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The curtain came down on the 2017 live harness racing season at Plainridge Park on Friday afternoon (Nov. 24) with many outstanding human and equine performances to mention from the 125 day meet.

Greg Merton was the leading dash driver with 230 victories and those starts earned his connections $1.509 million in purses. Both numbers were new track records, smashing the same records Merton set last year. Merton was also the leading UDR driver (with a minimum of 100 starts at the meet) with a glowing percentage of .475.

Jim Hardy was second for both wins and earnings with 109 tallies and $745,663 in the bank.

Monique Cohen was the meet’s leading trainer with 71 wins for the session while Frank Antonacci led in UTR (with a minimum of 100 starts at the meet) with a stellar .596 and in earnings with $467,917 deposited. All totals for both Cohen and Antonacci were new track records.

The horses themselves were responsible for setting some records as well during 2017. There were 11 track records broken and two more that were tied during the course of the meet.

The biggest day of harness racing ever held at Plainridge Park as well as in the State of Massachusetts, was responsible for two of those track records when some of the best aged trotters from the Grand Circuit convened at The Ridge on Friday (July 28).

The old standard of 1:53 for an aged trotter was first beaten by Gural Hanover (Matt Kakaley) in 1:52.1. And then just one race later in Plainridge’s signature event, the $250,000 Spirit of Massachusetts Trot, JL Cruze...

Nov 25, 2017

In his last trip to Batavia Downs three weeks ago, Dragin The Wagon won handily wire to wire in 1:56.1. After two starts at Yonkers he returned to the Genesee County oval for a curtain call as the star of the show once again as he won the $10,000 Open Handicap Trot on Friday night (Nov. 24).

Dragin The Wagon (Billy Davis Jr.) went right to the front and opened a gapped lead that would only get bigger. After grabbing leather to the half in :58.4 on a two-length advantage, Davis gave Dragin The Wagon his head while motoring up the backside and that is where he started to pull away. Two lengths turned into four at the three-quarters, six lengths at the top of the lane and eight lengths at the wire where he stopped the clock in 1:56.3 as the rest of the field could only watch from afar.

It was the seventh win of the year for Dragin The Wagon ($3.50) who now has earned $70,168 for owners Cary, David and Michael Cantelon. The 7-year-old gelded son of Angus Hall is trained by Jeff Byron.

In the co-featured $8,500 Open II Trot, Lutetium (Kevin Cummings) also went coast to coast by a gapped margin to win his seventh race of the year under wraps in 1:58. Colleen Girdlestone owns Lutetium ($4.30) who has now bankrolled $44,355 for the year. The winner of 58 races lifetime is trained by Priscilla Mooney.

Kevin Cummings led all drivers on Friday with four wins on the card. Over the last eight nights of racing at Batavia Downs Cummings has also led all drivers in wins with 22 over that period, finishing first in 25% of his starts. Once...

Nov 23, 2017

Fourteen older fillies and mares will be tested at the marathon distance of a mile and three-eighths on the grass as the highlight of an eight-race holiday program of Thoroughbred racing Thanksgiving Thursday in the $100,000 Red Carpet Handicap. Special post time for the first race is 11 a.m.

Packing highweight of 122 pounds in the Red Carpet will be Irish-bred Evo Campo, victress in the Grade III mile and one-half Santa Barbara last spring. Rafael Bejarano has the call on the five-year-old Approve mare, a winner of six of 14 starts.

Weighted a pound below Evo Campo at 121 is another Irish-bred female, Responsibleforlove, second to Evo Campo in the Santa Barbara. Joe Talamo rides. Subsequently, Responsibleforlove won the CTT and TOC Handicap at the Red Carpet distance during Del Mar’s summer season.

Others in the line-up for what appears to be a wide-open betting event are Laseen, Tiago Pereira; Dynamic Mizzes K, Gary Stevens; Victress, Stewart Elliott; La Manta Gris, Kent Desormeaux; Kiss Me Now, Brice Blanc; Do The Dance, Tyler Baze; Galileo’s Song, Mike Smith; Earring, Drayden Van Dyke; Birdie Gold, Mario Gutierrez; Domestic Vintage, Kyle Frey; How Unusual, Corey Nakatani, and Lottie, Flavien Prat.

Likely to attract support are two invaders from the East Coast, stakes-placed Galileo’s Song, from the powerful barn of trainer Chad Brown, and Lottie, conditioned by Graham Motion and also stakes-placed.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and thanks for choosing IdaBet!

For our IdaBet players, here are the Wednesday Picks for Monticello. HAPPY THANKSGIVING to you and yours!

1ST RACE: 1-6-5-3

2ND RACE: 5-1-3-6

3RD RACE: 1-7-4-2

4TH RACE: 1-2-4-9

5TH RACE: 1-5-6-3

6TH RACE: 3-7-5-4

7TH RACE: 6-7-5-1

8TH RACE: 6-1-2-3

9TH RACE: 2-5-1-4

10TH RACE: 7-6-5-2

11TH RACE: 8-3-6-1

Exciting news for our IdaBet players! Saturday, November 25th- 13 races, post time 7:15 pm. What a great racing card as Meadowlands will host the Governor’s Cup Final, Valley Victory Final, Three Diamonds Final, Goldsmith Maid Final, and 4 TVG finals for the older trotters and pacers… Well over $ 2.25 million in purses on the line!

***Don’t forget next week the New Meadowlands Racetrack races on Friday, December 1st and Saturday, December 2nd, post time 7:15 pm. Then beginning on Thursday, December 7th through the end of the month we will race Thursday’s, Friday’s and Saturday’s, post time 7:15 pm.

Have a great Thanksgiving and thanks for your support of Meadowlands and IdaBet.com!