by Jim Moran, publicity director, Vernon Downs
Vernon, NY — Three-time current winners Café Bar, Think About It and Oops I’m A Filly are pacers to watch in Thursday night’s $2,700 featured ninth race at Vernon Downs, which begins the eighth week of its 52nd live harness racing season at 6:30 p.m.
Café Bar and Oops I’m A Filly have each strung together three straight scores during the 2004 campaign, while Think About It’s lone local triumph resulted in a career-best 1:562 record in mid-May.
Owned by Sam Elkin, Ed Namiotka, Chancy Tancredi and the Slo-Down Stable, Café Bar will carry the 5-2 favorite’s mantle into this week’s top test for female side-wheelers.
Following an eye-opening 1:563 overnight victory here in early May, Café Bar went on to record two more first place finishes in Vernon’s Coca-Cola series before finishing fifth in the event’s final two weeks ago. Jack Rice did the teaming for trainer Sam Serianni as the three-year-old daughter of Village Jove secured her 1:551 career-best win mark on May 20.
A member of the recently arrived Dan Daley Stable, Oops I’m A Filly began her current victory skein at Florida’s Pompano Park on May 12. The sophomore daughter of Covert Action has since posted a pair of Vernon victories, including a lifetime-best 1:553 tally on May 27. Dude Goodblood is slated to steer for Daley this Thursday evening.
Following stints at Yonkers and Saratoga, Think About It shipped to Vernon for the Coca-Cola series and earned her fresh speed mark in an opening round division of the late-closing event on May 13. Two other in the money series showings have improved her season’s on the tote board summary line to 3-2-3 after 14 starts. Josh Marks will steer the three-year-old daughter of The Panderosa for his father, trainer Arnie Marks, and owners Ken Jacobs, Alan and Gus Johnston.
Rounding out Thursday night’s featured field will be B Pershing, Silver Sissy, Velocity, Special Goddess and Missy Doats.
DOWNS DOINGS: A memorial service for three-time (1969-1971) Vernon Downs race-winning driving champion Angus Allen, who died at the age of 88 on June 4, was held on June 9 at the Malecki Funeral Home in Vernon…A funeral mass for former track television handicapper and interviewer Larry Albano, who died at the age of 53 on June 5, was held Tuesday (June 8) at Our Lady of Perpetual Hope church in Lindenhurst, New York…Through June 5, Howard Okusko, Jr. was Vernon’s leading dash-winner with 21 first-place finishes, while his dad, Howard, Sr., topped the trainers’ cart in the same category with 11 victories. Defending champ John Stark, Jr. is again the track’s percentage driving leader after 22 programs with a fine .458 average, while Arnie Marks sits atop the trainers’ percentage list with a .427 mark…After 198 races, the number five post is tops in wins with 32, followed by the number two and four slots with 30 scores each.