The Saturday night card at the Meadowlands Racetrack opened with the fastest class of the evening, a $30,000 A-1/Free For All Pace.
The pace was swift as John Campbell sent Abelard Hanover out intent on the lead and had everyone seated well before the :26.2 quarter. Allowed a :28.4 breather in the second stanza, 'Abelard' weathered a withering :27.2 third quarter bull rush from Fred And Ginger and had enough left to hold that rival at bay, prevailing by a half-length in 1:49.2. Fred And Ginger was game in defeat and Dinner Guest rallied up the cones after saving ground all the way for the show. Abelard Hanover is owned by the trainer Alvin Callahan in partnership with Suzanne Waskey and Pamela Price.
In other action, the $20,000 Gina Giant Final went to Bushwood Z Tam, who redeemed a disappointing defeat as the 4-5 favourite last week, this time scoring at 9-1 for Simon and Rene Allard. Bushwood Z Tam sat a pocket trip early in the mile, wheeled out late and held off a belated rally from Benns Superman to score in 1:53. Bushwood Z Tam is owned by Rene Allard, Jean Guy Bruneau and Gest Millenium 2000 Inc.
Simon Allard also steered Abrokenart Hanover to a front-stepping 1:52.2 score in the $32,800 Night Styles Final. The 10-1 shot held on by a head to win for the first time this year over Ladys Art while heavy favourite Day Blue Chip was denied a series sweep and finished three-quarters of a length behind in third. Abrokenart Hanover is trained by Mark Capone and owned by Thomas Finelli.
The Saturday night program wrapped up a successful winter meeting at the Meadowlands. The total handle for this Saturday program showed an increase of 27 per cent from the same Saturday in 2012. All 43 racing programs in 2013 showed significant handle increases when compared to their comparable dates in 2012.
The Meadowlands will take its traditional break next weekend and will not offer live racing on Friday, April 26 or Saturday, April 27. Racing returns on Friday, May 3. That night will kick off the Championship Meet as the Meadowlands will race every Friday and Saturday from May 3 through Hambletonian Day, Saturday, August 3. First race post time for the Championship Meet opening card will be 7:15 p.m.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Meadowlands Racetrack.
(With files from Meadowlands Racetrack)