On Friday, Nov. 24, Freehold Raceway hosted the "Turkey Trot” race, sponsored by Peter and Mary Grandich, to benefit The Blessing Bag Brigade of New Jersey, a humanitarianism organization that helps homeless people in need.
Austin Siegelman had the pleasure of winning this race quite easily from post one with 1-9 favourite B Nicking for Scott DiDomenico, a 4-1/2 length winner in 1:57.2.
Together, Siegelman, Tyler Miller and Vinny Ginsburg won all but one of the 11 races that took place at the New Jersey half-mile oval on Friday.
Vinny Ginsburg opened the card with a win after a gutsy trip with the John-Urbanski-trained Girl Almighty. After settling in fourth for the first three-quarters, Ginsburg steered his 2-1 mount three-wide around the leaders in the final turn and the bold move paid off as they paced to victory in 1:57.3.
Tyler Miller contributed the most wins with four victories. His first win took place in race two where he led the way around the track from post one with 4-5 shot Two Friskie To Pet for trainer Izzy Estrada, winning in 1:57.1.
Siegelman entered the mix in race three where he patiently sat the rail with 1-9 Bluebird Crush from post three for Jeff Smith. He let two challengers overtake him but ultimately got the best of them and went right around them in the stretch to earn his first win of the day in 1:59.4.
In race four, Miller sat the pocket with 1-9 fave Dont Trip from post four and pulled at the three-quarter pole and went on to win by 2-1/2 lengths in 1:57.3 for trainer Maria Reid. He returned in race five with Sheeznotkidncowboy, where he left from post seven and was able to capture the lead and maintain it until the finish. The filly picked up her first pari-mutuel win for trainer Alexz Goldin, with the mile timed in 2:00.4.
Race six resulted in another victory for Siegelman. He patiently sat the rail from post four with LA Magic for Edwin Quevedo and waited until the three-quarter pole to erupt three-wide around his challengers and take over the lead for the remainder of the race. He hit the wire in 1:58.2
Steve Smith was the only other driver to visit the winner’s circle for the day as he steered Smooth Debate N — a horse he co-owns — to a 1:56.1 victory in race seven for Karen Garland.
Race nine was an exciting battle between Siegelman and Miller, who were both looking to score for their fourth time of the day. Miller captured the early lead from the rail with Lazin On The Beach and fended off some pressure from outside to maintain his prime position. Siegelman settled in sixth with Eden Paige N for the first half. However, in the third turn he steered his mount three-wide around his competitors and easily claimed the first-over position and the head-to-head duel began with Miller for the final quarter. Miller was able to hold onto the lead and claimed the grand-slam honours with the Edwin Quevedo trainee, giving Quevedo a training double, winning in 1:58.
Vinny Ginsburg took care of the last two races. He piloted 8-5 choice Crazy About Pat from fourth on the rail to first-over to battle the 3-5 Siegelman-steered favourite after the half. The two dueled the rest of the way but Ginsburg and the Paul Fusco trainee ended up on top at the wire in 2:00 He rounded out the card with a 1:58.1 win aboard 3-1 shot Cutting Humor for trainer Kenny Anderson after a perfect pocket trip
Live racing returns Saturday, Nov. 25 at Freehold with 11 more races beginning at 12:30 p.m.
(Freehold)