Mares tangle in Overbid on Friday at Meadowlands

from the Meadowlands publicity department

East Rutherford, NJ — The $115,000 Overbid final and the season’s debut of Lucky Jim in the $32,000 Invitational Trot highlight the Friday night (March 19) card at Meadowlands Racetrack.

After a dominant victory in round two of the series, Ginger And Fred was installed as the 9-5 morning line choice in the Overbid final for free for all mares, race five on the card. Among the competitors she will take on are Cape & Cutter Series champion Chancey Lady and Ramona Disomma, who bested her by a neck in the first leg of the Overbid Series. With Tim Tetrick in the bike, the 4-year-old daughter of Real Artist took full advantage of the rail to go wire-to-wire in 1:53.3 last week.

“It’s a pretty competitive Overbid final and nobody really stands out in there,” said her trainer, Ron Burke. “Right now, it’s not as tough as this division is going to get, so horses are getting away with tripping out. We’ll start to see a couple of them separate themselves. By the end of the year, she’ll gradually pick up her game and be able to go with the best of them. Ginger And Fred hasn’t found all of her speed yet. The faster they go, the faster she’ll learn to go.”

Ginger And Fred finished first or second in 13 of 18 starts at three and was runner-up in the Valley Forge, Jugette, Breeders Crown and Matron finals. A $25,000 yearling, she surpassed $900,000 in career earnings in the second round of the Overbid for owners Howard Taylor, Robert Feldman, Edwin Gold and Jerry Silva.

“She was second in almost every major stake last year, and if she had won those, we’d be talking about one of the best fillies of her generation,” Burke added. “What I liked was she was better at the end of last year then the beginning. I think that’s due to her size and toughness.”

Lucky Jim, the 2009 Older Trotting Horse of the Year, makes his highly anticipated debut in the tenth race Invitational. Campaigned by driver and trainer Andy and Julie Miller, Lucky Jim won 17 of 18 races at four, including the Arthur J. Cutler Memorial, Titan Cup and Breeders Crown. The highlight of his campaign was a 1:50.1 world record in the Nat Ray on Hambletonian Day.

Lucky Jim tuned up for his 2010 debut with a pair of easy morning qualifier wins, 1:54.4 and 1:54.2, on March 4 and 11, respectively. He will start from post seven as the 6-5 favorite on Friday night. Lucky Jim’s first stakes engagements will be the Su Mac Lad Series (begins April 2) and Arthur J. Cutler Memorial (May 15). The Millers and owners David and John Prushnok and William Gregg are also entertaining thoughts of sending the trotter to Sweden for the famed Elitlopp in May.

Julie Miller will be the featured guest on Meadowlands Racetrack’s Friday night television broadcast. Fans can e-mail questions for her to answer on-air to racing@thebigm.com. The broadcast begins at 6:30 p.m. Can’t make it to the track? Watch the live video on MeadowlandsRacetrack.com.

Related Articles:

  • Lucky Jim headlines Meadowlands Invitational (Thursday, March 18, 2010)
    Lucky Jim, last season’s Dan Patch Award winner as harness racing’s best older male trotter, will make his official debut Friday night in the Invitational at Meadowlands Racetrack.

Back to Top

Share via