MacDonald and Whittemore share driving title at Vernon Downs

Vernon, NY — John MacDonald tied Jimmy Whittemore for first in driving wins on closing night at Vernon Downs on Saturday (Nov. 3).

John MacDonald drove Machmemackie to a win in the Turn Back the Clock rewind pace race. Fotowon photo.

MacDonald drove Machmemackie to a win in the Turn Back the Clock rewind pace race. It was enough to tie him with Whittemore for first with 115 wins each. Truman Gale finished third with 58 victories while Claude Huckabone Jr. finished fourth with 56 tallies. Leon Bailey used 50 wins to finish fifth on the list.

A field of seven went one lap around the seven-eighths-mile track going clockwise. Machmemackie ($3.30) led the group to the first quarter in :27.4. Great Soul (Josh Kinney) went first over around the first turn. As they reached the backstretch, Feelin Lucky (Truman Gale) went three wide and took a short lead hitting the half in :57.3.

Machmemackie, who is owned by J P Stables and trained by MacDonald, reclaimed the lead before hitting three-quarters in 1:26. Second place finisher The Royal Garden N (Jimmy Whittemore) made a late charge but Machmemackie was too strong and won the seven-eighths-mile race in 1:40.2. Giacodelight (Kyle DiBenedetto) finished third.

Machmemackie is a 7-year-old gelding by Mach Three. It was his third win this year and his 20th lifetime victory.

Golden Gun (Josh Kinney) won the $7,500 featured pace. Golden Gun ($5.50) went to the front and never looked back, putting up all the numbers (:27, :56.1, 1:24.1, 1:53.2) to win his fourth straight feature at Vernon Downs. Heaven Rocks (Jimmy Whittemore) was second with Ponyta Boy (Leon Bailey) taking third money.

Golden Gun is an 8-year-old gelding by Headmaster. Owned by The Wiz Kids Stable and trained by Jeff Sorenson, he picked up his seventh win this season and career victory number 31.

Lucky Man (Jennifer Lappe) captured the 10-year-olds or older War Horse race for pacers. Fotowon photo.

Lucky Man (Jennifer Lappe) captured the 10-year-olds or older War Horse race for pacers. Cascata (Truman Gale) took the lead just before hitting the first quarter in :28 and kept the lead at the half-mile mark in :58.3. Lucky Man ($4.20), who is owned by Patrick Laiso and trainer Lappe, used a first over brush to take the lead before hitting three-quarters in 1:28. When they hit the stretch the only battle left was for second place as Lucky Man won easily in 1:58.3. Dark Prince (John MacDonald) was second best with Mayflowermoonshine (Claude Huckabone III) getting the third spot.

Lucky Man is a 13-year-old gelding by Camluck. It was his fifth win this season. He now has reached the winner’s circle 58 times in his career.

Upto A Dream (Josh Kinney) won the Turn Back the Clock rewind trot race. Upto A Dream ($8.60) charged to the front and put up all the fractions, hitting the first quarter in :28.3, the half in :58.2, three-quarters in 1:28.3 and finishing the seven-eighths-mile race in 1:43.4. Funny Photo (Joe Nassimos) finished second. Fox Valley Photog (Leon Bailey) was third.

Upto A Dream is a 6-year-old gelding by Impel Hanover. Owned by Todd Santoro and trained by Gary Gibson, he picked up his fourth win of the year. He now has 16 career victories.

John MacDonald captured the training title for the third straight year. He trained 65 winners. Jimmy Whittemore was second best with 37 wins. Homer Hochstetler (34), Truman Gale (30), and Robert Gale (27) rounded out the top five.

Kabu was the Horse of the Year. Owned by the J P Stables and trained by John MacDonald, he won eight of his 18 starts at Vernon Downs this season.

The staff at Vernon Downs thanks all the fans and horse people for a great 2018 season. For more information go to www.vernondowns.com.

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