The North American Amateur Drivers Association (NAADA) summer trotting series kicked off on Wednesday (June 2) at Monticello Raceway. And when the judges deciphered the photo, Alan Schwartz and hard-charging Raceace got up in the final strides to collar Winneress and driver Tony Verruso and score a head win in a 2:00.1 clocking.
When the gate sprung, E R Shane and Chris Petrelli, from the pole position, took the lead and parked Winneress to a :28.4 first quarter before allowing Verruso to take command as the eventual winner, Raceace, was tucked in second on the inside.
Once on top Verruso and Winneress showed the way by the half in :59 despite being challenged from the get-go by Superiorcourt who was hung in the fresh air. Still showing the way as the field headed for the three-quarters, Schwartz was locked in and was desperately looking for racing room.
“With Superiorcourt hanging tough on the limb and blocking me from getting out I had little choice other than take back and clear an outside path and move off the pylons and then go three-deep around Lee's trotter,” Schwartz said.
And once Schwartz had clear sailing Raceace had a lot of ground to make up.
Still three lengths off the lead as the field headed for paydirt, Raceace dug in and he and Winneress came to the wire heads apart. When the photo finish camera snapped, it showed that Raceace won the contest by a short head. And despite being parked the entire mile, Superiorcourt finished third less than two lengths behind the winner.
Raceace, a five-year-old Yankee Glide gelding, is owned and trained by his driver. He paid $7.20 for win.
For Schwartz, it was his 624th driving victory.
(NAADA)