A number of harness racing's top older pacers -- including three millionaires -- made major steps toward on-track returns and possible appearances in upcoming stakes events during qualifying races on Saturday (March 10).
While he competed in the 2016 George Morton Levy series at Yonkers, Sunfire Blue Chip sat out the 2017 edition. He did, however win over the Hudson River half-miler in a sharp 1:51.1 last July for his best seasonal time. After a solid 1:53.1 mile in his 2018 qualifying debut last Saturday, Sunfire Blue Chip sharpened for his eight-year-old debut with a hard-fought gate-to-wire 1:51.3 score for driver Josert Fonseca and trainer Jimmy Takter. Always At My Place (Matt Kakaley) was a head back in second with Mach It So (Jason Bartlett) a length-plus back in third.
Owned by Ontario's John And Jim Fielding and R A W Equine Inc. along with Brixton Medical Inc. and Christina Takter, Sunfire Blue Chip (American Ideal - Shot Togo Bluechip) boasts 25 lifetime wins and more than $1.3 million in purses.
Another millionaire possibly headed to Yonkers for the Levy is All Bets Off, who has competed in the series the past two seasons and finished second in the 2016 final to Bit Of A Legend N. With regular driver Kakaley at the controls, All Bets Off made his second qualifier of the season a winning one by besting stablemate Voracity (Keith Kamann) by two lengths in 1:52.4.
Trained and co-owned by Ron Burke (as Burke Racing Stable LLC) along with Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Frank Baldachino and The Panhellenic Stable Corp., seven-year-old stallion All Bets Off (Bettors Delight - Armbro Penelope) sports 27 lifetime victories along with his impressive $3.02-million bankroll.
To view the full results from the Meadowlands' qualifying session, click the following link: Saturday Results - Meadowlands Qualifiers.