There were big miles recorded both on the pace and the trot during the Monday, May 6 program of racing at Northfield Park.
On the pacing side of things, Bully Pulpit posted the first sub-1:50 half-mile win time of 2019. When it came to the trotting side, there was an addition to the world record books.
In the $16,000 Open Trot (Race 2), the Ron Burke-trained and Chris Page-driven Outburst flew to the top from Post 5, cut all the fractions (:27.1, :55.4, 1:24) and went on to post a three and a half-length victory in 1:53 for owners Burke Racing Stable LLC (of Fredericktown, PA) and Weaver Bruscemi LLC (Canonsburg, PA).
The 1:53 clocking tied Bourbon Bay’s world record for a gelding on a half-mile track. The time is also now the standalone world record for an aged gelding on a half-mile track. This is not Outburst’s first foray into the world record book, though, as his 1:53.1 clocking at the Red Mile in 2013 still stands as the world’s fastest win by a two-year-old gelding on a mile track. To view the list of world records, click here.
Bully Pulpit captured Northfield’s $16,000 Open Pace (Race 13) in 1:49.4 – a victory which marked the first sub-1:50 race on a half-mile track this year. Brian Loney conditions the six-year-old Well Said gelding for Bradley Schwartz of Chicago, IL. Aaron Merriman was in the bike for the winning drive.
(With files from Northfield Park)