by Don Bielak, Publicity Director, Freehold Raceway

FREEHOLD, NJ – – Wire To Wire enterprises Falconbridge N and Colleen Posner’s Supremely Hanover captured their respective $6,000 divisions of the second round of the State Time pacing series at Freehold Raceway on Wednesday.

In the first division, Falconbridge N led throughout with Cat Manzi in the sulky. The eight-year-old Falcon Seelster gelding set fractions of 29.2, 59.2, 1:28 en route to a one and three-quarter lengths tally in 1:57. The even-money favorite, Tropic Thunder (Jeff Gregory), rallied but could not catch the winner and finished second. Bullet Proof (Joe Schwind) got a rail trip and finished third, two and three-quarters lengths behind the winner.

The victory was the third in 10 outings this year for Falconbridge N. The Dale Allen trainee rewarded his supporters with a win mutuel of $7.80.

Division two saw Supremely Hanover score a come-from-behind win with David Miller at the reins. The eight-year-old Albatross gelding won by a margin of one and three-quarter lengths and paced his mile in 157.4. Skipper’s Trick N (Yannick Gingras) showed good speed throughout and finished second. A late-arriving CG Magic (Jay Randall) finished another head back in third.

Supremely Hanover notched his sixth victory in 12 starts this season. Sent postward as the 5-2 second choice in the wagering, the Posner-trained veteran returned a win mutuel of $7.60.

STARTING GATE MALFUNCTION CAUSES CANCELLATION

A starting gate malfunction caused the cancellation of the ninth race at Freehold Raceway on Wednesday.

The malfunction occurred when the wings of the starting gate failed to close and prevented several of the horses from getting a fair start.

The New Jersey Racing Commission judges declared the race a non-contest and all wagers on the ninth race were refunded.

Several multiple-race wagers were affected by the cancellation. Holders of Pik 3 and Pik 4 tickets received credit for a winner, regardless of which horse(s) those tickets contained in the ninth race. Holders of Pik 8 tickets also received credit for a winner for any horse(s) contained in the ninth race. However, by rule, the carryover was not paid out. The New Jersey Racing Commission rules governing the Pik 8 state that there must be eight races with eight winning horses for any carryover to be paid.

There will be a $4,597 Pik 8 carryover into Thursday at Freehold.