“That year, [Sweet] Lou’s crop, I love those horses. I don’t think people realized how good they were. I think last year they started to realize, with Pet Rock and A Rocknroll Dance and some of the others and the way they raced in the aged pacing division."
Bettors Edge is not the highest profile pacer in the Ron Burke Stable, but he is holding his own against the best in the sport. It’s something he has done pretty much throughout his million-dollar-earning career.
The five-year-old gelding heads into Saturday’s $463,300 William R. Haughton Memorial for older pacers at the Meadowlands off a second-place finish in the Ben Franklin Pace on June 28. He finished between stablemates Sweet Lou, who edged him by a neck, and Foiled Again.
Sweet Lou and Foiled Again also are entered in the Haughton, as well as Burke-trained Clear Vision. Sweet Lou, who has a five-race win streak, is the 8-5 morning line favorite. Bettors Edge is fourth choice at 6-1, behind Captaintreacherous (3-1) and State Treasurer (9-2).
Foiled Again, who with $6.31 million in career purses is the richest harness racing horse in North American history, starts from the outside in post No. 10 and is 12-1.
The Haughton and $776,000 Meadowlands Pace for three-year-old pacers will be shown live starting at 9:00 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. Saturday’s card also includes the $317,000 Stanley Dancer Memorial, $213,500 Delvin Miller Memorial, $212,150 Mistletoe Shalee, $178,450 Golden Girls, and a $40,000 leg of the Miss Versatility Series.
Bettors Edge, who joined the Burke Brigade in November 2013 after a successful stint with trainer Linda Toscano, has won six of 17 races this year, including three divisions of the spring Levy Series, and earned $288,250.
“We’re high on him,” said Mark Weaver, who owns Bettors Edge with Burke Racing, Mike Bruscemi, and M1 Stable. “In the Franklin, it looked like he was going to get by [Sweet] Lou and beat the best horses around. He’s solid. A lot of people that follow him really like him. His lines are better than they look. He’s been in against tough horses in tough spots.”
As a three-year-old, Bettors Edge won six of 25 races, including the Monument Circle, and had on-the-board finishes in the Breeders Crown, Tattersalls Pace, Little Brown Jug, Cane Pace, and Progress Pace on his way to $572,961 in season’s earnings.
“We always liked the horse,” Weaver said, “We’re trying to look at the immediate future as well as down the road. Foiled [Again] can’t last forever; [Sweet] Lou eventually will be in the breeding shed. We like to buy horses we think can help fill voids when they happen. We thought he could do that. So far it’s worked out. I wouldn’t be surprised if he does some bigger and better things.”
If nothing else, Bettors Edge has proved to be a durable money-earner. When he starts in the Haughton it will give him at least one race in 14 of the last 15 months.
“A lot of these horses, you map out every start,” Weaver said. “With him, we’ve been kind of winging it. He’s had 38 starts since he’s had a real break. Believe me, he’s not getting one soon as well as he’s racing. At some point he’ll get the break he deserves and maybe he’ll come back even better next year.”
Following is the Haughton field in post order with listed drivers, trainers, and morning line odds:
1. Thinking Out Loud, John Campbell, Bob McIntosh, 8-1
2. Captaintreacherous, Tim Tetrick, Tony Alagna, 3-1
3. Sweet Lou, Ron Pierce, Ron Burke, 8-5
4. State Treasurer, David Miller, Ian Moore, 9-2
5. Captive Audience, David Miller, Corey Johnson, 30-1
6. Bettors Edge, Yannick Gingras, Ron Burke, 6-1
7. Bolt The Duer, Mark MacDonald, Pete Foley, 12-1
8. Sunshine Beach, Brian Sears, Mark Steacy, 20-1
9. Clear Vision, Matt Kakaley, Ron Burke, 15-1
10. Foiled Again, Yannick Gingras, Ron Burke, 12-1
This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.