by harness racing publicists across North America
The Saturday (May 26) edition of Racing Roundup features results stories from Tioga Downs, Buffalo Raceway, Vernon Downs, Saratoga Casino Hotel and Running Aces.
Prairie Fortune win Open Trot at Tioga Downs
Nichols, NY —Prairie Fortune (Jim Meittinis) won the featured Open Trot ($12,000) on Saturday night (May 26).
Fred Brown photo
Prairie Fortune takes the featured event at Tioga Downs.
Buff (Mike Merton) put up all the early fractions (:28.1, :56.1, 1:24.1). Prairie Fortune ($3.30), who is owned by Laurie Poulin and trainer Mike Deters, went first-over just before three-quarters. He zoomed by and took over at the top of the stretch and held off a late rush by second place finisher Ticket To Seattle (John Cummings Jr.) to win in 1:56.1. Dragin The Wagon finished third.
Prairie Fortune is a 6-year-old horse by Arapa Victory. It was his fifth win this season and the42nd victory for his career.
Meittinis and Deters also teamed up to win with Prairie Diamonds ($11.80). She is a 4-year-old mare by Diamond Goal. She picked up career win number 11. Meittinis picked up his third win of the night with Noble Anthony ($7.00).
Congratulations to harness driver Bryan Anderson as he captured his first driving win with Pleaspleaspleas ($12.00). Anderson also trains the horse for owner Robert Zaykian. The 3-year-old filly by Muscle Mass won for the first time in 10 career starts.
Tioga Downs returns to live racing with a special Sunday night (May 27) performance. The 10-race card starts at 6:15 p.m. Tioga Downs will celebrate Memorial Day a day early. There will be a special hat giveaway with fireworks following live racing.
For more information go to www.tiogadowns.com.
Buffalo Raceway
BZ Glide may have disappointed his backers in his seasonal debut last week but they were all smiles with his performance this time around after rumbling to a solid 1-1/2 length victory over Fox Valley Veto in Buffalo Raceway’s co-featured $11,500 Open Trot on Saturday night (May 26). In the $11,500 Open Pace, Upfront Countryboy ($6.80) used a :27.4 third quarter split that demoralized the rest of the field and then strolled off to a dialed down 4-1/2 length win over Continual Hanover in a seasonal best 1:52.3 over the fast track. With absolutely no resistance in getting the lead off the starting gate, BZ Glide ($4.50) and driver Mike Caprio showed the way with fractions of :28.4, :58.4 and 1:28.3. With a final panel to trot, BZ Glide found a timid rally from runner up Fox Valley Veto (Billy Davis Jr.) but the result was never in doubt. Empire Earl N (Drew Monti) took the show spot. Owned by the Caprio Stable LLC and trained by Alana Caprio, it was the first victory in just two starts this season for the 9-year-old gelded BZ Glide (Yankee Glide-Zoomer Bloomer). The win pushed his seasonal earnings to $7,080 and $263,130 lifetime. Upfront Countryboy toyed with the field in the co-featured pacing event in scoring a blowout win. On the point through the opening frames of :28.2 and :57.1, Upfront Countryboy enjoyed the front end journey. Down the back stretch the final time, driver Shawn Gray let the front runner out a notch and was up by four lengths with a final panel to go. There was little doubt about the outcome in the stretch as Upfront Countryboy easily crossed the finish line ahead with the only battle remaining being for the minor awards. Those went to Continual Hanover (Davis Jr.) and Im So Handsome (Ray Fisher Jr.) who took second and third respectively. Conditioned by James Clouser Jr., and owned by William Emmons, Upfront Countryboy (Dragon Again-Cambloid) has seven wins in 13 tries in 2018. The victory upped the 9-year-old gelding’s bankroll to $30,065 and $392,075 lifetime.
Gray completed the night by putting six victories in the win column while Fisher Jr. had a triple and Monti a double. Clouser Jr. had four training wins while JD Perrin and Ryan Swift adding a pair. Racing will continue on Wednesday night at 5 p.m. when a nine-race program will be presented. For more information including the latest news, upcoming promotions, simulcast schedule, race replays, results and entries, go to www.buffaloraceway.com.
