With the majority of the Meadowlands mainstays travelling to Canada for the weekend, Tim Tetrick took full advantage of his Friday night in East Rutherford, scoring four victories on the card. Two of those four wins came in Late Closer action.
Three series got underway tonight at the Meadowlands. The Summer Survivor Series for trotters saw Raven Victory score a decisive victory in 1:55 over the sloppy going. Trained by Linda Toscano, Raven Victory moved to the lead down the backstretch and never looked back, flashing a :27.4 final quarter. The win was his fourth in seven lifetime starts for the M Biasuzzi Stable of Pompano Beach, Florida.
The first leg of the Cathedra Dot Com for mares with six or more starts at Freehold or classified as a C-2 mare at the Meadowlands, also got underway. The first division went to Crown Lady, who was one of four horses sent off at 7-2 in a wide open betting affair. Crown Lady and Andy Miller tracked cover and needed every inch of the Big M stretch to wear down Persuasive Hanover, reaching the wire first in 1:55.2. The winner is trained by Ross Croghan and owned by Triple A Stable of Colts Neck, New Jersey. The second division saw Carolsideal go virtually wire-to=wire in 1:52.3 for driver/trainer Jeff Dauplaise and the Saddle Rock Stables of Monroe, New Jersey.
The Flower Child for trotters kicked off as well, with the same conditions as the Cathedra Dot Com. The first division was another wire-to-wire romp for Schalom G and Tetrick in 1:54.2. The Richard Johnson trainee is owned by Calvin Furino of Lyndhurst, New Jersey. The second division saw T P Lucy storm home to post an 11-1 upset in rein to Eric Abbatiello for trainer Harry Landy and owner Louis Portella of Jackson, New Jersey. She won by a neck in 1:55.2.
Despite horrendous conditions, the Meadowlands still posted a 23 per cent increase in handle for the Friday night program. Racing resumes on Saturday, with a much better forecast for first post time at 7:15 p.m.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Friday Results - Meadowlands Racetrack.
(With files from Meadowlands Racetrack)