by Matt Zuccarello, GSY Series Reporter

East Rutherford, NJ — Under clear skies and unseasonably warm mid-50 degree late February temperatures, 10 trotters went to the track in the second leg of the GSY Amateur Trot Series in the second race on the card Thursday night (Feb. 23) at The Meadowlands.

Just like the previous week, but at even bigger prohibitive odds, Joe Lee prevailed victorious aboard Karets for the second week in a row.

Sent off as the overwhelming 1-9 betting favorite, Lee sat chilly for the first half-mile of the race, in the fourth position. He let the early leavers do all of the heavy lifting through a demanding :56.1 half before pulling first over after being flushed out by the eventual second place finisher, Grey Ice, with Matt Zuccarello holding the lines.

He ended up grinding first over until he overtook the tiring leader, Justin On Broadway, with Anthony Ciuffetelli in the sulky, at the three-quarter pole and ended up winning in convincing style by seven open lengths. He hit the finish line for an impressive 1:55.4 mile. Zuccarello finished second, 1-1/2 lengths better than Tony Beltrami aboard Scirocco Jackob, who got the show dough.

The 6-year-old horse is by American Mike, owned by James Cosenza and trained by Carl Tirella.

Come down Friday night to the Big M as the second leg of the GSY Amateur Pacing Series continues under the lights in the fifth race. First post is 7:15 p.m.