Bill’s Man equals Harrah’s Philadelphia track record
June 21, 2018,from PHHA/Harrah’s Philadelphia
Chester, PA — Bill’s Man joined the illustrious company of Chapter Seven and Father Patrick by tying their track record time for 4-year-old trotting horses, 1:52.1, in winning the $17,000 feature on Thursday afternoon (June 21) at Harrah’s Philadelphia.
A record was in the works from the first eighth of a mile, when EI EI O refused to let Arch Credit go by for the lead, forcing the latter to tuck before a :26.1 quarter. EI EI O went on to a :54.3 half, then was pressured by first-over Top Flight Angel to the 1:23.3 three-quarters, with Bill’s Man in perfect second-over position.
Top Flight Angel wrested the lead by the top of the stretch, but Corey Callahan then asked the son of Credit Winner to trot on and he did so with power, equaling the track record as well as the season’s record for the division (4-year-olds and upward) shared by Marion Marauder and Fraser Ridge. Trainer John Butenschoen saw Bill’s Man raise his earnings to $556,229 for owners Crawford Farms Racing, M&L of Delaware LLC and VIP Internet Stable LLC.
Skates N Plates, a career winner of $437,944, extended his recent regaining of form to three straight victories in taking the $14,500 top trot for the older set. George Napolitano Jr. gunned the son of Revenue S away from the outside post eight and didn’t have much trouble from there, stopping the timer in 1:54.4 while two lengths clear for trainer Andrew Harris and owner Robert Key.
Freshman trotting colts made their pari-mutuel debut at Philly in 2018, with the Explosive Matter–Up Front Annika colt Ginger Tree Skyr trotting away in the stretch to a 4-1/4 length victory in 1:58.4. The winner trotted his own back half in :57.4 for driver David Miller, trainer Steven Cook, and the ownership of Ginger Tree Ventures LLC and Don Marean.