Eight of the horses in the Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown weekly Top 10 poll will be in action during the Saturday evening (July 13) Meadowlands Pace Night program at the Meadowlands Racetrack, which will feature a slightly different wagering menu.
The altered wagering menu promises to create big pools.
Top-ranked Shartin N will be seeking her ninth win in a row in the Golden Girls for free-for-all mare pacers. Her last Meadowlands appearance came on November 24 of last year when she won the TVG Mares Pace in 1:50.3.
No. 2 Atlanta, who a week ago recorded the fastest trotting ‘Big M’ mile ever of 1:49.1 in the final of the Graduate Series, will look to stay perfect in seven seasonal starts in the Hambletonian Maturity, an open event for four-year-olds at a mile and an eighth.
In the evening’s feature, Captain Crunch (No. 3) and Bettors Wish (No. 5) will go head-to-head in a second consecutive major event in the three-year-old male pacing division, the $682,650 Crawford Farms Meadowlands Pace. Four weeks ago, ‘Crunch’ bested ‘Wish’ by three-quarters of a length in the North America Cup.
No. 4 Greenshoe, whose explosive late rally left him a head short at the wire in the June 29 Beal, will try to make it six wins in nine lifetime tries in the second of two divisions of the Stanley Dancer Memorial for three-year-old open trotters. Speaking of polls, Greenshoe is currently the top-ranked horse in Meadowlands’ track announcer Ken Warkentin’s weekly ‘Road to the Hambletonian’ Top 10.
Last Saturday, in the Graduate Series final for pacers, sixth-ranked Lather Up became only the second horse in harness racing history to complete a mile in 1:46. He’ll take on defending Horse of the Year McWicked in the William Haughton Memorial at a mile and an eighth.
No. 9 Warrawee Ubeaut, who was upset two weeks ago in the Lynch, will take on the horse that beat her – Stonebridge Soul – in the Mistletoe Shalee for three-year-old pacing fillies at a mile and an eighth.
Finally, Hannelore Hanover (No. 10) will take on Darling Mearas S, one of only four horses to ever break the 1:50 barrier on the trot at the Big M, in the second leg of the Miss Versatility for open mares.
WAGERING MENU: The Saturday card will feature an extra 50-Cent Pick-4 as well as an extra Pick-3 as compared to a normal 13-race card.
There will be Win, Place, Show, Exacta, Trifecta and Superfecta wagering on all 13 races; Daily Doubles will be offered on races 1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 8-9, 9-10 and 12-13; the 50-Cent Pick-5 will begin with Race 1, but will have a $50,000 guaranteed pool instead of the usual $25,000; the 20-Cent Survivor Pick-10 will be offered starting with Race 3 while the pair of 20-Cent Jackpot Super-High Fives will be in their usual spots, Races 5 and 13.
Fans of the track’s signature wager, the 50-Cent Pick-4, will get to double their pleasure. There will be two rounds of the bet on Saturday. The first – which will be made up of the Golden Girls, Hambletonian Maturity, Crawford Farms Meadowlands Pace and Haughton Memorial – takes place on Races 6-9 and will offer a guaranteed pool of $100,000, while the second will be on Races 10-13 with a $50,000 promise.
Keep in mind that the Survivor, Pick-5 and Pick-4 all offer a low 15 per cent takeout.
CHECK YOUR WATCH: The Crawford Farms Meadowlands Pace field will head to the gate at 10:10 p.m. … Racing on Friday and Saturday night will get underway at the usual 7:15 p.m. … For the remainder of the meeting, racing will be conducted on a Friday-Saturday 7:15 p.m. basis, except for Hambletonian Day, Saturday, Aug. 3, when the card gets underway at noon.
(Meadowlands Racetrack)