by Keith Gisser, assistant publicity director, Northfield Park

Northfield, OH — Carolina Rich returned to face Invitational competition at Northfield Park on Saturday night and when the dust had cleared, he had won his second straight race and his first invite in several months as he posted a 1:55¹ win.

The $5,500 winner’s share of the purse pushed Carolina Rich’s career earnings to $353,668. The win was his eighth of the 2003-04 season and came on the heels of a win against top conditioned horses last week.

Greg Grismore drove the winner for owner John Williams of Cleveland Heights. Grismore’s father Mark trains the eight-year-old Cambest horse.

He moved rapidly to the lead from post six in the seven horse field, posting a :28 second opening panel. Carolina Rich was shuffled back to second as favored Oaks Enforcer took control and led the field past the half in :57². The mare Midnight Jewel continued to pressure on the outside, shuffling the eventual winner back to third. Oaks Enforcer, in his first start since September, continued to lead at the 1:26¹ three-quarter pole but Carolina Rich was right on his back. He went by in the stretch to post a one length win over Oaks Enforcer, with Fritzie Cam finishing third.

For Almahurst Razzle …two in a row (in Ohio)

Driver Dave Hawk returned to Almahurst Razzle’s traditional front-end style Friday in Northfield’s $8,500 Mares Open Pace and the move again paid off as he steered the Bob Belcher-trainee to a second straight 1:57 win.

Hawk fired the eight-year-old Dragon Again lass to the front, posting a :28³ opening panel as wind chills fought to reach positive numbers. With Eda Finn in the pocket, Almahurst Razzle got to the half in :58³ as Positivereaction N made the first attack on the outside. Her bid was short-lived, however, and MD Jewel was next up, moving three-wide to challenge the leader as the field reached the three-quarters in 1:27³. But MD Jewel’s bid also faltered, leaving Eda Finn to challenge in the passing lane. It appeared Brett Miller might get to the winner, but Hawk found another gear two-thirds of the way down the stretch and Almahurst Razzle posted an easy one length win, with Eda Finn second and MD Jewel third.

Senia Rebecca Lawson of Williamsburg, Kentucky, owns the winner. The win was her 11th of the season, and second of 2004. She has banked $294,794 in her career, with $10,970 of it coming this year.

FAT TUESDAY: Starting Tuesday, February 3, you’ll have a chance to fatten both your wallet and your waistline as Northfield Park kicks off three months of live Tuesday racing. In the clubhouse, you can pick up a complete all-you-can eat pasta dinner for just $7.95. You’ll have your choice of two pastas, along with salad, rolls, vegetable, non-alcoholic beverage and dessert.

You can fatten your wallet by entering to participate in one of four nightly Sixty Second Winning Sprees. In each spree, a contestant selected at random gets to call out as many $2 wagers as possible in a one minute time frame. Whatever those wagers pay, the contestant keeps! On the track, several late-closing series kick off in February with first race post time, as always, at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.

MUST-WIN WEDNESDAY: The Tri-Super wager is still unsolved and currently sports a $26,000-plus carryover. If no one hits the Tri Super by the Wednesday, February 4 Must-Win mandatory payoff, the total pot could reach $50,000 or more. If the wager is solved before then, there will be a guaranteed $5,000 minimum distribution. The Tri-Super normally requires patrons to pick the top three horses in the fourth race and the top four finishers in the sixth race in order. In a must-win situation the wager, which can be played for as little as $2, with the most correct numbers from the start of the bet, not necessarily a perfect wager, wins or shares the jackpot.

MONDAY MORNINGS: Northfield’s popular early Monday openings take a one week hiatus on February 2, but return for the balance of the month. Even though the track races live on Mondays, thanks to the vagaries of Ohio’s simulcasting law, Northfield is permitted limited early openings. Instead of throwing the gates open at 2:00, the track opens at 11:00 a.m. on those early simulcast days, and first simulcasting action kicks off just after noon, instead of the usual 2:45 p.m. That means simulcast patrons get to wager on top thoroughbred tracks including Philadelphia Park, Fairgrounds, Gulfstream Park and Beulah Park, as well as harness action from Monticello Raceway. Don’t forget that President’s Day is Monday, February 16 and many tracks, including Aqueduct, Oaklawn, Laurel Park, Santa Anita and Freehold Raceway, offer special holiday racing cards.

FROM FRIDAY: Brett Miller, currently fourth in North America with 41 driving wins, presented a check for $3,693 to Dot Morgan, the Executive Director of the New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program, in a winner’s circle presentation after Friday’s third race. The check represented his 5% driving commission earned on Mondays in December, along with a matching donation from Northfield Park. Miller said he wanted to give something back to the sport, and New Vocations (www.racehorseadoption.com) does such a great job retraining retired harness horses that the two were a logical fit.