Three-year-old pacing colt St Lads Criminal ($2.30) extended his Grand River Raceway win streak on Friday night (July 14), making it five in a row.
Charging four-wide into the first turn from post seven for driver Anthony Haughan, 1-9 favourite St Lads Criminal landed on top in the $7,200 fourth race and cruised through fractions of :28.2, :57.3 and 1:26.1 while repelling first-over challenger Marshall Zhukov (Brett MacDonald) to win by more than two lengths in 1:54 flat. Ossie The Second (J.B. Renaud) rounded out the top three finish order seven lengths behind.
Unraced as two-year-old, St Lads Criminal boasts a perfect five-for-five record while competing at Grand River after picking up a pair of cheques in his first two starts at Western Fair Raceway.
Friday's winning time was just one-fifth of a second off his lifetime mark, taken two starts ago.
The streaking Control The Moment colt, who lifted his bankroll to $17,462, is trained by Lori Lepage for owner Rebecca Williamson.
Kenroy Scafe celebrated his first career training win in Friday's opener as his three-year-old pacing gelding Bold Bet ($3.40) broke his maiden in 1:56 flat, wearing down pacesetter Sunny Beach Boy and finishing three lengths in front. Jason Ryan drove the All Bets Off gelding in his sixth career start.
Gus, a four-year-old miniature Dachshund, raced to the finish line to take Grand River Raceway's Wiener Dog Champion title once again in the annual on-track event sponsored by Ren’s Pets. Gus loves short walks (not on the beach) and sleeping under covers. Clearly, he was well-rested and ready to win the title for the second time.
Twenty-eight Daschunds of varying breeds and ages, paws-itively delighted more than 3,000 fans as they scurried towards, or away, from the finish line. Some pups crossed the finish line and others decided to take a different route.
The finalists earned their spots in the championship by finishing in the top three of three elimination heats. There was fierce competition between returning pros, past champions and new competitors this year.
In this race, the “Wiener” takes it all, but other su-paw-stars are the second and third-place finishers. Second-place went to Chico Philip (returning competitor) and third-place went to Mabel (also a returning competitor). In the end, all the pups were wagging their tails and having a ball.
The event included a “Top Dog” meal special featuring a footlong hotdog, Ren’s Pets had a booth for guests to take home a treat to a furry friend, Grand River sold exclusive Wiener Dog t-shirts, Dixon’s Distillery served beverages on The GrandWay Patio, three food trucks stopped by -- MegaCone Creamery, Berlin 95 and The Serial Griller -- and lastly Tianna Brown was the dazzling emcee for the evening.
The Wiener Dog Race Night is Grand River's most attended event of the year.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click the following link: Friday Results - Grand River Raceway.
(With files from Grand River Raceway)