Soto blasted to the top and rolled down the road Saturday, December 23 at the Meadowlands, taking the featured $20,000 Preferred Handicap pace in a seasonal-best 1:50 over a sloppy track.
Soto sprinted to take control, hitting the quarter in :26.2 and the half in :54.1 under no pressure. The 7-5 favourite, Sweet Rock tipped first over at the half to pursue the leader, drawing alongside at three-quarters in 1:22.1, before giving way to the leader in the stretch. Soto strode clear through the stretch, hitting the wire three-and-a-quarter lengths in front of Sweet Rock. Always At My Place, who was three wide at the top of the stretch, rallied for third.
Soto, a five-year-old son of Rock N Roll Heaven trained by Eric Ell, paid $6.80 to win and now has 23 lifetime victories in 94 starts and earnings of $464,950 for owners W. Kenneth Wood, W.J. Dittmar Jr. and S.J. Iaquinta.
Driver Corey Callahan scored a natural hat trick in the third, fourth and fifth races, and went on to win three more on the card, including a sweep of the Late Daily Double, giving him a six on the card.
A LITTLE MORE: A simulcast bettor in Chicago hit big, as he or she held the only winning High-Five ticket with the combination of 6-8-3-1-9 and cashed for $28,332.92 in the ninth-race 20-Cent Jackpot Super High Five.
The Late 20-Cent Jackpot Super High Five failed to produce a single-ticket winner in the 14th race, upping the carryover to $53,076.05.
All-source wagering on the card totaled $2,771,242.
Racing resumes at the Big M Thursday at 6:35 p.m.
(With files from the Meadowlands Racetrack)