by John Berry, for Pompano Park

Pompano Beach, FL — Pompano Park offered a pair of $17,000 memorial trotting events on Wednesday night (March 14), honoring the memory of two longtime horsemen, Fred Cohen and Paul Bernardo.

Ironically, both events, carded at the added distance of 1-1/4 miles, went to residents of the Mike Deters Stable — Second Sister and Prairie Fortune — with both driven to victory by the “Cardiac Kid,” Jim Meittinis.

Skip Smith photo

Second Sister took top honors in Pompano Park’s Fred Cohen Memorial Trot for mares on Wednesday night.

Second Sister, a 6-year-old daughter of Deweycheatumnhowe, was given a picture perfect drive by Meittinis to score a win measuring 2-1/4 lengths over Vicki All, handled by J.D. Yoder, with Diamond Dagger, last turning for home, rallying for third under the direction of Andy Shetler. Celebrity Artemis finished fourth while Explosive Jet picked up the minor award in the classy septet.

At the outset, She’s All In burst off the wings from post six for the early lead with Second Sister, leaving from post five, also leaving with alacrity to settle in the garden spot. With tepid panels of :28.2, :58.4 and 1:28, Meittinis left his cozy pocket to take command on the backside the final time and after reaching the mile marker in 1:57.3, used a :29.4 final panel to score the handy win in 2:27.2.

About 25 minutes later, Prairie Fortune, the 6-year-old gelded son of Arapa Victory, went behind the Hummer Starting Gate with the “Cardiac Kid” in his bike and at the end of his 10 furlong event, found himself the victor by 1-3/4 lengths in 2:28.1 over the late charging Boli, handled by Wally Hennessey. The even-money favorite, Born To Thrive (Rick Plano), was a fast closing third but made a miscue deep in the lane and was placed last, leaving Foundonabeach third for John MacDonald and Lucid Thoughts and Zoraze picking up the minors in this octet.

In that one, it was Foundonabeach first away with Zoraze a cozy second, Uncle Hanover third and Boli fourth, finding a good spot after leaving from post six. Meanwhile, Prairie Fortune dawdled near the back of the pack with Meittinis now questioning his own strategy after tepid opening panels of :29.2 and 1:00.

“Yeah,” Meittinis said, “when I saw the half in a minute, I thought I was in trouble.”

But the tempo quickly quickened with a :27.4 third panel as Robbie Hoffman sent his Overnight Shipper on a speed binge to take command. By now, Prairie Fortune was in high gear from the back and on a double-bubble binge of his own, reaching fourth, less than three lengths off the lead. Straightening away for the drive home, Prairie Fortune sprinted on by, holding off Boli, who only found racing room when it was too late to do damage to the winner.

“He raced great,” Meittinis continued, saying, “He (Prairie Fortune) can sprint forever and I thought the added distance would help his cause. But, like I said, I was worried about that 1:00 half.

“As for Second Sister, well, there wasn’t much happening leaving the gate so I thought I’d try and get her in a good spot early. It was a dream trip for her.

“By the way, credit must be given to trainer Mike Deters because he always has them ready to compete at the highest level. And those caretakers he has are absolutely fantastic. Donna (Horly) takes care of Second Sister and Debbie (Gray-Gagnon) and Richard (Young) take care of Prairie Fortune and, believe me, you won’t find any better.”

Trainer Mike Deters was especially gratified with the wins saying, “I was choked up with tears in the winner’s circle with these two races. Fred (Cohen) and Paul (Bernardo) were both close friends of mine and this, indeed, is a night I will never forget. I miss them!”

Summarizing, Second Sister won for the second time this year in eight attempts with her 2-1-2 scorecard good for $21,000 for owner Jerald Hawks. She’s banked $384,299 lifetime. Off at 8-5, she paid $5.40 to win.

Prairie Fortune won for the 40th time in his career in 93 starts with his earnings now standing at $311,360 — $23,320 this semester on the strength of his 3-1-1 record in eight starts for Deters, who co-owns with Laurie Poulin. Off as fourth choice at 7-1, he rewarded his faithful with a $17.00 mutuel.

Racing continues on a four night per week schedule — Sunday through Wednesday — with the Sunday card featuring a carryover in the Super Hi-5 of $29,330.30. Post time is set for 7:20 p.m.