by harness publicists across North America

Thursday’s (Sept. 30) edition of Racing Roundup features results stories from Vernon Downs and Cal-Expo.

Late Closing Series contested at Vernon Downs

Fotowon photo

Denver Dolly delivered a career-best 1:56.4 victory in Thursday night’s second division of a $39,400 New York Sires Stake late-closing contest.

Vernon, NY — Denver Dolly overcame driving rain and a sloppy track to deliver a career-best 1:56.4 victory in Thursday night’s second division of a $39,400 New York Sires Stake late-closing contest for 2-year-old male pacers at Vernon Downs.

Snapping a string of three consecutive second-place finishes in the third event, Denver Dolly ($5.80) gained the lead in the final turn and raced on to a solid score, his second of the season for owner Alfred Ross. Fern Paquet, Jr. drove the bay son of Artiscape-Denverlove for trainer George Ducharme.

Thursday’s other late-closing flights went to A Major Haze (Art Major-Dorothy’s Jate), in 1:57.4 for driver Brian Mattison, trainer Paul Kelly and Wanda Polisseni’s Purple Haze Stables, and Mosee Terror (Western Terror-Shimmer), in 1:58.1 for driver Chris Lems, trainer Paul Reid and the Bulletproof Enterprises.

Penny Pincher won Thursday’s $9,000 seventh race, the week’s top Miracle Mile test for female pacers, with a late-closing 1:56.1 effort. Howard Okusko, Jr. did the teaming for trainer Jim Perry and owners William J. and Jack M. Heinz. It was the 5-year-old mare’s fifth season’s score and 13th all-time.

— Jim Moran

Cal-Expo
He didn’t keep a straight course in his last and it cost him. On this night he was much straighter and Berkshire scored nicely. Open 2 handicap trotters, racing for a purse of $5,200, were featured at Cal-Expo on Thursday night, in which Berkshire made it three of his last four. Lagging the start by two lengths, but coming away in good order, driver Steve Wiseman asked his horse to go on just before the first turn to put a foe in behind them. Closing up the three-hole and putting Jam And Jelly in the four-hole, Wiseman and his charge sat third through first-half fractions of :28.2 and :57.4. On the move first-over at the five-eighths-mile mark, Wiseman stepped on the pedal a little harder just before the three-quarter station, timed in 1:27, while now just a neck back. Taking over the lead with less than 3-16ths of a mile to go, the 4-year-old drifted some with an eighth of a mile to go, but with a safe two length advantage. Owned by Ron Lingle and trained by Earl Kennedy, the gelding won ($5.00) by 2-3/4 lengths in 1:56.1, equaling a lifetime mark. Meringue (Tim Maier) finished in second and Easter Call was another three-quarters of a length farther back in third. “He came back strong and was very good and still hasn’t had a bad race since he has been here,” said Wiseman, who had three wins on the card.