East Rutherford, NJ – Odds On Wildfire was cutting out blazing-hot fractions on the front end in the Saturday (April 11) night feature at The Meadowlands, and just like on Dec. 13 of last year, the Geovany Hernandez owned and trained 4-year-old held on nonetheless in another speed-show spectacular for the gelded son of Bettor’s Wish-Odds On Naples.
After finishing second one week after that December score, in which he stopped the clock in 1:49.3 after a :54.1 half, Odds On Wildfire had only raced once since, a sixth-place finish at Yonkers on March 23 after an early break, but was ready to rock Saturday after a 1:52.1 winning qualifier at Harrah’s Philadelphia on April 7.
“Geo does a great job with his horses,” said winning driver Dexter Dunn. “It was a big mile tonight.”
Odds On Wildfire was quick off the car in the $22,500 eighth race for high-end conditioned pacers, racing on the outside first-over in the nine-horse field as Renaldo N hit the quarter in :27.1.
“Wildfire” then rolled up to the top and reached the half in a taxing :54.2, while 5-2 favorite Saba Rock was mounting a challenge first-over after vacating the four-hole just after the half and was at the leader’s throat as three-quarters went in 1:22.
It looked like Saba Rock was going to right on by, but Odds On Wildfire wasn’t having any of that, keeping the public choice at bay throughout an arduous stretch duel, and held on by a half-length in a lifetime-best 1:49. Wish You Well was crisp late to get third.
“He’s got some class and he fought them off well,” said Dunn.
Odds On Wildfire raised his lifetime stats to 14 wins from just 31 tries while increasing his earnings to $165,526. He paid $11.40 as the 9-2 fourth choice in the betting.
LITTLES HIT BIG: Debbie Little, the associate editor and columnist from Harness Racing Update, was back serving as host on the Sam McKee Memorial Broadcast Set, and she, as well as her husband, Big M TV regular Dave, were giving their fans a joyous evening wearing out a path to the cashier’s window.
Debbie selected four winners on top, starting her night in the first race with Woodmere Leah ($8.60 to win, $30.80 exacta). She then gave out Spirit Of Stlouis N ($2.80) in the sixth, Odds On Wildfire ($11.40) in the eighth and best bet Beat Cop ($7.20) in the 12th.
The Littles made a score in the Late 50-cent Pick-4, as both used Beat Cop as a single, with Dave cashing in for $348.25 (after having the $69.65 payoff five times) and Debbie (three times) for $208.95. Playing both of their tickets would have meant investing $76 and cashing in for $557.20, good for a profit of $481.20.
Finally, Dave’s “Little’s Late Double” rolled in, returning $164 for a $40 wager, resulting in a profit of $124.
A LITTLE MORE: Five-time Dan Patch Driver of the Year Dunn had the best night of the pilots, guiding three to victory lane. … Geovany Hernandez and Shaun Vallee each trained two winners on the night. Hernandez also trained a pair on Friday (April 10), giving him four for the weekend. … All-source betting on the 14-race card totaled $3,066,093, the third time this year that wagering went past the $3-million mark. … Racing resumes Friday (April 17) at 6:35 p.m.