from harness publicists across North America

Saturday’s (April. 18) edition of Racing Roundup features results stories from Hoosier Park, Saratoga Casino and Raceway, Vernon Downs, Buffalo Raceway and Scarborough Downs.

Lady Blitz upsets Natural Herbie at Hoosier Park

Anderson, IN — As one of only two mares in a talented field of seven, Lady Blitz pulled a stunning upset over her male counterparts in the featured event of the evening, a $21,000 Invitational trot, at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino on Saturday, April 18. At odds of 39-1, Lady Blitz and James Yoder were able to wear down stablemate and the overwhelming favorite, Natural Herbie and Verlin Yoder, late in the lane to win in 1:54.4. Natural Herbie, winner of the 2014 International Trot at Yonkers and multiple Indiana Sires Stakes champion, was making just his first start of the 2015 season.

Linscott photo

Lady Blitz and James Yoder upset a field of seven in the featured trot at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino.

Leaving from post four, Lady Blitz eased from the gate to find a spot along the rail in fourth. Penn and Darrel Wright would be the first to get a call through a leisurely opening panel in :29. Their lead was short lived as the other Yoder, Verlin Yoder, had Natural Herbie on a mission to the front. Natural Herbie reluctantly took command down the backside at the second station in :57.3.

The battle on the front continued as Rose Run Parker, with a three-race winning streak on the line, was aggressively sent to the front by Ricky Macomber Jr. Rose Run Parker reached the top spot approaching the three-quarter mark in 1:26.4 but took himself out of the race after he made a costly break around the final turn.

The race appeared to be over turning for home as Natural Herbie involuntarily inherited the lead but Lady Blitz loomed large in the background. Just as Natural Herbie began to find his stride, Penn re-arrived on the scene late in the lane and was wearing down the tiring leader.

With the damage being done on the front, Lady Blitz used a :27.2 final panel to win by a neck. Princess Pablano, the other mare in the field, used a ground-saving trip and rallied gamely to finish second for driver Tyler Smith. Natural Herbie held on for third place honors. As the second longest shot on the board, Lady Blitz returned $81.20 at the windows.

“I didn’t think I would get a trip like that,” James Yoder noted after the race. “When Rose Run Parker made a break it really opened things up. Dad (Verlin Yoder) told me to stay on a helmet and wait until the lane to move. That’s what I did and it just worked out for us tonight.”

“Of course, I was glad we won the race but I would have liked to see Natural Herbie race a little better,” he continued. “It was just the first start for him though so hopefully he will back to himself with a few more races. My mare really showed up tonight, she’s a great mare to drive.”

Trained and owned by Verlin Yoder, Lady Blitz scored her first win from two seasonal starts and eighteenth career victory. The daughter of Keystone Blitz-Oriental Lady is a multiple Indiana Sires Stakes champion who now sports a lifetime bankroll of $421, 801.

— Emily Gaskin

Saratoga Casino and Raceway
Spinarama (Cam’s Card Shark) became the first two-time winner of the Open Pace in 2015 at Saratoga Casino and Raceway as he scored a wire-to-wire victory in the Saturday night feature (April 18). Austin Siegelman moved the 7-5 co-favorite out to the early lead and got a comfortable first half in 57.4 before pacing away from his rivals to win in 1:53.3. Kid PK (Stephane Bouchard) got the pocket ride and finished second in his first career try in the local pacing feature while co-favored JD’s Caleb Man (Billy Dobson) had to settle for third. Spinarama pulled off the upset in the $18,000 Open Pace two weeks ago at odds of 19-1 for Siegelman and trainer Chris Marino. The win was one of three on the night for Siegelman who currently sits fourth in the local driver standings.

Vernon Downs
Shipping in from Yonkers after finding himself overmatched in a Levy Series preliminary, Harmon Racing’s That’ll Be The Rei ($7.50) vaulted clear in the final yards of Saturday (April 18) evening’s $10,000 Open Pace at Vernon Downs, scoring a 1:50.2 triumph for his second win of the year. The 5-year-old gelded son of Cheyenne Rei tracked early pacesetters JK Panache (Chris Lems) and Hunchie (Truman Gale) through a strong early pace, drafting a close third through a :54.2 half-mile. While 3-5 favorite Ashley’s Husband (Fern Paquet, Jr.) sustained a first-over bid on the far turn, That’ll Be the Rei was never in danger of traffic trouble, angling three-wide by Mike Merton in the final eighth of a mile to pounce on the softened JK Panache. That’ll Be The Rei struck the front a sixteenth from home, driven clear to a three-length win. Ashley’s Husband was a game second, and Hunchie saved third with a mild bid after suffering traffic woes in upper stretch. Rob Harmon trains That’ll Be The Rei, who scored his thirtieth career win. Driver Chuck Connor, Jr. and trainer Janice Connor teamed up for a Saturday night hat trick, proving victorious was Mattjesty Bluechip ($8.40, 1:55.3), impressive first-time starter Shadowmisty ($3.30, 1:56.2), and 86-1 longshot Candid Man ($175.50, 1:57.1).

Buffalo Raceway
No respect. That’s about the best way to summarize Mach Stockn Barrel at Buffalo Raceway as for the fifth time in six starts, the 4-year-old gelding failed to go off as the post time favorite despite an impressive resume. But for the fifth time in those six starts, Mach Stockn Barrel ($7.00) found his way to the winner’s circle after registering a hard-charging length win in a career-best 1:55.2 in the featured $9,500 conditioned pace on Saturday night (April 18). With eight victories now in 12 starts in 2015, Mach Stockn Barrel drew the seven post and watched Jokerman post some wicked fractions of 27.4, 56.1 and 1:25.4. It proved to be a perfect set up. Mach Stockn Barrel, sitting last at the half in the field of seven, started making steady headway up the backstretch. Now gobbling up real estate on the outside past the three-quarter pole, Mach Stockn Barrel was locked and loaded. He used a powerful drive to the wire and blew past the stalling Jokerman (Jack Flanigen). Lucky Nadotremblay (Shawn Gray) rallied and finished in second while Jokerman held on for third. Owned by Leonard Segall and trained by James Clouser Jr., Mach Stockn Barrel (Mach Three-Timeless Classic) has now earned $36,856 in 2015. Racing will continue on Wednesday night at 5 p.m. with a 12-race card scheduled.

Scarborough Downs
Leading driver Drew Campbell wasted precious little time following up on last Sunday’s six trips down Scarborough Downs’ Victory Lane as the man in the orange and black colors continued to tally victories at a near record clip. On Saturday (April 18) Campbell added to his imposing tally, claiming top honors in five of the eleven dashes carded. Included in the five wins were a couple from Campbell’s very own roster as he extended Remix’s (1:58.2) win streak to three straight. He then claimed the lion’s share of the $6,000 Winners Over pace, mounting a determined bid with JJs Jet, to wear down the front-running Mr Nice Guy while stopping the clock in 1:56.4, the third fastest time recorded this season at the Downs. No stranger to the creation of fast miles, Campbell helped spin the fleetest journey of the season earlier on in the card as Ashlee’s Cool Gal scored her second consecutive victory timed in 1:55.2, just two fifths of a second off her lifetime best. Campbell’s successful day was rounded out with wins behind Check Don’s Pulse (1:57.1), the second in a row for the Steve Vafiades trained pacer, and the first seasonal win for Bettor’s Night (2:00) who hung tough to survive a late challenge in the finale. The defending driving champion at the Downs, Campbell has now cemented his lead in the early 2015 standings with his 22 seasonal scores nearly doubling those of his closest competitor.