It was an absolute blowout win for Bettors Wish and driver Dexter Dunn in the $340,000 TVG Open, a fitting way to wrap up the career for the multi-talented pacer from the stable of trainer Chris Ryder.
Dunn pushed forward early with Bettors Wish, who took a brief tuck behind Southwind Ozzi through an opening quarter clocked in :27.1. Bettors Wish came right back around to reclaim command, however, and once he cleared he was there to stay.
He ripped through middle panels of :54.2 and 1:22 before sprinting home in :26.1 to win by a commanding margin over Backstreet Shadow in 1:48.1. This Is The Plan took home third prize in the rich affair.
“I barely asked him tonight, to be honest,” Dunn said. “It was all him. It’s been him his whole career. He’s a true racehorse.”
“It was a special feeling crossing the line with him tonight. He’s been an amazing horse to me.”
The four-year-old son of Bettors Delight-Lifetime Star, who is owned by Ryder, Bella Racing, Fair Island Farm Inc and Bettors Wish Partners, concludes his career with a 24-13-4 record from 44 trips to the track. The $170,000 payday bumped his overall cash stash to $2,788,040. He failed to finish among the top three only three times in his career. He received the Dan Patch Award for best three-year-old male pacer in 2019 and was second to Shartin N in voting for both U.S. Pacer of the Year and Horse of the Year.
“I’m very sad to retire the horse tonight, but it’s the right time, it’s the right thing to do for his stud career,” Ryder said. “I’m really, really going to miss him. He’s raced so good for us so many times, it’s like I’ve got to pinch myself when I look back on those races. There are so many good memories.
“I’d really like to thank my ownership group. They stood behind me 100 percent and let me race him wherever and whenever and that’s made it a whole lot easier. The whole trip has just been very exciting and something I’ll never forget.”
Bettors Wish bred 58 mares in New Jersey this year before beginning his four-year-old campaign. He will stand at Diamond Creek Farm of Pennsylvania in 2021.
The TVG Open Pace was one of a number of major races on a stakes-packed Saturday card at The Meadowlands. Check out the rest of the recaps in the TVG / Fall Final Four News Centre.
(with files from USTA)