The new year is rapidly approaching and it is almost time for year-end honours to be awarded at Freehold Raceway, but the race for the 2023 leading driver title will go right down to the wire.
Jimmy Marohn Jr. was in control of the lead for much of the year, but an injury from an accident at Yonkers Raceway in November halted his progress at 131 wins in 2023. Austin Siegelman has increased his win count to 125, just six behind Marohn, heading into the Friday, Dec. 29 program. With the final weekend of racing at the half-mile track upon him, Siegelman decided it was time to kick things into high gear and close the gap. He did so successfully, winning five races on Freehold’s 11-race Friday afternoon card. This puts his total wins up to 130, just one behind the leader.
Siegelman wasted no time getting to the winner’s circle as his first win of the day took place in race one when he steered even-money favourite J M Speak Easy to victory out of post four. After being parked for most of the first quarter, Siegelman cleared to the lead aboard his Scott DiDomenico-trained mount. It was smooth sailing the rest of the way as the Artspeak mare paced to a four-length victory in 1:59.2 over the 'good' track.
In race three, Siegelman crossed the wire first with The Boxer, but the trotter had broken stride shortly before the finish. This resulted in a placing to third by the judges.
Siegelman didn’t get discouraged and came back to win race four with 9-5 second choice Reachin For Heaven for owner/trainer Gricelda Orantes. He started from post four with the sophomore pacing filly and found a spot in third on the rail when the race got underway. In the third turn, he pulled Reachin For Heaven and went right around the early leaders and continued to float away from them. They crossed the finish line first by 3-3/4 lengths in 1:57.3.
In race six, Siegelman left from post five with Mahone Seelster and secured the early lead. The five-year-old trotter was a wire-to-wire winner at 1-5. He trotted the mile in 1:56.2 for trainer Chris Height.
Siegelman continued to work his magic in race eight aboard 3-2 favourite La Magic. They left from post five and cleared to the lead after the first eighth of a mile. The seven-year-old trotter continued to cruise in the lead, not facing any pressure until the final turn where a challenger rallied from first-over and then others found some late trot in the stretch. The Edwin Quevedo trainee was able to fend them off and win in 1:59.3. This put Quevedo’s win total at Freehold for the year up to 35, which is enough to earn him the title of leading trainer for 2023.
In the final race of the day, Siegelman piloted Brighten Your Life from post four for trainer Jenna Cornelison. Early on, the 10-year-old pacing mare settled for a spot fifth on the rail. After a few missteps at the quarter pole forced Siegelman to pull the mare to the outside, he decided to keep going first-over. This resulted in the pair getting parked out for the remainder of the mile. Despite the overland journey, Brighten Your Life still had enough gas in the tank to get the job done and give Siegelman his fifth win of the day. Not only did she survive a tough trip, but it was also an upset victory as she was sent off at odds of 11-1. The time of the mile was 2:03 flat.
“Every horse I drove was super and I couldn’t be happier with the day," commented Siegelman. "It’s nice to drive one winner, let alone five, so thanks to the trainers for having faith that I’m the guy to get the job done.”
Siegelman is slated to drive nine more times during the final card of the year at Freehold on Saturday, Dec. 30. One win will tie him with Marohn Jr. for the leading driver title and two or more will win him the honours. The action begins at 12:30 p.m.
(With files from Freehold Raceway)