The Meadowlands Racetrack will host 13 races on Saturday night, each of which will feature 10-horse fields.
The twin features are Race 6 and Race 8. Both races will be comprised of veteran campaigners that will be chasing the winner's share of the $13,000 purse. The sixth race features a pair of 11-year-old millionaires, Alexie Mattosie and Dial Or Nodial, both of whom have been to the mountaintop over the course of their illustrious careers.
Alexie Mattosie's resume includes the winning the very first race in front of the Meadowlands Racetrack’s new grandstand in November of 2013. His biggest score was in the 2011 WR Haughton FFA, where he edged out another famous senior citizen of the sport, Foiled Again, in a career best of 1:48.1.
That win was a huge step in the career of Nik Drennan, a young, aspiring trainer trying his luck at the Meadowlands. Remarkably, in this day of the ‘rent a horse’ mentality, ‘Alexie’ remains in Drennan’s stable belonging to the same ownership group composed of Canadians Donald Lindsey, Paul Kleinpaste, Wil Alempijevic and Dennis Mavrin. While the level of competition is not what it once was, the old boy can still get it done, as evidenced by an easy 1:50.3 win just a week ago for Brett Miller and the role of favourite in Saturday's race.
Dial Or Nodial's past parallels that of his rival, in that he has been in familiar hands throughout his career, having had but a single owner. Bred by Jules and Arlene Siegel' Fashion Farms, Dial Or Nodial has raced for the breeders throughout his storied career, with longtime caretaker Marita Berglund now calling the shots as lessee of her old friend.
Dial Or Nodial, a very precocious youngster, was a factor in the major stakes at two and three and amassed over $750,000 in earnings, but he battled soundness issues throughout. He captured the prestigious Allerage Farms FFA at the Red Mile as a four-year-old and battled the top open types for several seasons. At this stage, he is raced thoughtfully by Marita and trainer Chris Freck, and heads into Saturday’s tilt off of a two-month break for driver Marcus Miller.
First-race post time on Saturday will be 7:15 p.m.
(With files from the Meadowlands)