from Harness Publicists across North America

Wednesday’s (August 12) edition of Racing Roundup features results stories from Ocean Downs, Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, Saratoga Raceway and Monticello Raceway.

Chesapeake Bay Racing Series in Ocean spotlight

Berlin, MD — Wednesday night at Ocean Downs featured the highly popular Chesapeake Bay Racing Series. The series had two divisions for fillies and mares and the same for geldings and horses.

The first division for trotting geldings and horses ended with a new track record. The 7-year-old Safari Heat set the track record for older geldings back in 2007 at 1:57.4. If any horse was going to break his record, it was going to be Safari Heat himself.

The gelding, trained and owned by Thomas Morris, Jr., started the race on the rail and never gave up the lead. Urgent pushes were made from eventual second place finisher, Concertino, but he was held off. Safari Heat ($2.20) finished the mile in 1:57.2, taking the winner’s share of the $26,600 purse.

“It’s as if he gets better with age,” said his driver, Roger Plante, Jr. “He’s a great horse and just like great championship sports teams, he always finds a way to win the big ones. I contribute that to the work of his diligent trainer.”

Dilly Dally Delia ($3.00) won the trotting event for fillies and mares worth $26,800. Despite starting in the five hole, the 5-year-old mare took the early lead and went wire-to-wire in 1:59.4. Victor Kirby drove her to a 9-1/2 length victory. John Wilkerson trains the mare.

The fillies and mares pacing race worth $27,400 was contested in the pouring rain. The morning line picked Mom’s Toy to win and Twin B Scamper to finish second. A better selection could not have been made because Mom’s Toy and Twin B Scamper were nose to nose their entire trip down the homestretch. The photo finish showed Mom’s Toy reaching the wire first by less than a nose.

Just as Mom’s Toy’s driver John Wagner began to celebrate his victory, the judges reversed the call and gave the win to Twin B Scamper ($10.80). Mom’s Toy was disqualified for cutting into the rail markers and gaining an unfair advantage.

Twin B Scamper was the horse of the meet at Ocean Downs in 2007. After the race his driver, Frank Milby, covered in wet clay and mud stated, “I’ll take a win in any shape or form. My horse is very classy and she’s still a winner.”

The final event of the Chesapeake Bay Racing Series involved pacing horses and geldings. The 8-year-old Sharky Osborne ($6.00) won the $26,800 race. The gelding is trained by Josh Green and has lifetime winnings of $635,841.

Driver Victor Kirby gained two wins in the Chesapeake Series as he drove Sharky Osborne to the wire in 1:53.1.

The final of the Hal Belote Memorial Series was also held Wednesday. The 4-year-old mare Juanita, winner of two previous legs of the series, surprised no one when she crossed the finish line first in the $10,800 race.

Hal Belote was an honorable horseman who died in an on track accident in 2006. Hal’s brother, Sam Belote, joined Juanita in the winner’s circle for the heart-warming blanket award ceremony. Jaunita was driven by Jim Morand and is trained by Les Givens.

— Ozi Menakaya

Nip N Attack wins Fillies and Mares feature at Pocono

Wilkes-Barre, PA — Nip N Attack scored her fifth Open Handicap Pace victory for Fillies and Mares Wednesday night at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. The purse was $28,750.

This time around she turned back Ireneonthemove (Greg Grismore), winning by a length with a new lifetime mark of 1:50.3 over a fast track prior to heavy rains falling at the five-eighths-mile oval later in the card.

Leaving from the five post in the six-horse field, Nip N Attack was quickly taken to the front and battled Ball Gown A (Andrew McCarthy) for the top spot with the latter up by a nose with the winner on the outside. The opening split was clicked off in :27.4 before Nip N Attack seized the lead for good followed by Ball Gown A and Ireneonthemove. The half was registered in :55.1 and the three-quarters in 1:22.4 before Nip N Attack charged home in :27.4 to win by a length over Ireneonthemove with Ball Gown A third in the race.

This was the 11th win in 25 starts this season for the Chris Oakes-trained Nip N Attack. She has also finished second five times with two third-place finishes. Nip N Attack, a 5-year-old On The Attack mare, pushed her career earnings to more than $300,000 with $200,000 earned in 2009.

— John Zimich

Maddy Seelster wins Saratoga feature

Saratoga Springs, NY — In Wednesday’s featured pace at Saratoga, Frank Coppola, Jr. guided Maddy Seelster to a win, her sixth of the year in 25 starts.

Dave Oxford photo

Maddy Seelster scored in 1:55.

In her effort, the 5-year-old also set a new seasonal mark of 1:55 over a fast track. The win was one of four on the night for Coppola, who owns the top spot as leading driver by approximately 50 wins midway through the 2009 season.

Live racing continues Thursday night with a post time of 7:20 p.m.

— Dave Oxford

Washington wins pair at Monticello

Monticello, NY — For years Cedric Washington has been a fixture at Monticello Raceway and over the years the affable 47-year-old African-American driver has reined 1,762 winners, a number that any driver would be proud to sport.

On the Monticello Raceway card of August 12, Washington added two more winners to his numbers when he guided Tangeray to a 2:02 victory in the ninth race and then came back to win the 11th with Got Game in 2:00.1.

For years now Washington has been involved with the connections of Tangeray, who is trained by Don Honour for the East Heartland Corporation of Millbrook, N.Y.

Cedric Washington

“I have been driving on and off for them for many years now,” Washington said. “Back nine or ten years ago it was with one of their horses, Niagara Blue Chip, that I rode my fastest mile when we won the final of the Mayflower Pacing Series at Pocono Downs in 1:54.2.”

And Washington was quick to point out that together he and Niagara Blue Chip had won all three preliminary legs prior to the final.

With his dad, General “Bubba” Washington, a career horseman, it was only natural that Cedric would become involved in harness racing.

“After I graduated high school I got more involved in racing and began working for Frank Yanoti and it was Yanoti, my dad, and Carmine Macedonio who helped me get my driving license in the early (19)80s,” Washington recalled.

Washington credits trainer Peter Stratton for giving him a chance to drive regularly back in the mid-1980s.

“Pete was real good to me and let me drive most of his stock back then when few knew who I was. It was a great opportunity for me,” he said.

Washington first cracked the 100-win plateau during the 1992 season when he reined 138 winners. He won 102 times in 1994 and then from 1998 through 2003 Washington crossed the century mark each year with 141 winners in 2000 his best output to date.

Though the names of the winners were hard to recall he is proud of his New York Sire Stakes trotting victory five or six years ago here at Monticello Raceway and of the many late closers that he has won over the years.

Washington also was instrumental with helping the Mighty M publicity department produce its first race for all-black drivers in the late 1990s, which was dubbed the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Pace.

“I worked with John Manzi who was a little leery in putting the race together because he didn’t want to offend anyone but he really wanted to showcase the talents of African-American drivers, many of whom never got a chance to race competitively. But the Dr. King Pace has been very successful and has become an annual event (at the Mighty M) on or around the birthday of the great civil rights leader,” Washington said and then added, “I’m proud to have won that race (Dr. King Pace) three times over the years.”

— John Manzi