from harness publicists across North America

Friday’s (Feb. 24) edition of Racing Roundup features results stories from Yonkers Raceway, Meadowlands Racetrack, The Meadows, Buffalo Raceway and Cal Expo.

Pair of favorites win in twin features at Yonkers

Yonkers, NY — Keeper’s Destiny (Eric Goodell), snapped on the money in her local debut a week ago, had no such issues Friday night, winning Yonkers Raceway’s co-featured $33,000 Filly and Mare Open Pace.

Keeper’s Destiny scored in a time of 1:54 in the Filly and Mare Open Pace.

Leaving from post position No. 5, the 11-10 choice worked around pole-assigned Arctic Fire N (James Rattray) before a soggy :28.1 opening quarter-mile. She then found a :57.4 intermission before Cuz She Can (George Brennan) thought about moving from fourth. She quickly went back in, while Pancleefandarpels (Jim Pantaleano) then tried it from the three hole.

That one made only minimal gains going in and out of the 1:25.4 three-quarters, with Keeper’s Destiny owning a 1-3/4 length lead into the lane. She easily held Arctic Fire N at bay, winning by 2-3/4 lengths in 1:54. Pancleefandarpels held third, with Fox Valley Sage (Cat Manzi) and Cuz She Can completing the cashers.

Keeper’s Destiny, a 6-year-old daughter of Intrepid Seelster co-owned by (trainer) Casie Coleman and Merline Howse (also the co-breeders), returned $4.30 for her second win in five seasonal starts. The exacta paid $22.80, with the triple returning $65.

Friday night’s co-featured $33,000 Open Trot saw 13-10 favorite Ringside Lauryn (Brennan) hold off Pembroke Prayer (Mark MacDonald) in 1:58.

Tom Berg photos

Ringside Lauryn was a narrow winner in the Open Trot.

Those two were sitting second and third, respectively, behind Celebrity Bluechip (Bartlett). That one won the draw and won the early fractions, as in :28.3 and :59.1. However, she was done when Definitely Mamie (Jeff Gregory) visited right before the 1:27.4 three-quarters.

After Definitely Mamie had made the lead, both Ringside Lauryn and Pembroke Prayer extricated themselves from the pylons. Ringside Lauryn was able to get first “run,” going by a tiring Definitely Mamie before fending off Pembroke Prayer by three-quarters of a length. Tasty Max (Goodell), Farifant (Tyler Buyter) and H And M’s Hit (Jordan Stratton) rounded out the payees.

Ringside Lauryn, a 6-year-old daughter of Dream Vacation co-owned by (trainer) Lou Pena and Mark Karam, returned $4.60 for her fourth win in six ’12 tries. The exacta paid $25.20, the triple returned $158.50 and the superfecta paid $1,246.

— Frank Drucker

Meadowlands
Wm Wood and William Dittmar, Jr.’s Anders Bluestone ($8.00) was a 1:54.4 winner in the $30,000 Invitational Trot on Friday at Meadowlands Racetrack. Ron Pierce was in the bike for trainer Eric Ell as the 6-year-old son of Yankee Glide-Annette Hanover won by a neck over Hava Kadabra, with Equity third. The victory was the fourth of the year for Anders Bluestone in five starts, lifting his 2012 bankroll to $50,000.

The Meadows
Crossthreaded needed the first three-eighths to secure the lead, but once there, she was much the best, as she cruised to victory in a career-best 1:52.2 in Friday’s $22,500 Filly & Mare Preferred Handicap Pace at The Meadows. Brett Miller allowed Crossthreaded to idle on the outside from her assigned post eight as the field settled. Once Miller gunned her to the front, the 1-2 favorite drew off to down Spring Break by 3-1/2 lengths. Musette Mindale was third. Bruce Riegle trains Crossthreaded, a 4-year-old daughter of Towner’s Big Guy-TM’s Miss Hot Shot who now has banked $235,220, for Roy Kohl and Anna Coe. Miller drove six winners on the 15-race card, giving him 11 over the past two cards, while Dave Palone and Brian Zendt each fashioned a driving triple.

Buffalo Raceway
J Semper Fi, the longest shot on the board at 19-1, won the $8,500 featured trot in 2:06.2 for owner Fred Polk at Buffalo Raceway over a sloppy track. It was the first win this season for the 5-year-old Steven One gelding. J Semper Fi ($41.60), leaving from post one in the field of eight and driven by Jim McNeight, settled in second as eventual second place finisher Fifty Two Finn (Mike Baumeister) cut all the fractions, :31, 1:03 and 1:35.1. As the field hit the top of the stretch, J Semper Fi swung inside to the passing lane and won by 1-1/4 lengths at the finish line. Mainspring (Shawn Gray) came in third. Trained by Sue Stockwell, the $4,250 share of the purse put J Semper Fi’s season’s bankroll at $5,225 and $45,144 lifetime.

Cal Expo
A mixture of conditioned and claiming distaffers, racing for a purse of $3,600, were featured at Cal Expo on Friday night in which Frankly Scarlett (Steve Wiseman) won for the 28th time. Surging late into a headwind, Frankly Scarlett got up at the wire to win ($6.60) by a half-length, while pacing a :27.3 final quarter. Owned by Robert Bacon, the daughter of Little Steven-Romantic Music stopped the timer at 1:55.4. Sleigh Belle (Scott Cisco) had to settle for the place honors and Bewareofthisaffair (James Kennedy), who never had much room, finished 1-1/4 lengths farther back in third. Also on Friday night, driver Lemoyne Svendsen not only started off the 15-race program with a winner behind Dudis Angel, but the triumph was his 2,700th career victory.