Hollywood Casino at The Meadows featured two eliminations for the Delvin Miller Adios on Saturday (July 22) afternoon and victories were achieved by Cannibal and Its My Show in their respective divisions.
Back in action after winning the North America Cup last month, Its My Show and Scott Zeron powered down the stretch to win the faster of the two $25,000 Delvin Miller Adios elims, winning by one length in 1:47.4. Ken Hanover (David Miller) finished second, Ervin Hanover (Yannick Gingras) was third and Flite Craft (Mike Wilder) was fourth to each punch their tickets to the Adios final. Bamboozler (Dexter Dunn) also qualified for the final as the fifth-place finisher with the highest career earnings.
The time of the mile established a new world record for a three-year-old pacing gelding on a five-eighths mile oval, shaving one-fifth of a second off the record shared by Wiggle It Jiggleit and Lucan Hanover.
Its My Show (Sweet Lou-Put On A Show) is trained by Linda Toscano for owners Richard and Joanne Young. The win was the seventh in seven starts this season, boosting his career earnings to $662,465. He paid $3.20 to win.
"This was a really nerve-wracking race for me because it's chancy when you give one five weeks off," said Toscano. "It was what I wanted to do; I wanted to freshen him up, I want to try to keep him fresh for the whole season. Yet at the same time, you want him to be tight, happy, sound. The race was important because it's the Adios.
"I'm really happy that he didn't power move back to the lead because that would have created a really tough race for him today."
Cannibal and Yannick Gingras followed the pocket trip behind Seven Colors (Dave Palone) before tipping out in the stretch to win the first $25,000 Delvin Miller Adios elim by 1-1/2 lengths in 1:48.2. Redwood Hanover (James MacDonald) sped on the far outside down the lane to grab second. Seven Colors and Fulton (Dunn) also qualified for the Adios final by finishing third and fourth, respectively.
Cannibal (Sweet Lou-No More Losses) is trained by Nancy Takter for owner Diamond Creek Racing. The win was the fifth in six starts this season and eighth lifetime, moving his career bankroll to $194,978. He paid $3.20 to win. His only loss this year came in the 2023 Meadowlands Pace final one week ago.
"This was a different race from last week," said Takter. "The flow just didn't develop in the Meadowlands Pace the way I would have liked. But he raced super; he just wasn't in a good spot. He can race on the pace, he can race off the pace. It's the first time he's ever been here and he got around the track good. So I think we'll keep things the same for next week."
The draw for Adios final post positions will take place Wednesday, July 26, with the connections of Its My Show and Cannibal choosing their post positions after a random draw to determine their selection order. All other post positions will be determined by random draw. The July 29 Adios Day card is shaping up as a blockbuster, featuring five Grand Circuit stakes in addition to the Adios. First post that day is 11:45 a.m.
(with files from MSOA)