from harness publicists across North America

Friday’s (April 17) racing roundup includes stories from Buffalo Raceway, The Meadowlands (GSY Amateur Trotting series), Saratoga Casino and Raceway, Miami Valley Raceway and Vernon Downs.

Drew Monti posts five-bagger at Buffalo Raceway

Steve Roth photo

Drew Monti had a five-bagger Friday night.

Buffalo, NY — Driver Drew Monti tied a career-high in his young career for wins on a race program as he posted five to steal the spotlight at Buffalo Raceway on Friday night (April 17).

The 20-year-old Monti, who sits in third place in the Buffalo Raceway driver’s standings, now has 65 wins on the year.

Monti produced victories aboard Ooga Booga ($6.20), Initial Strike ($5.80), PC Troubadour ($4.90), Dalton Hanover ($5.10) and Ramblin Rick ($3.40).

Shawn Gray, who is in second place in the standings, had a driving double. Gray trails leader Kevin Cummings 113-67 in the rankings.

— Brian Mazurek

The Meadowlands (GSY Amateur Trotting series)
The fifth leg of the GSY Amateur Trotting series was once again held at the Meadowlands on Friday night (April 17) and the results had some familiar faces in the winner’s circle. The first of two amateur events on the card took place in the first race. The “Meadowlands shuffle” was the story of this race with three different leaders before the head of the stretch. That is when Steve Oldford, aboard Perfect Picture found himself ahead by en route to his first win in this series. His 9 year-old mare that he co-owns with Tyler Buter, trotted the mile in an impressive 1:55.2. Jacks To Open, with Hannah Miller aboard finished second from way back and David Offenberg with Maxine The Mighty wound up third. The second division of this series was the third race on the card. “Hot Hands” Hannah Miller found herself parked the entire mile and she held on for a game win by a neck aboard Casnova Lindy in 1:56.4. Global Power, with Mitchell “Kelly” Walker, was a hard charging second from way off the front runners, and Steve Oldford, driving Magglio ended up with the show dough. The series will continue its final qualification leg next Friday to see who moves onto the Ffinals two weeks later. The betting public has spoken once again this week with the two race wagering pools topping $307,000.

Saratoga Casino and Raceway
For the second time in six days, Happily Ever After (Well Said) won the Fillies and Mares Open at Saratoga Casino and Raceway on Friday (April 17) for her red hot connections. Getting a near carbon copy trip to the one she got last Sunday afternoon, Happily Ever After sat the pocket before closing up the passing lane to win a photo with Saratoga’s defending Filly and Mare Pacer of the Year Road Bet (Stephane Bouchard). Making her third start in the local Open since coming to town late last season, Happily Ever After moved her local record in the feature to three-for-three with a 1:54.2 victory, a fifth of a second faster than her win on Sunday. Road Bet had to settle for second while Her Own Land (Billy Dobson) finished third in the $18,000 feature. The win was one of six on the card for driver Frank Coppola Jr. who surged into the lead in the driver standings behind his biggest night in several years. Happily Ever After is trained by Jackie Rousse who scored four victories on the Friday night card, the most for any trainer in one night this season.

Miami Valley Raceway
The Miami Valley Raceway track record for older pacing mares was tied twice on Friday (April 17) and the two shared another common denominator, driver Dan Noble. The first to equal the best-ever 1:52.1 clocking was Native Dream, a 5-year-old daughter of Allamerican Native, in a $10,450 condition race. The Bill Dailey trainee, owned by Pacey Mindlin and Kenneth Cohen, bested Bettor Think Twice (Hugh Beatty Jr.) and Yankee’s Lady (Josh Sutton) for her fifteenth lifetime triumph. An outstanding 3-year-old, Native Dream had a bit of a down year in 2014, but looks to have regained her best form with two straight convincing wins at Miami Valley. Two races later, Kathy’s Kitchen (also driven by Noble), copped a $12,100 race mixing top condition mares and $15,000 claimers, also equaling the track record of 1:52.1 for older mares. The 5-year-old mare by Whosurboy has put together an impressive string of seven straight starts at Miami Valley with four wins, three place and one show finishes while working her way through the claiming ranks. Kathy’s Kitchen’s four victories came progressively carrying tags of $8000, $10,000 and $12,000 before the latest win with a $15,000 base tag. Thunder Flight (Ken Holliday) and A Sham Of Amber (Randy Tharps) got the place and show dough in her latest conquest. Owners Andrew and Christina Coblentz have banked $26,391 during the seven-race streak under the tutelage of trainer John G. Wengerd. Beat The Beat (Kyle Ater) scored an upset in the $17,050 Mares Open Pace, beating All Terror (Kayne Kauffman) and Ivory Collection (Jeremy Smith) in 1:53. In the ongoing Miami Valley version of musical chairs in the Friday night feature race, the 5-year-old daughter of Art Major became the 11th different mare to cop a distaff open in the first 15 weeks of the current meet. Dan Ater trains Beat The Beat for owners Kirk Nichols and William Green.

Vernon Downs
Howard Gill’s homebred War Hero ($11.40) took advantage of a pocket trip, pouncing late and drawing clear to a 1:55.2 victory in the featured $10,000 Open Trot on Friday (April 17) evening’s Vernon Downs program. The 7-year-old Ken Warkentin gelding secured the pocket behind pacesetter Grey Ice (Jimmy Whittemore) through a :28.2 opening quarter, drafting patiently through the race’s intermediate stages. As Grey Ice accelerated on the far turn, War Hero stayed right with him from the pocket, angling off the pegs when first-over challenger Jaipur (Fern Paquet, Jr.) flattened at the apex of the turn. The two pacesetters were on level terms past three-quarters in 1:26.4, but War Hero kicked clear in the final eighth of a mile, kept to task through a 4-1/2 length triumph. Grey Ice was all-out to narrowly hold second, while Ozymandias (Roman Lopez) rallied from the back of the pack to take third. The favored A Penny Earned (Chris Lems) flattened amid his late rally, only mustering fourth honors.