Andy Miller kept on rolling, Bill Mann fans cashed some big tickets and Dexter Dunn continued to prove he can drive on the big stage Thursday night at the Meadowlands.
Miller, fresh off being named the track’s Driver of the Week after having won five races over the course of last week’s (Dec. 13-14) pair of racing programs, swept the Early Daily Double.
Sergeant Seelster was a catch drive for Andy as David Miller did not drive on the card, and Andy moved the Mark Silva trainee to the top at the half and reported home a winner in 1:56 at odds of 5-1. Andy then scored on the front end with even-money favourite Ideal Romance -- who won for the fifth time in six starts -- to complete the double, which returned $26.20.
But it was Bill Mann who gave his fans’ Christmas bankrolls a big boost.
Mann scored in the fourth race with the longest-priced winner of the night – 13-1 chance Fox Valley Bailey – and returned $29.60, taking the middle leg of the 50-Cent Pick-5, which came back $466.95.
‘Bill the Mann’ was back at it again in the ninth, scoring with the evening’s second longest-priced winner, Our Els Dream N, who paid $18.00. For those savvy enough to make a $20 win bet on Mann’s only two drives of the night, they showed a profit of $436.
Not to be out-Dunn was New Zealand native Dexter, who entered the night tied for fourth in the Big M driver standings. Dunn scored in the sixth race with 5-1 shot Redonkulous before getting up on the wire in a thrilling stretch duel in the 10th and final, guiding 5-2 second choice Smooth Mocha past 8-5 favourite Spanish Art by an eyelash.
A LITTLE MORE: One sharp player was the only bettor to last six legs in the 20-Cent Survivor Pick-10 and walked away with $10,481.... Mann and Vincent Fusco Jr. each trained a pair of winners on the program...All-source wagering on the card totaled $1,152,114...Racing resumes Friday at 7:15 p.m. with an ultra-competitive 14-race program.
(Meadowlands)