by Steve Wolf, senior director of racing operations, Pompano Park

Pompano Beach, FL — The stage is set for harness racing’s richest event to date of the 2007 season, the $157,500 ninth annual Isle of Capri Pacing Series Final, featuring a classic rivalry between He Wants It All and Load The Dice.

Also on the program is the $77,800 final of the sixth annual Mack Lobell Trotting Series, featuring world record holder Tweedle Dum, and the $50,000 fifth annual Red Bow Tie Invitational Pace for Florida-breds, headed by Paper Exchange, taking on return winners Rare Glory and Flight Of Glory.

The Isle of Capri final is set as the seventh race on the program. Load The Dice, the richest harness horse in racing in 2007 with $104,150 bankrolled this year for the Engel Stable LLC, Sheffield Stable and D.R. Van Witzenburg, is the 4-5 morning line favorite from post five for driver Bruce Ranger.

Last week Load The Dice was able to take the lead away from He Wants It All after the opening quarter in the $50,000 second leg of the series and steamrolled his way to a 1:50.4 triumph by 1-1/4 lengths over He Wants It All and Maltese Artist. Michile Lorenzo is training the 5-year-old gelded son of Cam’s Card Shark in Florida for regular trainer John McDermott.

A winner in nine of his last 13 starts, Load The Dice has not finished worse than second in his last nine starts. He has also raced against He Wants It All six times since August with four wins, while He Wants It All has beaten Load The Dice once.

He Wants It All enters the race seeking an unprecedented third straight victory in the Isle Of Capri Pace Final. The 7-year-old stallion by The Big Dog is a $856,000 career winner for owner Michael Polansky of Loudonville, N.Y. and last year tied the stakes and all-age track record with a 1:49.4 triumph. Trained by Tom Harmer, He Wants It All will start from post seven for driver Wally Hennessey and they are the 6-5 second choice in the race.

In the $50,000 opening leg of the series, He Wants It All and Hennessey were able to use perfect cover behind Load The Dice and beat them to the wire for a head victory in 1:51. He Wants It All is coupled in the wagering with stablemate Star Role (post four).

The third choice in the race is former world record holder Maltese Artist from post six for driver Brett Miller. The class of the field with career earnings of $877,000, Maltese Artist has been third best in both his preliminary rounds.

The spotlight all last year was on the trotter Tweedle Dum and it will be once again in the third race $77,800 Mack Lobell Final.

Starting from post six for driver Walter Ross, Jr., Tweedle Dum is going for his fourth straight win and is the 3-5 favorite and rightly so. A winner in 23 of his 27 starts, the 7-year-old gelding by Star Challenge is trained by Gordon Norris and owned by Diane Norris and Alfred Brotter of Pompano Beach.

It was earlier this month that Tweedle Dum set the Pompano Park track on fire. In the $15,000 Mack Lobell Preview on February 2, Tweedle Dum and Ross wired the field in a romp by 9-3/4 lengths in 1:53.2 to tie the world record on a five-eighths-mile track for his age, gait and gender and he may just own the record outright after Saturday’s finale.

His main competition will come from Dink Adoo, who has been second to Tweedle Dum in both preliminary rounds. Two starts back he nearly beat Tweedle Dum, losing by a nose in 1:54.2. Dink Adoo will start from post two for driver Wally Hennessey.

The fifth race $50,000 Red Bow Tie Invitational Pace for Florida-breds has nine starters and Paper Exchange, despite drawing the outside post eight, is the mild 2-1 favorite for driver Bruce Ranger. The 6-year-old gelded son of Ditch Em is trained by Tom Beckette for the Bruce Ranger Stable and is owned by the Fred Monteleone Stable LLC of Pompano Beach.

Starting from post nine is Hearty Fellow for the Amante Standardbred Stable of Delray Beach. Hearty Fellow is seeking his third straight win in the Red Bow Tie Invitational.

There are also two return winners in the race, Flight Of Glory (post one) and Rare Glory (post three).

Track notes: All of the contestants in the three stakes finals Saturday will race from a 12-hour detention barn. There will be a free Isle Pace baseball cap giveaway Saturday starting at 6:00 p.m. featuring the new Isle Pompano Park logo. The Meadowlands will be simulcasting the entire card from Pompano Park Saturday and Cal-Expo will feature the Isle Pace Final via simulcasting through the entire state. The weather forecast for Saturday night calls for 70 degrees and a mild breeze and trackman Randy Dawson promises the Pompano Park oval will be in track record form.

On Friday night at Pompano, Hypnotize ($4.00) and driver Joe Pavia, Jr. took the lead away from Wilma Hall (Brett Miller) and then held off a late charge by Maresey Doats (Wally Hennessey) to win the third race $10,000 Mares Open Handicap Pace by a neck in a lifetime mark of 1:52.3. All About Maggie (Matt Kakaley) was third.

It was the fourth win this year for Hypnotize, a 6-year-old mare by Artiscape, trained by Jim Mattison and owned by the Diffenback, Mack and Mattison Stables.