It was old hat for Dave Miller, as he found his way to the winners circle three times Friday night at the Meadowlands. But for Scott Zeron, it was a different story.
After being shut out in his first three nights driving at the Meadowlands, Zeron broke through in a big way as he scored a driving double. Zeron put a perfect drive on Janie Bay in the second race, parlaying a second over trip into a dominant victory. The mare also gave trainer Carmen Auciello his first-ever winner at The Meadowlands while pushing his seasonal earnings over $2 million.
"I guess a lot of people thought I would just pick up here where I left off in Canada," said Zeron in a post-race interview. "These guys are the best in the world and I am not going to get the best horses right away, but I am learning and I knew I had a big shot in this race, this is a nice mare."
Zeron came back in the featured $20,000 Trot in Race 7 as he steered the classy Appomattox to an off the pace win in a very competitive field. Zeron is starting to catch on at the Meadowlands, as he has 23 drives in the 26 races this weekend in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Zeron was joined by Trace Tetrick, who out-dueled older brother Tim in Race 1, to earn his first Meadowlands victory with Acadia AS. Tim Tetrick and Yannick Gingras added driving doubles as well.
All three featured guaranteed pools at the Meadowlands required a signature as the Pick Five and both Pick Four's paid large dividends. The Pick 5 returned $1,580.65 for the $.50 minimum, the Early Pick 4 yielded a $3,632.80 return for a $1 ticket, while the Late Pick 4 returned $2,638.40 for the $1 minimum play.
Compared to the last time this Friday was raced in 2010, total handle reflected a 32-percent increase, which remained in-line with the gains the Meadowlands has been realizing all season.
Racing returns to the Meadowlands Saturday night with a 13-race card getting underway at 7:15 p.m.
(Meadowlands)
To view results for Friday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Friday Results – Meadowlands Racetrack.