Top older mares of both gaits and two-year-old trotters of both sexes will vie for over $800,000 in purses on Vernon Downs’ closing-night card this Saturday (November 1).
Triple millionaire Anndrovette will headline the $178,000 Artiscape Mares Pace (Race 6). The seven-year-old veteran will square off against seven rivals in the first leg of the all-stakes Pick 4. Trainer PJ Fraley has listed Tim Tetrick to drive the 41-time winner, and she'll line up in Post 3, just outside of her entrymates, Krispy Apple (to be driven by Brett Miller) and Shelliscape (John Campbell). Double millionaire Rocklamation also figures to be among the standouts, having won the Lady Liberty and the Golden Girls at the Meadowlands Racetrack this summer. Yannick Gingras is listed to drive the six-year-old for trainer Ron Burke. In all, the Artiscape field boasts 200 career wins, along with combined earnings in excess of $11.9 million.
Race 7 and Race 8 will be the culmination of the Kindergarten Classic series. Nine two-year-old trotting colts and geldings will compete for a $240,500 purse in Race 7. Indiana standout Airman Batten (Marcus Miller, Post 1) has won 10 of 13 career races, and the Erv Miller-trained Swan for All colt figures to be prominent along with the Jimmy Takter-trained French Laundry (Yannick Gingras, Post 5). The son of Muscles Yankee has won five of his nine career races and took his 1:54.4 lifetime mark in his Kindergarten preliminary at the Red Mile on September 18.
Freshman fillies will battle in the $250,000 eighth race which will see five-time winner Bee The Queen (Brian Sears, Post 9) coming in off multiple Kindergarten preliminary victories. While she consistently shows speed, the George Ducharme-trained daughter of Donato Hanover will have a number of four-time winners lining up to her inside, including Allerage Star (Corey Callahan, Post 1), Josies Joy (Tim Tetrick, Post 5), Lady Clarabella (David Miller, Post 6), and Sweet Thing (Charlie Norris, Post 8).
Ten top distaff trotters will square off in the $178,000 Muscle Hill, which has been carded as Race 9 on the 11-dash program. Bee A Magician, fresh off her third-place finish to Natural Herbie and Commander Crowe in the Yonkers International Trot Preview, has drawn Post 9 in the full field. Regular driver Brian Sears is listed to drive the 30-time winner for trainer Richard ‘Nifty’ Norman. The other millionaire in the field is 27-time winner Maven (Post 7), who will be making her debut from the Ron Burke stable off a sharp 1:54 qualifier at Pocono Downs. Yannick Gingras has been nominated to retain his drive aboard the five-year-old Glidemaster mare.
The closing night card is scheduled for a 6 p.m. EDT start time, with a long-sleeve t-shirt giveaway to commence an hour earlier (while supplies last). A fireworks display over the central New York sky will take place following the evening's final race.
(Vernon Downs)