East Rutherford, NJ — On the eve of the Kentucky Derby, the MADC carded four races on Friday night (May 5) at The Meadowlands.

Bettor B Sawyer (Newton “Yogi” Sheridan) opened up the evening with a 1:54.2 win. Lisa photo.

The first race on the card featured nine pacers going to post and only two leavers. Bettor B Sawyer (Newton “Yogi” Sheridan) got to the lead through a leisurely :28 quarter. He started to slow the pace down even further until the race favorite Camlachie Chrome (Cote Keim) popped the pocket and took command at the half-mile stanza. That looked to be the winning move as the outer flow didn’t really develop but near the wire, a resurgent Sheridan got up in time by a neck to win. Wiggle My Cookie (Joe Lee) got up for the show dough. The mile was paced in 1:54.2.

The winner is a 4-year old mare owned by Jose Cervantes and trained by Ivan Llopez.

The fifth race on the card had nine pacers go to post and as the gate sprung open it was Dandy Idea (Sheridan) who found his way to the front but had to work hard through a :27.1 first quarter. He did slow the pace down to the half but the outer flow was out and developing early in this race and as the field entered the stretch, it was the outer flow that had the advantage, with horses closing from three- and four-wide. It was the post time favorite Brazen Brazilian (Michael Kimelman) who blew by the field in mid-stretch to win by a three-length margin. Skimming the cones for second was Lovin Miss Daisy N (Dakota Jackson) and Takeittotheface (Matt Zuccarello) rounded out the trifecta. The mile went in 1:53.

The winner is a 6-year old gelding owned by Sara and Olivia Kimelman and trained by Michael Kimelman.

Sunshine’s Finest (Will “The Thrill” Clark Jr.) scored in 1:53. Lisa photo.

The ninth race was probably the most exciting and interesting MADC race on the night with a cavalry charge for the lead when the gate swung open. There were horses three and four wide into the first turn and after a wicked :26.1 first quarter you knew this was going to set it up for the closers. As the field entered the backstretch, horses were two- and three-wide with several of them parked on the outside for the entire mile, racing in tandems that had a European style feel to it. With the pace not slowing much to the half that came up in :54.3, the flow was moving forward on the outside and when the field entered the stretch, horses were fanned out six- and seven-wide. In the end, it was the horses that were the back three at the first call that ended up making the trifecta. Coming from last was the post time favorite Sunshine’s Finest (Will “The Thrill” Clark Jr.), who ended up with the victory by 1-1/2 lengths. Thndrfrmthethron N (Neil Glasser) got up for second while Van Diesel (Sheridan) finished third. The mile went in 1:53.

Although he was the favorite, the winner still paid a generous $8.40 to win. The 7-year-old gelding is co-owned by Mary Cuerbo and William Clark Jr. and is trained by Tom Shay.

The final MADC race on the card was scratched down to the a field of eight, but this race, similar to the one in the ninth, had horses four wide through the first turn. It was a stubborn Trashytonguetalker (Robert Hechkoff) who finally relinquished the lead to Go West Go Fast (Jacob Stillwell), but he paid the price to do it through a :27.1 first quarter. With Little Honeybadger (Sheridan) parked on the outside, the pace didn’t slow too much in a :55 half-mile. Before the three-quarter pole, it was the post time favorite Grateful Kiss (Anthony Verruso) who moved to the outside from his third position to take command and he was able to stave off a two-prong challenge in the deep stretch to hold onto victory a nose ahead of Lyons Pride (Lee). Another neck back in third was Texas Terror N (Jackson), who rounded out the trifecta. The mile went in 1:53.

The winner is a 6-year old gelding is owned and trained by Bill Mac Kenzie.

The MADC will be back next Friday night with the first race scheduled to go to post at 6:20 p.m.