A 12-race card featuring trotters and distaff pacers awaits punters on Friday (March 18) at the Meadowlands Racetrack, with nearly a quarter-million dollars in carryovers and guaranteed pools on the line as well.
Co-featured third-level events will share the spotlight on the track, with a full field of ten trotters competing in the evening's seventh event and a septet of distaff pacers squaring off in the night's 11th race. The $12,500 seventh race features Julie Miller trainee Magenta Man, who seeks his seventh win in nine starts on the year. Just last week, the four-year-old Muscles Yankee gelding kept on for a 1:53.4 triumph over World Cup after having made two early moves to protect the lead. Usual driver Andy Miller will team up with Magenta Man from Post 4. To Magenta Man's immediate outside will be World Cup, who swung four-wide off the far turn and just missed Magenta Man by half a length last week. Joe Bongiorno once again will drive the Richard Johnson-trained seven-year-old.
A pair of solid invaders are in the offing, with Can Do (to be driven by Anthony Napolitano) returning from Saratoga after having enjoyed some success in the Open ranks earlier this meet, and Workout Wonder (Andy McCarthy) will commence his four-year-old season following mild success on the New York Sire Stakes circuit last year.
The evening's featured $12,00 distaff features the invading Mandys Mattjesty, who swept a late closing series at the Meadows in February. Ron Burke entered the six-year-old His Mattjesty mare for the optional $20,000 claiming price, and Joe Bongiorno will drive her from Post 1 in the field of seven. Among her top rivals are Tom Fanning trainee Do Your Job (Marcus Miller), who emerged through traffic to save second in her seasonal debut last week, and Mischief Maker N (Steven Nason), who will make her first stateside start for new trainer Kelvin Harrison after having won her last two races in New Zealand at distances of 1-3/16 miles and 1-9/16 miles, respectively.
Earlier in the night, Tony O'Sullivan trainee Ava And Ella will look to extend her career record to four wins in as many starts, as she will line up as the 8-5 morning line favourite in the second event. Her local debut last week was most decisive, as she cleared similar rivals from Post 10 before opening up in hand to a 1:53.2 score.
Nearly a quarter-million dollars awaits punters in the form of guaranteed pools and carryovers, including $135,000 carrying over to the final race 20-cent Jackpot High 5 pool and $105,000 in guaranteed Pick 4 and Pick 5 pools throughout the evening. Fans can also pad their bankrolls through the ‘Go Green for Greenbacks’ drawings throughout the evening, and meet their favourite Meadowlands drivers in a pre-race autograph session.
First-race post time for Friday's 12-race card is 7:15 p.m. EDT.
(Meadowlands Racetrack)