Vernon Downs
Defending three-time Vernon Downs driver’s champion John MacDonald, won five races on Saturday night (May 26). Redhot Romeo (Claude Huckabone III) captured the featured pace ($5,100). Redhot Romeo ($3.40) went to the front and never looked back. Owned and trained by Melissa Beckwith, he put up all the fractions (:26.4, :55.3, 1:24.0, 1:52.1). Danza (Raymond Vizzi) finished second and Stubble Trouble (Leon Bailey) took third. Redhot Romeo is a 4-year-old gelding by Shadow Play. He won for the fourth time this season and the fifth time for his career. The winning time of 1:52.1 is a lifetime best. MacDonald picked up his five wins with Southeaster ($2.20), Ben N Crosby ($2.30), Lucid Thoughts ($3.20), Weapon To Win ($4.40), and Fire On The Water ($29.00). Vernon Downs returns to live racing on Memorial Day (May 28) featuring the $500,000 Empire Breeders Classic (EBC) trotting finals at Vernon Downs. One field features sophomore fillies and the other one features sophomore colts. The supporting card includes consolations for both EBC finals and a $120,000 New York Sire Stakes races, divided into three divisions. It’s the first battle of the year for the state bred 3-year-old colt pacers. Post time for the 13-race card is 1:05 p.m. For more information go to https://www.vernondowns.com/racing/.
Saratoga Casino Hotel
Beat The Drum (Tell All) was tasked with overcoming the outside post in Saturday night’s feature at Saratoga Casino Hotel. The Don Billings trainee was claimed for $50,000 at Yonkers last month and has fared pretty well downstate since the claim before coming to town for the first time to compete in Saturday’s $14,500 Open Pace. Jimmy Devaux piloted Beat The Drum who was relegated to last in the early going. The 7-year-old sat back patiently as the fractions in the first half went in :27 and :56.1. Carolina Beach (Mark Beckwith) was on the engine while seeking his second Open win of the season but after checking in at three quarters in 1:24, faced a host of challengers. Beat The Drum charged up from the back of the pack and continued to progress before surging in the stretch to win in 1:52.2. Ideal Rocky (Billy Dobson) raced first-over and finished second while Carolina Beach held on for third. Beat The Drum returned $12.80 to win in the mild upset and led an exacta and triple that paid $68 and $451, respectively. The feature score was one of three wins on the card for Don Billings andJimmy Devaux who also teamed up with victories with claiming pacers Curator and Up Front Napoleon. Devaux piloted four winners on the Saturday card. Live racing continues on Sunday afternoon when the New York Sire Stakes kick off at the Spa with 3-year-old pacing fillies taking center stage. First post time for the matinee is set for 12:15 p.m.
Running Aces
The Saturday evening harness racing card at Running Aces featured the showdown in Columbus between reigning king of Minnesota trotting Banker Volo and the king of California trotting Pridecrest. The masses were split right down the middle in whom they thought would take the top prize in their first matchup in the $11,000 Open Handicap. Pridecrest took more action at the windows, going off as the ever-so-slight favorite at 4-5, over Banker Volo at 6-5. When the gate sprung open and pulled away, it was Banker Volo (Nick Roland) who was charging hardest of all, quickly securing the lead. All eyes were searching for Pridecrest at the start as well, and he was unhurried in the early stages, floating away in 5th through the early fractions of :28.2 and :58.2. Pridecrest launched a first-over attack just past the half-mile pole, sprinting up to second position but never quite drawing alongside Banker Volo, who began to accelerate around the final turn. Silverlode had enjoyed a sweet pocket trip behind Banker Volo, and came charging late to make for a thrilling finish. The crowd was aroar with support for Banker Volo and he fought gamely to the wire to secure the heartwarming victory, successfully defending his legacy as the top trotter in track history. The timer stopped at 1:55.1, with an impressive final panel of :27.4 for the winner, with Silverlode trotting home in 27.2 to come up just a head short on the line. Banker Volo ($4.40) is now a 9-year-old stallion by Yankee Glide, and he is owned by Jeralene Roland and trained by Jenni King, and has now won 33 races and $365,898 lifetime. The $10,200 3-year-old Minnesota-Sired “A” Pace went to Peekaboo Tattoo ($9.80), a filly by Up Front Brad who had raced only one time as a 2-year-old, before campaigning in California this year, and picking up four wins in 12 starts there. The filly was up against a very tough competitor in Giggle Monster, the odds-on favorite in the talented field. Giggle Monster (Dean Magee) made a quarter-pole move to take control of affairs after a slow opening panel of 30.0, and the sharp gelding by Wind Me Up led through middle panels of 1:00.2 and 1:28.4 but Peekabo Tattoo (Steve Wiseman) shook free from a three-hole journey to gun down Giggle Monster in the final strides, getting up to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:56.2 for a new lifetime mark. The winner is owned by Fabiola Quevedo and trained by Edwin Quevedo. Steve Wiseman led all drivers on Saturday with another Hat-Trick for his third consecutive night of 3 wins, while Nick Roland posted his second double in a row. Live racing is back at Aces on Sunday (May 27), with first post at 6 p.m. CDT. Carryover in the 20-cent Pick-5 wager is $577.67 and the 50-cent Hi-5 is $1,211.15.