East Rutherford, NJ — Another Friday night (May 20) of racing brought more rain and a sloppy track for the entire card at The Meadowlands.

The first race on the card featured some early jostling for the lead with several horses being parked on the outside for the entire mile. After a blistering :55.2 opening half mile over the sloppy going, the top three at the half were nowhere to be found as the field neared the finish. That’s because the closers came calling from two-, three- and four-wide, and those horses had enough punch in the final strides to finish in the top three. Know Your Roll (James Slendorn) looked like a sure winner near the wire, but was collared on the inside by Settlemoir (John Calabrese), who won by a neck in 1:54.4. Bilbo Hanover (David Glasser) rounded out the trifecta. Settlemoir, a 9-year-old gelding, is owned by Ettore Annunziata Revocable Trust and trained by Michael Annunziata.

The sixth race featured 10 pacers going to post, and again, there was a good battle to the quarter pole for the lead. But once Crush Hanover (Eugene Robinson) settled to the lead in :27, he was challenged with a bold brush by Dream Out Loud N (Tony Beltrami), who made his way to the top rather easily in a :55.1 half and never looked back. He faced no serious challengers after that en route to a 3-1/4-length victory over Fernado (Tony Ciuffetelli) and Kingofthejungle (David Glasser) in 1:53.1. The 15-year-old gelding is owned by Beltrami and is trained by Edwin Quevedo.

The eighth race on the card featured 10 more GSY pacers who once again battled to the quarter, with several horses leaving hard for early supremacy. As was the case in the first race, the top four horses at the quarter and half were nowhere in the top three at the finish. In fact, the top three finishers at the line were eighth, ninth and 10th at the three-quarter pole. In the end, long shot Rock To Glory (Bruno Chiodo) was a half-length winner over MV OK Palacio Br (Rob Harmon) and Captain’s Reign (Dakota Jackson) in 1:54.3. The victorious 14-year-old gelding is owned by Chiodo Racing LLC and trained by Bruno’s wife, Stacy Chiodo.

The 10th race on the Big M card featured the GSY 2 pacers and, although there weren’t many leavers, there was one that blasted to the lead and didn’t look back. TJ Blast (Anthony Verruso) was on a mission, leaving in :26.2 and completing a half in :54.3. This again set it up for all the closers to come calling, and indeed they did. When the field hit the line, William McWhiskers (Peter Kleinhans) was victorious over Cheyenne Ryan Lee (John Calabrese) and Party Boy (Michael Kimmelman) 1:52.1. William McWhiskers, a 6-year-old gelding, is also owned by Kleinhans and is trained by John McDermott.

All four winners paid over $8 to win, and not one favorite won again this week. The GSY series will be back in action next Friday at The Meadowlands. First post is scheduled for 6:20 p.m.