A trio of Preferred events highlighted Friday evening’s card at The Raceway at Western Fair District which also paid tribute to the caretakers of the as part of Caretaker Appreciation Day.
Outlawgrabbingears was a wire-to-wire winner in the $10,000 Preferred 3 for horse and gelding pacers.
Trainer/driver Paul Davies took full advantage of the pole position starting spot with the gelding who rolled the group through fractions of :28.2, :59 and 1:27.2. A :28.4 closing quarter helped the pacer seal the deal by two lengths over Homey Joe in 1:56.1. Dreaming Out Loud rounded out the top three finishers.
Sent off as the 1-9 favourite, the five-year-old son of Smart Shark-Grand Slam Woman nabbed his seventh win of the year while pushing his lifetime win total to 29. Davies shares ownership on the career winner of $348,585 with his wife, Nicky.
Buttermilk Hanover had to work a little harder to stake claim to the weekly title in the $10,000 Preferred 3 for filly and mare pacers.
Marc St. Louis, Jr. came first-over with the Melissa Lamoureux trainee, and the veteran distaffer drew away from the competition in the late stages of the affair.
Buttermilk Hanover dropped into an early three-hole while Reys N A Rocket fired to the top and carved out first-half fractions of :27.2 and :56.4. Buttermilk Hanover wheeled first-over going to the mid-way point, and she gained the lead while racing parked out past the three-quarter pole in 1:25.2. She tacked on a final quarter of :30.2 to win by 3-1/4 lengths over race favourite Randomirogeo in 1:55.4. Reys N A Rocket faded to finish third.
Sent off at odds of 4-1, the eight-year-old daughter of Badlands Hanover-Bet Me Hanover improved her 2021 record to 5-3-2 from 20 starts for owners Jeff Boyd and 8113564 Canada Ltd. The 34-time winner has banked $392,130 to date.
Sizzlen Hot Herbie used the same approach to take home top prize in the $10,000 Preferred 3 for trotters.
Owner/trainer/driver Natasha Day attacked first-over with the gelding who dug down deep and prevailed by a narrow margin in the six-horse affair.
Katch Kanna brushed to the early lead and had the field chasing him through fractions of :28.4, 1:00 and 1:29.1. Sizzlen Hot Herbie got away fourth in the meantime, and wound up coming first-over on the leader on the way to the half. He was second and parked at the three-quarter pole, but then used a closing kick of :30 to win by a neck over Caviars Triumph in 1:59.2. Sicario took home the show dough.
Sent off as the 6-5 favourite, the seven-year-old son of Here Comes Herbie-Six Red bettered his seasonal record to 3-4-5 from 24 trips to the track. The 19-time winner bumped his overall cash stash to $166,904 with the win.
To view results for Friday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Friday Results – The Raceway at Western Fair District.