by Matt Zuccarello, GSY Series Reporter

East Rutherford, NJ — The skies were clear and temperatures were in the high 30s for the third leg of the GSY Winter Amateur Trotting Series that took place on Thursday night at The Meadowlands.

The post time favorite, Sim Brown, driven by John Kokinos, took the lead from the start, leaving out of post six. He carved out sensible fractions and held the lead until mid-stretch. That is when the pocket sitter, Scirocco Jakob with Tony Beltrami, pounced on the leader en route to his 1-1/4 length victory.

Sent off as the third longest shot on the board in this field of eight, a $2 win bet brought back a $112.60 payday and made some of the betting public very happy. The $2 exacta combination of the 55-1 longshot over the post time favorite paid a generous $308.60 for a $2 investment and the triple paid a hefty $3,225.20 for anyone who played the 5-6-3 combination or straight bet for $2.

For Beltrami it was his second career victory as an amateur driver and his first trotting win. His previous victory came just two weeks ago in the amateur pacing race.

Feisty Love, driven by co-chair of the series, David Glasser, picked up the show dough at 90-1.

The 6-year-old gelding is by Explosive Matter, owned by Lewis Whittaker Jr. and Kathleen Whittaker and is trained by Gregory White.

Come down Friday night to the Big M as the GSY Amateur Pacing Series continues under the lights in the second race for their third leg. First post is 7:15 p.m.