East Rutherford, NJ — With the temperature at 80 degrees for the first race, it was ideal for racing over a fast Meadowlands surface on Friday (May 12) night. Three MADC races were carded, and the action, like the weather, was hot and contentious.       

The first race found a few horses leaving hard for the lead, common in these MADC events. Philosophizer (Newton “Yogi” Sheridan) wanted the lead and got it through a swift :27 first quarter. 

Harry Hanover comes from off the pace to win the first MADC event for James Slendorn. Lisa Photo

He was overtaken by longshot Make It Big (Jim King Solomon), who went the half in an eye-popping :54.1. Both were overtaken before the top of the stretch and weren’t around at the finish. The outside tier started to move towards the leaders before the top of the stretch, and when the field hit the wire, two horses from way back were the top two at the finish. Harry Hanover (Jim “Ice Chipper” Slendorn) was a head victor over Camlachie Chrome (Cote Keim). 

Mv Ok Palacio Br (Dein “The Dream” Spriggs) ended up third. The mile went in 1:53. The 4-year-old gelding is co-owned by Slendorn and his trainer Kelvin Harrison, both out of NJ.    

In the seventh race, just two horses left for early supremacy, and it was Takeittotheface (“Pistol” Pete Kleinhans) got the lead through a :27.2 first quarter. He was followed closely by Jonah (Cote Keim), who sat the pocket, while Master Conrad (Bruno Chiodo) was a length off in third. 

Kleinhans went a leisurely :30.3 second quarter stanza (:58 half mile time) and was quickly challenged on the outside by Guys In The Band (Neil “Diamond” Glasser). Those two tangled in the stretch as Keim tipped off the rail to try and engage the top two combatants. When the photo came up, all three horses were within a head of each other, but the double digit odds longshot (Glasser) prevailed a head victor over Kleinhans while Keim rounded out the trifecta. The mile was paced in 1:54.2. The 6-year-old free-legged gelding pacer is owned and trained by Joseph Karrat out of PA.  

The ninth race and final MADC event had a full field of ten and as the starting gate pulled away, Ferdinand (James Slendorn) worked hard to get to the top spot in a fast :27. He was quarter-moved by the pocket sitter Little Honeybadger (Newton “Yogi” Sheridan) who went to the half in a demanding :54.3. As the field approached the three-quarter pole, Lyons Pride (Nicole “Dazzling” Dicostanzo) took command and opened up numerous lengths on the field. She kept after her pacer in the deep stretch and went the mile in 1:50.4. Her facial expression said it all as she passed the finish line.  

She destroyed the field by 12-3/4 lengths. Finishing second was the classy old veteran Texas Terror N (John “Hockey” Calabrese), and Slendorn held on for third. This was the first favorite in three MADC races on the night that ended up with the victory. The 4-year-old gelding is co-owned by Dicostanzo and Alynino Stables, LLC, both out of NJ, and is also trained by Dicostanzo herself.    

The MADC will return next Friday night with the first race scheduled to post at 6:20 p.m. There will also be an Announcers Workshop at the Big M on Saturday, June 24, hosted by track announcer Ken Warkentin. Check out the Meadowlands website for details.