Twin B Joe Fresh, the 2024 Dan Patch Horse of the Year, will return to the races Sunday (May 25) for her 2025 debut when she meets seven rivals in the $100,000 Grade 3 Betsy Ross Invitational for older female pacers at Harrah’s Philadelphia.
Tag: Ken Weingartner
R Melina to make season’s debut in Miss Versatility
R Melina is the type of horse that is difficult to evaluate from appearance alone. But after leading all 3-year-old female trotters in earnings last season, and ranking as the division’s co-fastest performer, it is clear there is more to her than meets the eye.
No lie, Sir Pinocchio is a dream come true
Sir Pinocchio authored a fairy-tale season for Carolyn and Irv Atherton in 2024. Their homebred male trotter won 10 times in stakes action — including the MGM Yonkers Trot, Matron Stakes, Dexter Cup and New York Sire Stakes championship — on his way to $640,902 in earnings. Now a 4-year-old, Sir Pinocchio will make his 2025 stakes debut Saturday when he faces 10 older rivals in the Grade 3 $158,000 Arthur J. Cutler Memorial at The Meadowlands.
Woody’s Girl looks to follow in sister’s hoofprints
After being limited to one start as a 2-year-old, Woody’s Girl has proved to be a quick learner when it comes to winning this season at 3. A full sister to three-time Maryland Sire Stakes champion Fancy Like That, the daughter of Rusty’s For Real-Scootin Woody triumphed in both her MSS preliminary rounds the past two weeks at Rosecroft Raceway and heads to Wednesday’s $95,000 final for 3-year-old female pacers as the 2-1 morning-line favorite.
McCarthy enjoys good times with Better Is Nice
Andy McCarthy and Better Is Nice have been partners from the beginning, and now in their third season together, they continue to be a winning tandem. A 4-year-old male pacer, Better Is Nice has earned $1.07 million in his 31-race career, which has seen him compete exclusively in stakes action. On Sunday, he will attempt to add another crown to his collection when he faces seven rivals in the $100,000 KYSS Series I final for 4-year-old male pacers at Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel.
Borgata final ‘a lot of unknowns’
Seven of the eight horses in Friday’s (May 9) Grade 1 $516,000 MGM Borgata Pacing Series final at MGM Yonkers Raceway posted at least two wins during the event’s five preliminary rounds, with three of those older male pacers notching three victories apiece. So, it was perhaps no surprise to see five horses clustered between 5-2 and 5-1 on the morning line when the draw came out earlier this week. Mossdale Ben N, who had three wins and two seconds in the prelims, got the nod as the 5-2 pre-race choice and will leave from post five for driver Jordan Stratton and trainer Peter Tritton.
‘Curdy’ aims to make some cheddar in Matchmaker final
Talk Curdy To Me needed a win in the last preliminary round of the Blue Chip Matchmaker Series to qualify for the final, and the 5-year-old mare delivered. Now, she will attempt to cash in on that performance in Friday’s (May 9) Grade 1 final, which goes for a purse of $490,000 at MGM Yonkers Raceway.
McCarthy seeks to roll with Hard Seven in Dexter
The road to the 100th edition of America’s Trotting Classic, the Grade 1 Hambletonian Stakes, begins Saturday (May 3) with the Grade 3 Dexter Cup for 3-year-old male trotters at The Meadowlands. The Dexter Cup is the season’s first Grand Circuit event for sophomore colt and gelding trotters and features four Hambletonian eligibles in the field. Leading that group is 8-5 morning-line favorite Hard Seven, who brings a four-race win streak to the Dexter Cup.
Roegner aims for Paver final with Bryant Bros S
Over the years, Jessica Roegner has not raced often at Miami Valley Raceway because of its distance from her base in northern Ohio. This season, though, the trainer has made the lengthy journey a little more frequently — and made the most of it.
NJSS champ McCusker set for return in Home Grown
McCusker’s emergence as a stakes winner last season proved to be something of a revelation and trainer George Ducharme is hoping for more good things from the pacer as he begins his 3-year-old campaign this weekend at The Meadowlands.