from harness publicists across North America

Saturday’s (Feb. 19) edition of Racing Roundup features results stories from Yonkers Raceway, Dover Downs, Buffalo Raceway and Cal Expo.

Lucky Bettor repeats in Open Handicap Pace at Yonkers

Yonkers, NY — Lucky Bettor (Brett Miller) picked off a tiring rival while holding off a closing one Saturday night, winning Yonkers Raceway’s $32,500 Open Handicap Pace for a second consecutive performance.

Mike Lizzi photo

Lucky Bettor was a 2:02 winner in the Open Handicap Pace at Yonkers.

Leaving from post position No. 6, he sat patiently in the rear of the room while Western Shore (Daniel Dube) did all the early entertaining. That one two-moved to the lead, widening his way through fractions of :27.2, :56.2 and 1:25.1. Dragon Island (George Brennan), as the 9-5 choice, could not sustain an uncovered bid.

Western Shore owned a 2-3/4 length lead into the lane, but his strides began to shorten. A second-up Lucky Bettor and a third-over Mainland Key N (Eric Goodell) climbed into contention after getting away next-to-last and last, respectively.

Western Shore was about to give up the fight nearing the 1:54.2 mile marker. Lucky Bettor, with the jump on Mainland Key N, beat that longshot rival — 46-1 despite winning his previous three starts — by a neck. Lucky Bettor traversed the 1-1/16th mile distance in 2:02. Western Shore, River Shark (Larry Stalbaum) and Forensic Z Tam (Patrick Lachance) completed the cashers.

Lucky Bettor, a 7-year-old Bettor’s Delight gelding co-owned (as Burke Racing) by (trainer) Ron Burke, Weaver Bruscemi and JJK Stables, returned $14 (fourth choice) for his second win in five seasonal starts. The exacta paid $321, with the triple returning $1,063.

— Frank Drucker

Dover Downs
Jessee’s Career, a 6-1 shot, posted his first 2011 win, besting eight rivals in the $14,500 trot on Saturday at Dover Downs. Allan Davis opened up two lengths turning for home and that was more than enough to score a 1:59.3 victory in the night’s featured race. Owned by Carol and husband/trainer Jim Atkinson, Jessee’s Career, a 4-year-old son of Jailhouse Jesse-Pine Career, earned a new mark. For the fifth consecutive start, CC’s Fred (Sean Bier) was a bridesmaid. Political Muscle finished third.

Buffalo Raceway
There’s nothing like a perfect garden spot trip to upset a 1-9 favorite on a cold chilly night. That’s exactly what happened as Hope To Reign A, a 9-year old Golden Reign gelding, out of the Limited Partner mare Hope Brady, won the $10,000 Open Pace in 1:59.2 for owner Frederick Rollain at Buffalo Raceway on Saturday. It was the first win this season in five attempts for Hope To Reign A, who won $37,582 last year. Hope To Reign A ($9.10), leaving from the pylons and driven by last year’s dash champion Jack Flanigen, received a perfect pocket trip as the overwhelming favorite Bruener (Ken Holliday) cut all the fractions in the race, :29.1, 1:00.1 and 1:31. It was an exciting stretch duel that saw Hope To Reign A prevail by a half length at the finish line. Spode To Be Black (Jim McNeight) came in third. Trained by Bobbi Martin, the $5,000 share of the purse put Hope To Reign A’s season’s bankroll at $11,439 and $208,026 lifetime.

Cal Expo
Conditioned pacers, racing for a purse of $4,500, were featured at Cal Expo on Saturday night in which Ivegotwhatuneed was the pocket-rocket. Leaving nicely to get the pocket into first half fractions of :28.4 and :58, Ivegotwhatuneed (Lemoyne Svendsen) had no trouble keeping up to the pacesetting Haggin Oaks when driver James Kennedy picked up the pace with his mare at the five-eighths station into a :28 third quarter. Sitting a stalking second and looking like a cinch while getting set to attack at the three-quarter pole, timed in 1:26, Svendsen didn’t lack confidence. With the field now in the stretch, Svendsen chose to draft a bit until moving to the outside with less than 3-16ths of a mile to go. Gaining while not urged at the seven-eighths pole while Haggin Oaks was all out, Svendsen gave his charge a wheel-disc urge with less than an eighth of a mile to go and the 8-year-old responded. Drawing clear in deep stretch under minor urging, the gelding won ($5.00) by 1-1/2 lengths. Owned by Marty Garey in partnership with trainer Bob Johnson, Ivegotwhatuneed, in recording his 28th career victory, stopped the timer in a seasonal best 1:53.4, while pacing a final quarter in :27.2. Cycle Power (Steve Wiseman) closed fast to the wire to finish in second and Haggin Oaks tried hard while just a neck farther back in third.