Bettor In The Bank will have his sights set on a hat trick when he faces the gate for Friday evening’s featured $7,000 Open Pace at Cal Expo.
Watch and Wager LLC will present 11 races and the action will get underway at 6:15 p.m. The main event has been programmed as fifth dash on the program. There are also three California Sires Stakes contested as non-wagering races prior to the regular card.
Bettor In The Bank is a nine-year-old son of Better Tuwin who races for Debra McCarthy, is conditioned by Gordie Graham, and will once again have James Kennedy doing the honours. He has $230,000 in his bank account and a 1:51.3 mark that was recorded at Cal Expo last year.
The dark-hued performer will head into his Friday assignment having landed in the charmed enclosure following seven of his 12 trips to the post this year, including back-to-back scores at the head of the class. In both of those wins, Kennedy has kept Bettor In The Bank in reserve through the early stages before flying home to victory in the late stages.
After rattling off three straight wins between March 8 and 12, Icy Blue Scooter has had narrow misses in his last two tries, including last week’s clash at Cal Expo’s ‘top rung,’ where Bettor In The Bank nailed him on the money.
A six-year-old son of Blue Burner, Icy Blue Scooter is reined and trained by Nate Sobey, who also co-owns the hard-hitting pacer along with Diane Bertrand. He recently went over the $100,000 earnings plateau with a 1:52 standard that was established at Cal Expo.
Hot Dandy Ignites Pick 5 Payoff
Things were going pretty much according to form in the first four races of last Saturday night’s Pick 5. Although, that is when Hot Dandy came along and blew up the toteboard with a $95 score for owner Emilio Cisneros, trainer Rick Bertrand, and pilot Mooney Svendsen.
As a result, the 50-cent Pick 5 went from a modest payoff to a $1,850 return for every winning ticket.
The Pick 5 is one of two value bets offered at Cal Expo on a nightly basis (it features a reduced, 16 per cent takeout rate).
The 50-cent Pick 5 is conducted on the first five races, while the 20-cent Pick 4 comes attached with a $30,000-guaranteed pool on Fridays and $40,000 on Saturdays.
To give some idea of the value added, using the old takeout rate, last Saturday night’s Hot Dandy-infused Pick 5 payout would have been $1,652 instead of $1,850, a difference of $198 per ticket.
Getting to back to Hot Dandy, the five-year-old son of Hot Pans was a little hard to find on paper in the conditioned pacing event, having just a ‘show’ finish from his half-dozen trips to the post on the year while racing at or about this same level. He turned things around nicely with a stalking trip under Svendsen’s guidance, and got up to win by a head over Cenalta Dragster for the initial snapshot of 2019.
(With files from Cal Expo)