After racing against some of the best horses in Atlantic Canada for his most recent starts, Blood Money returned to New Brunswick on Saturday (July 24) to compete in the top class at Exhibition Park Raceway. That return home was just what the doctor ordered.
In this case, that doctor is Dr. Mitch Downey, owner and driver of Blood Money — who was barred from pari-mutuel wagering in the $1,700 Winners Over. With no Woodmere Ideal Art and no Little Manny among his five rivals, there was a fairly solid reason for that decision.
Downey also felt his horse was the one to beat and raced him accordingly, clearing to the lead over stablemate Fall Bliss (Mike Downey) and then playing catch-me-if-you-can. Spoiler alert: they didn't catch him. After fractions of :29.3, :59.4 and 1:29.4 with no challengers to his wheel, Blood Money needed just a :29 closer to open up on his competition and win by some five lengths in 1:58.4. Fall Bliss was best of the rest in second with Paris Beau (Colin DeCourvey) closing well to complete the triactor.
Ellen Stevenson trains five-year-old Blood Money (Sweet Lou - Blood Diamond), now a five-time winner from 10 seasonal starts and 14-race winner in his career with more than $438,000 in purses.
The fourth race of the day was declared a no contest by the HRNB judges. The race was declared no contest because of starter error. Two horses actually raced to the half before getting pulled up, while the other three pulled up immediately following the recall. As a result, the judges' decision was a no contest.
Live harness racing returns to Saint John next Saturday, July 31.
To view the results for the Saturday card, click the following link: Saturday Results - Exhibition Park Raceway.