Driver Chris Long had a Saturday night to remember at Vernon Downs on Oct. 10 as he brought home six winners on the 15-race card.
Long won race four with Ariana Isonthehunt ($2.62), then took races six and seven with American Pastime ($3.20) and Monis Heaven Cent ($9), respectively. He finished the six pack with a natural hat trick, winning races 10 through 12 as he brought Usurp Hanover ($53.74), Rubyndiamond ($5.36) and Rose Run Ashlee ($5.56) to the winner’s circle. The reinsman has now won 190 races this season from 1,243 starts.
Ny Jim ($6.44), driven by John MacDonald, won the $9,286 featured conditioned pace. He led to the quarter in :26.2 but yielded to Aces Or Bettor (Long), who put up the middle-half splits of :54.4 and 1:23.4 with Airborne Spark (Leon Bailey) on the first-over march in the third panel. As they reached the stretch, Airborne Spark was on the outside and Aces Or Bettor was in between horses as Ny Jim slipped through near the cones and drove clear by two lengths to score in 1:52.3. Aces Or Bettor hung on for second over Airborne Spark.
Ny Jim, a five-year-old gelding by American Ideal-Aurora Borealus, is owned by Fortunate One LLC and trained by MacDonald. He is 10-for-31 on the year and 12-for-71 lifetime.
Vernon Downs will host its next card on Friday, Oct. 16 with a first post time of 5:05 p.m.
(With files from Vernon Downs; photo of Chris Long driving in a prior win)