The Vinny Fusco Jr. Memorial Pacing Series for New Jersey-owned, sired or foaled fillies and mares wraps up at Freehold Raceway on Friday (Jan. 22) with a pair of finals.
The $10,000 final for the first division is for horses with TrackMaster Horse Ratings between 68.00 and 71.50. The winners of the first two legs, Duck N Roll and Southwind Tsunami, drew post positions seven and eight, respectively.
Southwind Tsunami, who races for trainer Mark Capone, upset at 10-1 in the first leg and finished fifth in leg two last week as the favourite. She will have a new driver Friday afternoon: Jim Marohn Jr. After a fourth-place finish in leg one, Duck N Roll won the second leg last week with a strong rally from the back of the pack. She is trained by Izzy Estrada, and will be driven by Luke Hanners.
Little Dare Devil, If Ur Richimsingle, Princess Holly N, Live and Let Di, AP Emilys Dance and Fashion Writer round out the field for the Fusco final, which is scheduled as the eighth race and due off at approximately 3:10 p.m.
The $15,000 final of the second division, for horses with TrackMaster Horse Ratings between 71.50 and 75.00 at the start of the series, will take place as the sixth race. Tall Poppy N, off commanding wins in the first two legs, looms large for trainer Kelvin Harrison and driver George Brennan and will start from post position three.
Western Showgirl and Always Be Lucy, who also won different divisions of earlier legs, return in the final. Off a win last week, Western Showgirl drew post position six for trainer Robert Ginsburg Jr. and driver Dan Dubé. Always Be Lucy won leg one two weeks ago and finished second to Western Showgirl last week. The Kelly Hastings trainee drew post position five with Luke Hanners in the sulky.
Thaneeya, Lookatmyart, Tall Poppy N, Princess Sharktank and Hurrikane Lori Ann complete the ensemble. Approximate post time is 2:30 p.m.
Sandwiched in between is the $12,000 Preferred Handicap Trot, featuring a showdown between two east coast trotting stalwarts. Meladys Monet, who won the Preferred last week, squares off against Lean Hanover, coming off a second-place finish in the Open Trot at Yonkers Raceway. They will leave from posts seven and six, respectively.
Lean Hanover is trained by Linda Toscano, with Jim Marohn Jr. named to drive. He won the Open twice at Yonkers last year, adding to his 21-win career total. He has bankrolled more than $403,000.
Eric Abbatiello will drive Meladys Monet for trainer Hermann Heitmann. In his career, he's won 68 races, while earning north of $1.7 million. Last year, he won six times at Yonkers, and will look to improve his 2021 record to 2-for-2.
Allindotime, Drazzmatazz, Hashtagmadeyalook, Meadowbranch Ricky and Dot Dot Dot Dash round out the Preferred Handicap field.
The first of 11 races at Freehold on Friday is scheduled for 12:30 p.m.
(Freehold Raceway)