Big Night For Gingras At The Big M

Published: April 21, 2019 12:39 am EDT

As the leading driver at the Meadowlands, Yannick Gingras has had his share of big nights at the mile oval, and Saturday, April 20 at the Big M was just another of many for the 39-year-old, who scored four times on the 13-race program, among them the featured conditioned pace.

Seeing Eye Single, a four-year-old gelded son of Dragon Again-Shabalabadingdong, overcame post 10 and lowered his previous lifetime best after stopping the clock in 1:49.3 in the event for non-winners of $17,500 in their last five starts.

Gingras had Seeing Eye Single on the go from the start, following Captain Deo—who led at the quarter in :27—before clearing the lead just after the first split.

A rated second fraction of :28.2 followed before pressure came from Stonedust, who was inching his way closer to the leader while first over at three-quarters. Seeing Eye Single shrugged off that challenger to get some separation at the head of the stretch while holding sway to the wire, finishing a length in front of the pocket-sitting Captain Deo. Rough Odds was third with Penzance Hanover fourth. K Ryan Bluechip, the 4-5 favourite, raced fourth over before closing well to be a non-threatening fifth.

Seeing Eye Single returned $6.00 as the second choice in the wagering, and in the process upped his resume to 11 wins from 28 lifetime starts, good for earnings of $359,926 for owners Burke Racing, J&T Silva-Purnel & Libby, Larry Karr and Weaver Bruscemi.

“He was strong and won fairly easily,” said Gingras of the Ron Burke trainee who sprinted his final quarter in :26. “He loves the big track.”

Gingras’ other wins came with McRaven (first race, $8.20, 1:52.3), All It Takes (third, $6.00, 1:52) and Always A Diamond (sixth, $8.20, 1:52.1).

BETTING TOPS $3 MILLION: For the seventh time in 2019, wagering at the Meadowlands exceeded $3 million as a total of $3,046,148 was pushed through the windows.

Race eight saw $341,302 in action, and the ever-popular 50-Cent Pick 4 served as the catalyst with a pool of $116,859.

A LITTLE MORE: It was huge day for Austin Siegelman. Monticello Raceway’s leading driver took his act on the road Saturday and piled up the victories. After winning five times during the day at Freehold, Siegelman then won three more under the lights at the Big M.

Players who don’t like chalk are loving life of late at the Meadowlands. Over the last four programs, favourites have gone nine-for-52, good (or bad, based on your preference) for a minuscule win percentage of 17.

Racing resumes Friday, April 26 at 7:15 p.m.

(with files from Meadowlands)

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