerry Kovach, Franco Totem N returned $7.60 as the second choice in the wagering. He now has 26 wins from 88 career starts and earnings of $226,130.

Prolific Payoffs: One shrewd player betting into the Elite Turf Club hub had him or herself quite a night, calling out the only winning ticket in the track’s 20-cent Pick-5, and walked away with a giant payout of $55,157.16.

The key to victory was 75-1 shot Quagmire Bluechip, who scored in the fourth race. The winner’s odds for the sequence were 9-2, 5-2, 4-1, 75-1 and 7-2, as none were sent to the gate as the betting favorite.

The 20-cent Pick-6, which had a carryover of $5,214, ended up with a total pool of $32,358. Despite a sequence that saw favorites win legs five (4-5) and six (6-5), only two sharp handicappers hit the wager for $14,143.12. The first four legs saw winner’s odds of 9-2, 7-1, 5-2 and 6-1.

Another multi-leg wager that yielded only one winner was the 20-cent Survivor Pick-7. Betting into the Oregon hub, he or she held the only ticket with the first five winners of the sequence and cashed in for $7,930.54. Once again, Quagmire Bluechip provided the boost to the payoff.

A Little More: Dexter Dunn led the driver’s colony with three winners, while David Miller had a second consecutive driving double.

All-source wagering totaled $2,667,691, the fourth straight Saturday where wagering exceeded the $2.5 million mark.

Racing resumes Friday at 7:15 p.m.