East Rutherford, NJ – Two GSY events were carded on Friday (March 17) night with the spring weather, clear skies and a fast track.

In the first race on the card, with a field scratched down to nine, there were only two horses that charged to the lead and after the first quarter in :27.3, Make It Big (Tony Beltrami) set sail on the lead with his rough-gaited pacer. He slowed it down to a nice :57 half mile, but couldn’t sustain his momentum and faded out of contention in the stretch.

It was a first over move with the post time favorite, Chief of Staff (Joe Lee), who picked up a late catch drive for trainer and driver, Nicole Dicostanzo and his move paid off. He ended up winning by just over a length over Meet The Creeper (Bruno Chiodo) and Elrama N (Newton “Yogi” Sheridan) rounded out the trifecta. The mile went in 1:54.1. The 6-year-old gelding is owned by Nicole Dicostanzo and Alynino Stables out of NJ and is trained by Discostanzo herself.

In the fifth race on the card, a full field of ten went to post and there were a few that left hard for the lead. It wasn’t until almost the quarter pole that longshot A B Collins (Joe Lee) took the lead away from Feeling American (Lee Morris) through a :28 first quarter clocking. The two sat this way all the way until the top of the stretch and that’s when Morris popped the pocket and grinded by to the lead deep into the stretch for the victory.

Lee hung in a game second with the longshot and So Take That (Tony Beltrami) rounded out the trifecta. With the late money going on the winner, it was the first time in a long time that the GSY races had two favorites win on the card. The mile went in 1:55.4. The 8-year-old gelding is owned and Mindy Findling Repko out of FL and is also trained by Morris.

The GSY is scheduled to be back in action next Friday (March 24) at the Meadowlands. Post time is scheduled for 6:20 p.m.