The $127,950 Rags To Riches final delivered big dividends to a field of claiming horses and a group of racing fans on Saturday night at the Meadowlands Racetrack
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Rockin Glass, a 12-1 shot, led the field at every call en route to a half-length victory over Alastair Hanover in the Rags To Riches. David Miller guided Rockin Glass ($26) to the 1:50.2 clocking. The four-year-old Rocknroll Hanover gelding posted his fifth win in eight starts this season for trainer Nat Varty and owner Brad Gray of Dundas, Ont.
"It was a very competitive race,” noted David Miller. “I was lucky to draw the rail and my horse carried me the whole way.”
“The four-week series began with 81 lower-level claiming pacers who were narrowed down to a final field of 10. The accompanying Rags To Riches promotion gave fans the chance to follow a randomly assigned a horse over the course of the series for a chance to share five per cent of his earnings in the final. A total of $6,432 will be divided among 11 fans that held tickets for the top five finishers in the race (Rockin Glass, Alastair Hanover, Colonel Moffitt, In Kennys Honor and Oscar Oscar).
Eric Knigge of Wood-Ridge, New Jersey and David Vozzo of Palisades Park will split the $3,200 grand prize as mock owners of Rockin Glass.
Fools Gold held Risk Management off by a neck to win the $22,500 second leg of the Four Leaf Clover Series for conditioned pacers, giving trainer Daryl Bier a stakes double for the weekend. Bier won the second round of the Overbid Series with Higher And Higher on Friday night. Fools Gold, driven by Tim Tetrick, entered the win column for the first time this season with a 1:50.2 mile. Bier co-owns the five-year-old son of I Am A Fool with Glenn Del Russo and Charles Dombeck.
Golden Receiver wired the field in the $30,000 Invitational Pace with a 1:49.1 clocking. Brian Sears steered the seven-year-old Village Jove gelding to his fifth win in six starts this season. Mark Harder trains the Presidential Series champion for Stable 45, Richard Taylor, Stephen Springer and Nina Simmonds.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Meadowlands Racetrack.
(Meadowlands Racetrack)