by Dave Little, for The Meadowlands

East Rutherford, NJ — It’s hard to say who had the better night at the Meadowlands Saturday (June 9).

Was it driver Jim Marohn Jr., who drove six winners on the program? Or was it All Bets Off, whom Marohn guided to a North American season’s record of 1:48 in taking the featured Preferred Handicap for pacers?

Tough call.

Lisa photo

All Bets Off anddriver Jim Marohn Jr. take the featured $20,000 Preferred Handicap for pacersat the Meadowlands Saturday night, and in the process, record the fastest mileof the year in the sport of 1:48.

All Bets Off, who upped his lifetime earnings to $2.97 million, scorched the Big M’s mile oval after leaving alertly, then yielding to a headstrong Mel Mara, who hit the quarter in :26.1.
Sicily, who earlier this year won at Dover Downs in what was then a season’s-best 1:49.2, made a bold move to the top at the three-eighths before reaching the half in :53.1.

Enter All Bets Off, who vacated the three hole at the five-eighths and made a ferocious move to pass Sicily and secure the top just after three-quarters. The 7-year-old son of Bettor’s Delight then sprinted home in :26.3 to stop the clock one-fifth of a second faster than Highalator (last week at the Big M) and Easy Lover Hanover (May 5 at Woodbine Mohawk Park) did earlier in the year. Western Fame was 2-3/4 lengths back in second with Emeritus Maximus grabbing the show dough.

All Bets Off returned $3.40 to win for trainer Ron Burke and owners Burke Racing, Weaver Bruscemi, F. Baldachino and Panhellenic Stable.

Marohn’s six-pack came with Rockinwiththebest ($6.80 to win, 1:51.3 for the mile) in the second race, The Fire Within ($3.00, 1:51.4) in the third, Feel The Need A ($5.40, 1:50.3) in the fourth, Wheels On Fire ($2.40, 1:51) in the sixth, All Bets Off in the seventh and Southern Pursuit N ($3.80, 1:51.1) in the 10th.

A LITTLE MORE: Wagering was down once again, the result of a light entry box. On the comparable card last year, a total of 92 betting interests competed on an 11-race card (8.4 per race) that saw a total wager of $2,349,707. On Saturday, it was again an 11-race program, but only 80 horses raced (7.3 per race, a decrease of 13 percent) with betting that totaled $2,102,020 (down 10.5 percent). … Brandon Mongiello, Burke and Scott DiDomenico all had training doubles. All were driven by Marohn. … Victor Kirby drove a pair to victory lane. … The Late 20-Cent Jackpot Super High-Five failed to result in a single-ticket winner, bloating the carryover to $252,765. … Racing resumes at the Big M Friday at 7:15 p.m.