This Friday night's live program at the Meadowlands Racetrack will centre on the second preliminary leg of the New Jersey Sires Stakes for freshmen pacers and trotters. There is a single $25,000 division for each group in advance of next week's $100,000 finals.
Colt trotters will kick off the card, where Hammer Time will return after having won a division of the first leg; while the other winner, New Jersey Viking, will sit this one out, as his slot in the final is already secure. Hammer Time rolled up uncovered on favoured What The Hill, which set up a stretch-long battle that resulted in a :26.4 final quarter from Hammer Time for the 1:58.1 win. David Miller has the drive back on the Muscle Hill colt from Post 8 of ten this week for trainer Andrew Harris and owner Glat Kosher Racing.
The second race will feature seven pacing colts. Every Way Out was a convincing winner in Leg 1 for owner-trainer Aaron Lambert, who has enlisted Tim Tetrick to drive from the rail. Lambert did the driving last week from just off the pace, and when asked for speed, Every Way Out tacked a :26.1 closing panel on to his 1:55.4 score with something left.
Eleven freshman trotting fillies will contest Race 3. One of last week's winners, Checkmate Time, will return in the race, while the connections of the other, Ariana G, have opted to stay home. Checkmate Time (by Muscle Hill) was nothing short of sensational in the first leg, as she rallied from well back with a :26.1 final quarter to nail a game Southwind Avanti on the wire for the 1:58.1 win. She'll start from Post 9 on Friday. Scott Zeron will be back in the bike for owner Roy Dobbins and trainer Dennis Laterza.
One must wait until Race 11 for the filly pacers, where Livingthedream (If I Can Dream) will defend her turf, as she triumphed impressively in the first leg with a 1:54.4 win for Marcus Miller. The reinsman put the filly into play from Post 10 last week, as he dropped her into third after having left off the gate. Miller moved the filly to the front by the half and finished the mile with a shut-down :27.2 final quarter. Erv Miller trains the homebred for his interests (as Erv Miller Racing) along with longtime patron Ron Michelon.
GSY Amateurs Racing Friday
After a week's absence, the GSY Amateur Driving Club will return with a competitive field set to go in Race 4. Keenan and owner/trainer/driver John Calabrese have met with great success in the series, as the royally-bred veteran with career earnings of more than a half million dollars has won all three GSY races in which he's participated.
Feisty Love (to be driven by David Glasser) will contest the issue from the inside, while Spectator K (Hannah Miller) and Keystone Thomas (Bob Hechkoff) will engage from outside posts.
(Meadowlands Racetrack)