Northfield, OH — The Great Lakes Amateur Driving Association (GLADA) played host to Great Britain’s top amateur drivers in a two-race event at Northfield Park on Wednesday (Oct. 21) with the USA scoring a narrow win.
Veteran Steve Oldford kicked off the competition by guiding his own Holton to a near wire-to-wire win in a well-rated 1:59 off panels of :29.1, :59.3 and 1:29.2.
The 8-year-old gelded son of Dontyouforgetit drew off in the final stages to score by 5 lengths over Four Wheeling, driven by Britain’s Lee Wakefield, with Max’s Beast, teamed with Kelly Nott, third.
With the Great Britain contingent finishing 2-3-4-5 in that heat, they held a precarious 27-23 lead heading into the final.
But with the USA’s Amy MacDonald rallying late with Manhattanup No Ice in the finale, followed by 23-1 outsider Bluebird Revival, driven by American Larry Ferrari, the American team took the deciding heat 34-17, with the final tally 57-40.
After the finale, Oldford related, “We always enjoy the competition — both here and in their backyard — and this year was no different as they have some very talented amateur drivers. The racetrack was in exceptionally good shape for these races and had a real nice cushion — as all ‘aging’ horses love — and that, plus drawing the inside post, also helped in the outcome.”
Holton won for a milestone 25th time career wise and vaulted his career bankroll to $266,421 — his scorecard this semester being 2-5-1 in 17 starts and $17,273 in seasonal earnings.
Trained by Allen Sisco for Oldford Racing, Holton rewarded his faithful with a $4.80 mutuel.
MacDonald, who won her very first pari-mutuel race last week with Manhattanup No Ice, used similar tactics to reach the winner’s circle this time around.
Mid-pack throughout the mile, MacDonald noticed a horse on the outside struggling a bit and said, ”Well, I didn’t know whether or not that this would be the best path, but he’s a big, big horse and started gobbling up the racetrack once we turned for the finish. I guess you could say that he made me look good!”
He used a :29.4 final quarter to hit the wire in 1:59.1.
The classy 9-year-old altered son of Andover Hall is owned by Ashley Miller along with trainer Edwards and now sports a 29-5-4-4 scorecard in 29 starts, good for $39,604 and $338,581 lifetime.
As the 6-5 favorite, Manhattanup No Ice paid $4.40 to win.
In another racetrack rarity, MacDonald’s husband, Anthony, took top honors with Sterling Hanover — with a husband-wife combo both winning races on the same racing program.
GLADA is one of several amateur clubs in the United States whose members donate 100% of their earnings in amateur events to charitable causes ranging from local to national organizations.