Lucky Bettor (Brett Miller) vaulted from second-over Saturday night, winning Yonkers Raceway's $32,500 Open Handicap Pace
.
Leaving from post position No. 5, he watched the early three-way scrum between Southwind Tabor (Jim Pantaleano), Forensic Z Tam (Pat Lachance) and Dragon Island (George Brennan).
Dragon Island endured the worst of it, hung three-deep past a :26.4 opening quarter-mile before gaining the lead.
He found a :55.2 intermission before Ghees House (Brent Holland) moved at him. Dragon Island maintained the advantage at the 1:24.4 three-quarters, even holding a short lead into the lane. However, Lucky Bettor, towed into prominence by Ghees House, went up and over mid-stretch.
He had daylight at the 1:53.2 mile marker, then widened out by 4-1/2 lengths, traversing the mile-and-one-sixteenth in a zippy 2:00.1. Forensic Z Tam, hard-used early, was a very credible second, with Poker Hat, Dragon Island and Lahaye (Tyler Buter) completing the cashers.
For Lucky Bettor, a seven-year-old Bettors Delight gelding co-owned (as Burke Racing) by trainer Ron Burke, Weaver Bruscemi and JJK Stables, he returned $7.90 as the most tepid of favourites for his first win in four seasonal starts. The exacta paid $41.20, with the triple returning $367.
(Yonkers Raceway)