Joe Bongiorno and Dave Miller are no doubt sorry to see Sunday racing end at The Meadowlands.
The 29-year-old Bongiorno and 58-year-old Hall of Famer Miller both won three races a week ago on the first of two Sunday afternoon programs at The Meadowlands before coming back and doing it again on Jan. 29 on what’s supposed to be a day of rest, each sending three more to victory lane.
After scoring in the first race with JK Will Power ($4.80 to win), Bongiorno’s second winner of the day came with A New Leader ($3.40) in the featured fifth race, a conditioned event for trotters, prevailing by a nose in 1:55.3 at the conclusion of a stirring stretch battle with Headoverboots As.
“He took a nasty step down the backstretch,” said Bongiorno of A New Leader, a four-year-old Trixton gelding owned by Bet The House and trained by Bruce Saunders. “He wears bell boots and hit his knee but he trotted though it. Scottie [Zeron, driving Headoverboots As] rated a perfect mile and turned it into a sprint, but my horse got there. Barely.”
Bongiorno’s third victory came behind Marcus Seelster ($4) in race six.
Miller, aka “Purple Jesus,” aka “The Buckeye,” scored with Bet The Limit ($9.60) in the fourth race, Game Of Change ($5) in the seventh and longshot Caughtinalandslide ($30.80) in the eighth.
After driving five winners on Saturday night, Yonkers regular Jordan Stratton added one more on Sunday to finish the weekend with a half-dozen winner’s circle visits.
All-source handle totalled $1,556,743 on the 11-race program.
Effective immediately, racing at The Meadowlands will be conducted on the usual Friday-Saturday schedule for the next 27 consecutive weeks. Post time is 6:20 p.m., except for Hambletonian Day, Saturday, Aug. 5, when post time is noon. Live action resumes Friday at 6:20 p.m.
(With files from The Meadowlands)