from the Meadowlands Publicity Department

East Rutherford, NJ — The $116,600 Presidential Final on Saturday night (Jan. 27) headlines a week rich in stakes action at the Meadowlands.

The first major stakes race of the year for free for all pacers, the Presidential will be contested as race five on Saturday and shares the spotlight with the $85,000 Complex Final, race seven. Also highlighting the week are the $70,000 Super Bowl for trotters on Wednesday, $50,000 White Ruffles for pacing mares on Thursday, and $85,000 Clyde Hirt Final for 4-year-old pacers on Friday night.

Roddy’s Bags Again, trained by Tim Torbert, is among the eight contenders in search of a Presidential “inauguration” on Saturday night. In last week’s $50,000 second leg of the three-week series, Roddy’s Bags Again finished a strong second to Load The Dice after being asked to fire early in the mile. The 5-year-old pacer is winless in three starts this season with two runner-up finishes.

He is rated as the 5-1 third choice on the morning line from post five in Saturday’s final. Mike Lachance has the driving assignment.

“I thought he raced well,” Torbert said of last week’s race. “It set up well letting (Nuclear Breeze) lead. Load The Dice just raced big, and he couldn’t catch him.”

With 19 career wins and $589,138 in earnings, Roddy’s Bags Again is the star of Torbert’s stable. At three, he won the Matron at Dover and banked nearly $300,000 for the year. In 2006, he won eight races and finished second in the Aquarius and third in the Four Leaf Clover finals at the Meadowlands.

“He is a stronger horse (this year), and he is carrying his speed so far,” Torbert noted. “I’ve had him his whole life. He has a cool temperament. You could not ask for anything better from a horse. As a 2-year-old, he had a few mishaps, but mostly, his whole life he has done what he needed to and hasn’t had any major issues. We are planning on staying (at the Meadowlands with him) as long as we are making money.”

Tobert, 31, is stabled at Gateway Farm in Harrington, Delaware. He learned the ropes of horsemanship from his uncle, trainer Ernie Torbert.

“I worked with him since I was 12,” Tobert said. “I never had any desire to do anything else. I always enjoyed working with horses. Nothing else ever struck my fancy. (My uncle and I) still work together. About four years ago, we started switching things and I took on more of the training duties. We have 15 horses right now. I am breaking about four colts and have two 2-year-olds coming back. They are all pacers. We never went any other route (trotters) in the 18 years I have been racing.”

A son of Dragon Again, Roddy’s Bags Again is a homebred owned by Robert Messick of Milford, Delaware. His dam, Get The Bags, was the first horse Messick raced with the Torbert family.

“I was friends with (Robert’s) son, and it progressed from there,” Torbert said. “He is my primary owner. He is retired from General Foods and now he is farming. He grows corn and other vegetables to sell. He owns all 15 of my horses, but I am looking to expand.”

$116,600 Presidential Final – Saturday, January 27
PP, Horse, Driver, Trainer, Odds
1, All Over The Place, Ron Pierce, Mark Ford, 8-1
2, Escapable Beaux, David Miller, Anthony Montini, 15-1
3, Load The Dice, Yannick Gingras, John McDermott, 2-1
4, Hop Sing, George Brennan, Ettore Annunziata, 10-1
5, Roddy’s Bags Again, Mike Lachance, Timothy Torbert, 5-1
6, Nuclear Breeze, Brian Sears, Roger Hans, 7-5
7, Bay Sign, Jonathan Roberts, Kelvin Harrison, 15-1
8, Our First Falcon N, Ron Cushing, Ron Cushing, 15-1

All systems on ‘go’ with Nuclear Breeze

Nuclear Breeze, winner of nine of his last 10 starts, was installed the 7-5 morning line favorite in the $116,600 Presidential Final on Saturday night at the Meadowlands.

The Roger Hans trainee looks to rebound after having an eight-race winning streak snapped last week by Load The Dice. After an early fight for the lead down a blustery backstretch, Nuclear Breeze finished third in the second leg of the Presidential Series.

The pacer’s troubles began just prior to the start of the race when driver Brian Sears had to return him to the paddock for shoe repair on his front left foot.

“He is ‘good to go,’” reported the pacer’s owner, Thomas Cooke, on Wednesday via e-mail. “He checked out A-OK with our vet. The 10-minute delay for shoeing, combined with a move to the front in a 30-mile-per-hour headwind, was just too much. We will be ready for Saturday!”

Nuclear Breeze drew post six in the Presidential Final, which is carded as the fifth race.

Meadowlands to simulcast Prix d’Amerique

The Prix d’Amerique, one of Europe’s premier trotting events, will be available for viewing and wagering on Sunday morning at the Meadowlands.

Meadowlands gates will open at 9:15 a.m. The featured Prix d’Amerique (9:40 a.m.) is the first of five harness races to be simulcast from France’s Vincennes Racecourse. Win, place, show and exacta wagering will be offered on all five races.

Grand Circuit to make three stops at the Meadowlands

The Grand Circuit, the road show of stakes for 2- and 3-year-old pacers and trotters that travels the East Coast and Midwest each year, will make three of its 19 stops at the Meadowlands in 2007.

Since 1979, the Meadowlands has hosted the Historic Stakes, originally contested at Goshen, New York, and this year those stakes will take place on June 27 to 30. The Grand Circuit returns to East Rutherford, New Jersey, for the Meadowlands’ dates on July 25 through August 4. And this year the Meadowlands will host the Breeders Crowns for 2- and 3-year-olds as part of the final Grand Circuit Week of the year on November 16 to 24.

The Grand Circuit opens on May 4 to 12 at Freehold and also includes stops at Hoosier Park, the Historic Track in Goshen, Pocono Downs, Tioga Downs, The Meadows, the Illinois State Fair at Springfield, the Indiana State Fair at Indianapolis, the Breeders Crowns at Mohawk, Indiana Downs, the Illinois State Fair at DuQuoin, Mohawk, the Delaware, Ohio County Fair, The Red Mile, Maywood Park and Balmoral Park.