Tony Verruso and Christopher Petrelli were victorious in their respective splits in the North American Amateur Drivers Association trotting series Wednesday (July 14) at Monticello Raceway.

Verruso scored with Winneress in 2:00.1 in the first $6,000 division, while Petrelli and Katkin And Coke scored in 2:00.2 in the second split.

In his division, owner-driver Verruso sent Winneress to the lead, and they had command as the quarter mile timer flashed :29.3.

“I had planned to follow Alan (Schwartz with Raceace), who had the pole, but when Raceace went off stride before the start, I found myself on the lead as we headed to the quarter,” Verruso related. “And that was a big break for us since Alan's horse was the one to beat.”

Once on the lead, Verruso cruised by the 1:00.3 half two lengths in front. Still handy on the lead, Winneress trotted by three-quarters in 1:30.3, but when they rounded the final turn and headed for pay dirt, Verruso braced for challenges. They came — but none could overtake the pacesetting Winneress, who zipped home a solid one-length winner.

Because of a racing infraction, second place was awarded to With Our Luck (Joe Lee). Cinnamon Stick (Bob Krivelin) was moved up to third.

Symon Spicer trains the winner, who paid $4.60 to win.

In the second split, Chris Petrelli also used the front end. Katkin And Coke showed the way by the quarter in :28.3 and the half in :58.2. With the fast early fractions, no one took aim at the leader. When they trotted by the third stanza, Petrelli's trotter was the one to catch — but no one could, and Katkin And Coke cruised home a 2:00.2 winner. Fashion Possessed rallied to be second for Tony Beltrami, while Joe Lee finished third with Coco Hall.

Owen Eiler Jr. trains Katkin And Coke, who paid $13.00 to win, for the Bada Bing Stables.

(NAADA)