Streakers headline Meadowlands stakes finals

from the Meadowlands Publicity Department

East Rutherford, NJ — Five stakes titles and several winning streaks are on the line this week at the Meadowlands.

Panaramic Art bids for his 18th straight victory on Saturday night (Jan. 26) in the $83,700 Clyde Hirt, one of five winter series finals featured this week.

The Iowa-bred gelding’s streak began July 15, 2007 and has taken him from the small fair tracks of the midwest to the bright lights of the Meadowlands. Panaramic Art drew post three in the Clyde Hirt, which is carded as race five. George Brennan has the driving assignment.

The son of Hot Pans was a $60,000 private purchase on Oct. 5, 2007 by the Squawk Box Stable of Monroe Township, N.J. and Deborah Adwokat (Keep The Dream Going Inc.) of Scarsdale, N.Y. Trained by Al Meyer, Panaramic Art has won 29 of 35 career starts and $141,993.

Later in the evening, 10 of the sport’s top free for all pacers will contest the $126,500 Presidential. Special Report bids for a series sweep from post four for the training and driving team of Kim Asher and Larry Stalbaum. The 6-year-old pacer is three-for-three in 2008. Lifetime, he has won 44 of 79 starts and $630,457. A knee injury forced him to miss more than half of the 2007 season.

“We have had him over a year,'” Asher explained. “He had two chips taken out of his (front left) knee, that is why he was out. We are very pleased with the way he has been so far and he has come back sounder than he was last year.”

Special Report is the star of the Asher-Stalbaum Stable. The couple recently moved to the Meadowlands backstretch with a roster of 37 horses.

“We are focusing on the Meadowlands this year,” Asher added. “We moved here to New York from Michigan two years ago. We have four small children and we wanted to be in a location that allows us to race everywhere. We first moved to Monticello, but we are currently looking for a home in this area.”

The $75,000 Complex for conditioned pacers completes the trio of Saturday night stakes. Also a perfect three-for-three, Race Track Ruler aims for the series sweep from post two. He has already earned back the $62,500 trainer Mark Silva and Bell Valley Farms claimed him for on July 27, 2007.

Sauce Two K will try to keep his perfect record intact in the $68,100 Super Bowl, the second of two stakes on the Thursday (Jan. 24) card. Undefeated in seven career starts, Sauce Two K will try to add to that skein as the 6-5 morning line favorite from post three. The 4-year-old trotter was bred and developed by Connie and Homer Hochstetler. Richard Johnson took over the training duties when they sold the gelding at the end of 2007 to the New Jersey trio of Vito Cucci of Glen Ridge, Michael Deutsch of Hackensack and Anthony Paul Ambrosio of Verona.

Preliminary leg winners Marietta Hall and Play At Wynn head the field for the co-featured $50,750 White Ruffles for 4-year-old mares. Marietta Hall received the slight nod as the 5-2 morning line favorite after crushing the competition in the first round of the series. She was beaten by Play At Wynn last week after a long first-over bid. Steve Elliott trains the daughter of Cambest.

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