Marcus Miller made the most of his trip to the Meadowlands Racetrack on Saturday night, scoring wins in five of the 14 races on the card. Two of his victories came in New Jersey Sire Stakes, which continued at the one mile oval in East Rutherford.
The 14-race betting card included two divisions each for the two year old colt and filly pacers.
The first Sire Stakes leg was held as a non-betting event for the two-year-old pacing colts and was won by Beat The Drum, a son of Tell All, showing good acceleration in the stretch and chasing down Doo Wop Hanover late, completing the mile in 1:54.1. The winner was sent out by typical-trotting connections of Bender Sweden Inc. and co-owner/trainer Staffan Lind while driven by Eric Carlson.
Next it was Western Vintage flashing promise as he used a powerful first over brush in tripping the teletimer in a sharp 1:52.4 with Marcus Johansson. Trained by Nancy Johansson for Perry Soderberg, Western Vintage has already proved to be a bargain yearling purchase, costing just $7,000 at the Harrisburg yearling sale.
On the filly side, the two Sire Stakes divisions saw wins by Rockingcam Park and Ideal Helen. The former, a $7,500 Harrisburg yearling, appears to be another bargain baby as she put forth a powerful first over effort, scoring in 1:52.4 for Miller. Rockingcam Park is trained by co-owner Ron Coyne Jr. and is owned in part by Alberta's Blair and Erna Corbelli and Ron Coyne Stables Inc. Also driven by Miller, Ideal Helen was the most impressive winner of the night, showing a powerful brush on the far turn and romping to an open-length score in a wrapped up 1:53.3. That filly, owned by Don R. Van Witzenburg and trained by Erv Miller, completed a strong night for stallion Western Ideal, who's offspring won a pair of Sire Stakes.
The Summer Survivor Series finals were also held on Saturday. The trot went to the Marcus Johansson-driven Raven Victory, who returned from a break in stride in the Pennsylvania Sires Stakes at Pocono Downs with a strong 1:56 mile tonight. Raven Victory is owned by M Biasuzzi Stable Inc. and trained by Linda Toscano. The Summer Survivor Series pace saw Ima Giggity Fool roll to a 1:50.1 performance for Vincent Ginsburg. That winner is trained by Taylor Gower for owner Brian Bennett.
It was another strong betting night at the Meadowlands. The 14-race Saturday program showed an increase of 43 per cent over the same Saturday in 2012.
Racing resumes on Friday night with New Jersey Sire Stakes and Reynolds Stakes action. The Saturday night program features eliminations for the Meadowlands Pace, William Haughton Memorial and Mistletoe Shalee, along with New Jersey Sire Stakes action and another leg of the TVG Free-For-All Trotting Championship. Post time for both programs is 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)