Noel Daley led the way among trainers as Magical Acres hosted its first round of qualifiers for 2-year-olds on Wednesday (June 12), picking up four wins in the 10 events for the freshmen, including a 1:58 score with male pacer P A Piper.
Tag: Ken Weingartner
Burke wins seven of eight Gaitway 2-year-old races
Shes A Streaker was the swiftest of all in Monday’s opening round of qualifiers for 2-year-olds at Gaitway Farm, where the female pacer posted a 1:57.1 win for trainer Ron Burke and driver Jordan Stratton. Burke sent out 25 horses in the eight qualifiers for the rookies and came away with seven winners.
Page hopes for more ‘Missal’ magic
Chris Page fulfilled a childhood dream in 2022 when he won the Little Brown Jug with Bythemissal. On Saturday, Page will be reunited with the horse for the first time since that season and aim to capture another race he attended regularly as a youngster. Bythemissal and Page will look to win Saturday’s $200,000 Battle of Lake Erie, an invitational for older pacers, at MGM Northfield Park.
Taggart reflects on 6,000 win milestone
Jim Taggart Jr. remains driven. Taggart, who got started as a harness racing driver by competing in amateur races in the late 1980s, added to his list of career accomplishments last week when he notched win 6,000 at Tioga Downs.
‘Landen’ set to go in Graduate
Fox Valley Landen might have had difficulty traveling a straight path as a 2-year-old, but he got moving in the right direction last season at age 3, winning 11 of 14 races and being named Illinois’ best sophomore male pacer. That success has propelled the gelding on to the Grand Circuit this year, with the trail leading Fox Valley Landen and driver Kyle Husted to Ontario’s Woodbine Mohawk Park for Saturday’s opening round of the Graduate Series.
Buy A Round seeks NJSS title repeat
Buy A Round will be looking to make it a double this weekend at The Meadowlands. A New Jersey Sire Stakes champion last year at age 2, the Noel Daley-trained filly will go for her second title Friday when she faces nine rivals in this season’s $240,000 final for 3-year-old female trotters. All 10 finalists are eligible to the $500,000 Hambletonian Oaks on Aug. 3 at the Big M.
Bythemissal set for return in Auger
A year ago at this time, Bythemissal was sidelined by illness, leaving the future of his campaign in doubt. But after missing nearly two months — and racing only once upon his return before the calendar turned to August — the pacer put all uncertainty to rest. He won his division of the Sam McKee Memorial in a career-best 1:47.1 on Hambletonian Day at The Meadowlands, launching a season-ending march to Dan Patch Award honors.
Freehold to host Lederman Memorial Race on Saturday
Throughout his career as a track announcer, Larry Lederman was known for the wit and wordplay that punctuated his race calls. Amateur driver Anthony Verruso remembers those moments well, but that is not what stands out for him when he recalls winning races at Freehold Raceway with Lederman in the booth. Verruso will be among eight drivers participating in a Larry Lederman Memorial Race on Saturday at Freehold.
Brothers enjoying fairy-tale ‘Story’
Dave Clamme and his brother Paul hope this is just the beginning for Endofstory. The brothers, who reside in Indiana, are relative newcomers to racehorse ownership, having gotten involved in harness racing only two years ago, fulfilling a bucket-list item for Dave. On Saturday, Dave and Paul will watch Endofstory compete in the $240,000 New Jersey Sire Stakes championship for 3-year-old male pacers at The Meadowlands.
Patience has indeed been a virtue for driver Marvin Luna
Marvin Luna is enjoying a rapid rise as a driver thanks to taking it slowly. The 22-year-old Luna began driving in 2020, but never topped 48 starts in a season until breaking out with 594 last year. He won 83 times in 2023, a nearly 14-percent clip, and guided his horses to $1.11 million in purses. Now he is in position to shatter those numbers.