Last Friday, Smalltownthrowdown won the Preferred Handicap trot at Freehold Raceway, trotting the mile in a sharp 1:55.1. He did one better this Friday (May 27), equaling the mark for aged gelding trotters by going in 1:54.4.
Smalltownthrowdown was assigned post six in a seven-horse field, and moved one spot inside with a scratch. Joe Bongiorno sent him hard to the early lead, and cleared to the inside and the front as soon as they passed the opening quarter mark. Through the first half, Bongiorno allowed his rivals to stay close, but asked Smalltownthrowdown for more as they neared three-quarters. The nine-year-old gelding obliged, and he was in front by 6-1/2 lengths as he passed by three-quarters in 1:25.3. His margin only grew from there, and he crossed the wire a whopping 12-1/4 lengths in front, with a final quarter in :29.1.
Smalltownthrowdown's mark of 1:54.4 equals Stormy Kromer's mark from August 2020, and is one-fifth of a second shy of the all-time Freehold trotting mark, set by Mystical Sunshine in August 2007. He's owned by Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi, and Frank Canzone, and trained by Ron Burke.
Smalltownthrowdown has now won 44 times from 150 starts, with earnings of more than $1.2 million. He paid $3.80 to win.
Arabellas Cadet, DC Anna, Meladys Monet, Sumatra, and Winneress completed the order of finish.
The Preferred win was one of three wins on the Friday card for Bongiorno. He also won Race 2 with Sioux Rainbow A, trained by Andrew Harris, and Race 6 with Like A Cowboy, trained by Mike Polhemus. Polhemus also won three races on the day, teaming up with Steve Smith in the fourth race with Skyway Jaguar, then prevailing in the ninth race with Always As Fast, driven by 'Irish' Joe Hanney.
Live harness racing at Freehold continues on Saturday (May 28), for a 12-race card starting at 12:30 PM. It's the final day of the winter/spring meet, and features carryovers in the early pick 4, worth $1,145.91, and the pick 5, worth $1,011.01. The pick 5 and the late pick 4 are both mandatory payouts.
(Freehold)