from harness publicists across North America

Saturday’s (August 6) edition of Racing Roundup features results stories from Saratoga Casino and Raceway, Vernon Downs, Batavia Downs Casino and Tioga Downs.

Go Go Solano scores again in Gerrity Series at Saratoga

Saratoga, NY — The second leg of the Joe Gerrity Jr Memorial Pacing Series took place on a rainy Saturday night at Saratoga Casino and Raceway.

USTA/Mark Hall photo

Go Go Salano followed up his win last week with another victory in a leg of the Joe Gerrity Series on Saturday night.

There were two divisions of the series as horses battled for their share of the $25,000 per division purse and for points towards the estimated $125,000 final set to take place on Saturday, August 20.

Go Go Solano, a leg one star, was looking to follow up his near track record performance (1:51.4) of last week as he started from the rail on Saturday night.

Driver Vinny Ginsburg was at the lines for trainer Jordan Rubin and moved the 3-5 favorite out to the lead past the opening quarter. Fellow leg one winner Urgent Action (Mark Beckwith) was sitting the pocket before taking a shot at the favorite in the stretch, only to come up short by a head. Go Go Solano (Bettor’s Delight) stopped the timer in 1:52 over the sloppy track.

The other division was won by Benn’s Superman (Real Desire) in 1:53.4. The Rob Harmon trainee came from off the pace to record his third win in six local tries, earning the winner’s share of points towards the final later this month. Leading driver Billy Dobson was the controls for Benn’s Superman’s win.

— Mike Sardella

Vernon Downs
Odd-distance track record performances by Lightning Prince and Ivanhoe Diamant, plus an
Open pace victory by Forty Carrots were highlights of Saturday night’s 10-race card at Vernon Downs. Competing on a “good” track in the first half-mile dash (The Dashtonian) in the track’s 58-year history, Lightning Prince ($17.00) paced to the front at the start and never looked back en route to a :55.1 triumph in the fourth race. Frank Davis did the teaming for trainer Jennifer Sansone and owner James Topper as the 6-year-old son of Western Hanover-Cami Whitestocking earned his second win of the meet and 12th lifetime tally, while raising his lifetime earnings to more than $50,000. One race later, Ivanhoe Diamant ($3.30) trimmed one-fifth of a second off the previous Vernon standard for trotters tackling the mile-and-three-eighths distance (The Vernontonian) with a front-striding 2:44.2 score. Claude Huckabone, III drove for owner and trainer Tracy Brainard as the 7-year-old son of Prakas-Mon Amie Mic posted his second local tally, fourth season’s score and 18th lifetime win. The gritty gelding now sports career earnings of more than $175,000.

Running Aces
Veteran driver Dean Magee won five of the nine races at Running Aces on Saturday night, padding his already comfortable lead in the Minnesota oval’s driver dash standings. Through 27 programs, the 47-year-old Wisconsin native who has accumulated most of his 4,000-plus career victories on the Chicago circuit, has visited the winner’s circle 48 times locally, almost double the total of current runner-up Nick Roland (26 wins). Rounding out the top five spots are Rick Magee (23), John De Long (22) and Gerry Longo (17). Magee’s victories came behind Al Mar Peggy Sue, who won a $4,000 Minnesota-sired 2-year-old trot in 2:04.3; Fritter, who won a $4,000 division of the third leg of the “Royal Flush” trotting series in 2:02.2; Cliff’s Cam, an upset 1:59.1 winner in a $2,500 conditioned event; Vanishing Ryan, another Minnesota-sired horse who captured a $4,000 conditioned race in 1:57.4; and Lucky Peterson, a runaway seven-length 1:53.2 winner in the $3,200 conditioned nightcap.

Batavia Downs Casino
It was déjà vu all over again at Batavia Downs Casino as for the second week in a row a longshot won the featured $10,000 Preferred Pace. Last week Lake Shark scored at odds of 16-1 to win off a perfect two-hole trip. Saturday night (Aug 6) Spender Hanover at odds of 14-1 took the short way around en route to the upset score. Leaving from post two, with Dave McNeight III, (“Triple Sticks”) in the bike, Spender Hanover sat the pocket trip behind the front running Nifty Prescott (Ray Fisher Jr.) who set early fractions of :27.3, :57.2. Down the backstretch Nifty Prescott was facing a stern test from New York Prime and Chris Page, who were up to the challenge as seven of Western New York’s best pacer hit the three-quarter station in 1:25.4. Around the final the turn the battle on the top end intensified and McNeight III simply bided his time in the two-hole as the field turned for home. Down the lane, McNeight angled the 5-year-old Cam’s Card Shark gelding to the passing lane and drew off to a three-quarter length win in 1:54.3. New York Prime bested Nifty Prescott for second in a close place photo. Spender Hanover ($30.40) making his second start for trainer Don Rothfuss won for the 5th time this season and raised his 2011 earnings to $33,178. Howard Ouriel is the owner.

Tioga Downs
Rookie Mistake and Ed Hensley took home Saturday night’s featured event in the $18,000 Open Handicap Trot. Starting from post position number four, Hensley backed Rookie Mistake off the gate and ducked in fifth as Howd That Feel and Aruba Vacation battled through an opening panel of 27.3. As the field passed the half-mile mark of the race in 57.4, Hensley swung Rookie Mistake off the pylons to follow a first-over Twin B Navigator and Robert Bath towards three quarters in 1:27. Around the final turn Hensley asked Rookie Mistake for more trot three-wide and he responded, surging to the front and holding off a fast-closing Aruba Vacation from the pocket in 1:56.4. Jennifer Lappe trains and owns the 5-year-old son of CR Excalibur–Nowhere Fast, who posted his second win of the year with the victory. Aruba Vacation (Fern Paquet Jr.) was second, All About Justice (Phil Fluet) was third, and Jack’s Reef (Corey Braden) rounded out the superfecta.