The Saturday (Oct. 27) edition of Racing Roundup features results stories from The Meadows, Saratoga Casino Hotel, Vernon Downs and Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway.

Windsong Leo romps at The Meadows

Washington, PA — Windsong Leo seized the early lead and steadily drew away from the field, cruising to a 6-1/2-length romp in Saturday’s (Oct. 27) $20,000 Preferred Handicap Pace at The Meadows.

With Windsong Leo’s archrival, Phoenix Warrior N, stuck outside and unable to clear, Dave Palone gunned the 6-year-old Jereme’s Jet-Windsong Goldie gelding to a :55 back half in the slop, discouraging all challenges. He triumphed in 1:50.3, with Anythingforlove A and the game Phoenix Warrior N completing the ticket.

Ron Burke trains Windsong Leo, who won for the 16th time this year and pushed his career bankroll to $367,250, for Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi LLC and Phil Collura.

Palone and Burke teamed for three wins on the 13-race card while Jim Pantaleano and Dan Rawlings also fashioned triples.

— by Evan Pattak

Saratoga Casino Hotel

Saturday night’s feature at Saratoga Casino Hotel was the $35,400 Gary Kamal Memorial Pacing Series final. Young pacers had two legs to gather points towards Saturday’s final and only one of the series’ participants swept those legs. Arch Hanover recorded victories in 1:53.4 in each leg of the series and rode a five-race win streak into Saturday’s final. In leg two, the Monica Krist trainee squared off in the stretch with New Zealand invader Kiwi Tintin N (Tintin In America) who had been undefeated in three starts in the U.S. Those two geldings did battle in the lane before Arch Hanover emerged victorious. Kiwi Tintin N drew post eight in that start which served as his first defeat since the trek from Down Under. What seemed last week to be a final preview proved to be just that as in Saturday’s rematch, the same two talented pacers slugged it out to the wire. Kiwi Tintin N cruised out to a relatively easy lead with Frank Coppola Jr. in the sulky. After clocking a first half in :56.3, the 2-5 betting favorite Kiwi Tintin N checked in at three-quarters in 1:25 as Arch Hanover (Billy Dobson) closed in. This week, Kiwi Tintin N had enough to hold off his rival and stopped the timer in 1:53.4 over a track labeled ‘good.’ Though Arch Hanover’s win streak was snapped, the 4-year-old was a strong second in the final. Longshot Charlie Call Home (Pete Lancaster) came on to finish third and vaulted a chalky $7.20 exacta to a hefty $132.50 triple. With the win, the Paul Zabielski trainee added his name to the list of previous Gary Kamal Memorial Pace winners that is now comprised of Twin B Spy, Bell I No, Stirling Electra, Carolina Beach and Kiwi Tintin N. Live racing continues at Saratoga on Sunday afternoon with a matinee beginning at 12:15 p.m.

Vernon Downs

Golden Gun (Josh Kinney) took the featured pace ($7,500) at Vernon Downs on Saturday (Oct. 27). Golden Gun ($4.80) charged out to the lead and led them to the first quarter in :26.2. Oh My Joepa (John MacDonald) followed in second with Card Knock Life (Truman Gale) settling in the third hole. Golden Gun used a :28.2 second quarter to lead them to the half in :54.4. Owned by The Wiz Kids Stable and trained by Jeff Sorenson, he continued to control the pace as they hit three-quarters in 1:23. Card Knock Life went first-over as they reached the stretch and joined Oh My Joepa, as they both tried to chase down Golden Gun. Once they hit deep stretch the only race was for second best. Golden Gun hit the wire first to win in 1:52.0. Card Knock Life finished second with Oh My Joepa settling for third. Golden Gun is an 8-year-old gelding by Headmaster. It was his sixth win of the season. He now has 30 career victories. John MacDonald and Jimmy Whittemore continue to battle for the drivers win title. MacDonald won three win on the night. He got his wins with Caritas Easel ($6.80), Heza Rube ($9.80) and Napper Tandy ($2.90). Whittemore won two on the night. He got his victories with The Royal Garden N ($6.70) and Giacodelight ($2.40). With just two live racing cards left in the 2018 season, Whittemore leads all drivers with 114 tallies. John MacDonald is second with 113 wins. Vernon Downs returns to live action on Friday (Nov. 2) and Saturday (Nov. 3) for the last weekend of live racing for the 2018 season. Post time for both nights is 6:10 p.m.

Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway

Nuclear Dragon returned to Ohio with his usual flare on Saturday (Oct. 27), winning the $18,500 Open Handicap Pace from an assigned outside post position in 1:51.2. Since his last start at Hollywood Dayton Raceway, he was shipped to metropolitan New York for a try in the $250,000 Dan Rooney Invitational at Yonkers, which didn’t go well as the 6-year-old son of Nuclear Breeze faded to a last place finish after speeding to the lead early against the likes of McWicked, Bit Of A Legend N and others. Now back in the barn of trainer-driver Dan Noble, Nuclear Dragon again left with alacrity, stopping the first quarter mile beam in :27.2 as he crossed over to the front of the field. After coasting through middle fractions of :55.3 and 1:22.3, the winner tacked on a :28.4 final panel over a rain-soaked racing strip to hold off a determined Hot Rod Dylan (Juan Franco) and late-charging Nine Ways (Jeremy Smith) for his ninth seasonal victory. Hot Rod Dylan made an uncharacteristic break in stride before the gate swung open and spotted the field nearly ten lengths before catching the field and launching a first-over attack throughout the entire final lap. The triumph put owner Richard Mishkin’s prize possession over the $354,000 earnings plateau. He paid $5.60 to his mutual supporters, while the exacta was worth $23.40. Racing resumes with matinee programs on both Monday and Tuesday at Hollywood Dayton. First race post time is 2:15 p.m.