East Rutherford, NJ — A trio of GSY amateur races were contested on Friday (March 11) at The Meadowlands.

The first of the three amateur races took place in race one and it started out with a fast first quarter stanza with two horses leaving hard from the start. As the first quarter came up in a swift :27.2, it was Ferdinand A (William Harrison) who took the lead after Jerrytone (Joe Lee) relinquished it and these two were first and second as the field approached the half.

At that juncture Waimac Attack N (Matt Zuccarello) grinded his way towards the leaders with a first over journey and took a nose lead at the three-quarter pole. He wasn’t able to clear to the lead and coming from mid pack and third over was Always A Force (Anthony Verruso) who took the lead and went on to win by 1-1/2 lengths. Harrison dug in gamely to come back for a second place showing by a head over Zuccarello, who held on to third. The mile went in 1:54.

The winner is a 9-year-old gelding owned by Mark Toth and trained by Symon Spicer.

The third race featured ten more amateur drivers and in this event it was the longshot Topville Cruiser (Cote Keim) who set out for the lead from his rail position and set an ambitious first quarter in :26.4. He was able to settle his pacer down with sensible second and third quarter fractions and actually opened up four lengths on the field as he entered the stretch.

His strides shortened near the wire but he was able to hold off all the late challengers and hung on to the victory by a neck. Rock To Glory (Bruno Chiodo) came from way back to finish second and S McKee (Juan Cano) rounded out the trifecta. The mile went in 1:53.4.

Not only was it Cote’s first win as an amateur, but he did it at odds of 60-1. He was super excited in the paddock after his victory and said his horse is always game when he get to the front. He also own and trains this 5-year-old gelding.

The fifth race and final amateur pace on the card featured a wicked speed duel between longshot Causway (Marianna Monaco) and Dream Out Loud N (Tony Beltrami). They zipped through the first quarter in :26.3 and this would set the race up for the closers.

After a bold three wide move just after the half, Preppy Art (Juan Cano) took the lead and opened up by four lengths. His strides shortened late but he was able to hold off a late charge by Captain’s Reign (Dakota Jackson) who finished a neck back of Cano. Franco Tristan N (Joe Lee) rounded out the trifecta. This was the fastest amateur mile of the night and went in 1:52.3.

The winner is a 10-year-old gelding owned by Spencer Goldin and trained by Alexandra Goldin.

The amateur drivers and pacers will make their way back to The Big M next Friday night with the first post scheduled for 6:20 p.m.