Blizzard Series Heats Up With $19 Winner; Top Selected Feature Scores With $20 Victor; Watch Horse Worth $24

Let’s go over our success and failure from the week of wagering. Thursday, Jan. 24 At Woodbine/Mohawk (WoMo), we backed a great one in the first division of the second leg of the Blizzard Series, catching Shes On A Roll ($19.50, $6.70, $2.40). That was half of the Daily Double, which, with the public’s second choice in Race 2 paid $104.90. The other Blizzard division at WoMo was won by the public’s second choice at 2-1, while we were sixth with Persistant Xample (26-1). She paced a very dull mile. Friday, Jan. 25 A Power Plays attempt at the Meadows presented two of the superfecta elements, including the winner, a favorite, Rocknroll Charm ($4.40, $3.20, $3.20 ok), and the show finisher, Mykonos ($3.80). Our other contenders, finishing sixth and eighth, respectively, were Goingtocalifornia (5-2) and Uncle Hall (47-1). At WoMo that evening, there were two Snowshoe Series divisions with large fields. In division one there was traffic and re-placing finishers. We picked up the third spot with Kenny Joe ($4.90) and were off the board with Sports Charm (15-1), eighth placed seventh, and Marc Mellow Man (5-1), 10^th placed ninth. A 5-1 shot won. The other Snowshoe division was taken by an 11-1 shot, while our choice, Somehowsomeday (37-1), finished a poor eighth. Saturday, Jan. 26 Two features at Northfield included a terrible roll from Miss Meeko (49-1), finishing ninth. The second feature made up for it with a big win from Shakeitformegear ($20.80, $6.80, $5.40). Exotic partner Wonderful World (4-1) finished sixth. H2W LIST RESULTS The H2W results list across-the-board prices. Also, exactas listed are included when a H2W horse finishes second with a race favorite or the first two finishers making up the exacta are H2W horses (an asterisk appears when both horses were listed to complete a cold exacta). The note “ok” determines that prices published are correct even when a show price exceeds a place price or any or all of the prices are the same. This week, there were 30 active horses (a 10-percent win hit rate and a 47-percent ATB [across-the-board] hit rate). Please note that some H2W results reflect win, place, show and exotic results occurring by press time but some horses race after the blog is posted (we list them the following weeks) It is up to you to follow horses that have not performed before this weekly review. Winners Digdug, $24.00, $11.20, $5.20, Pompano Greekona, $5.40, $3.00, $2.20, Cal-Expo Haveoneforme, $5.20, $3.00, $2.60, Meadowlands Seconds Royal Renegade, $6.20, $2.90, Fraser Saulsbrook Lanny, $3.30, $2.30, Yonkers Silverhill Volo, $2.20, $2.10 (Exacta $1.90), Cal-Expo Thirds Mystery Dragon, $6.00, Cal-Expo King Royalty, $4.50, Yonkers Feelin Red Hot, $3.60, Miami Vegas Rocks, $3.40, Yonkers Burning Shore, $3.30, Yonkers Hammering Haley, $2.10, Flamboro Freespin N, $2.80, Freehold Mars Man, $2.20, $2.10, Dover News & Notes Hoosier Park’s 26th season of harness racing kicks off on March 29. The Indiana raceway follows a Friday-Saturday schedule the opening week, a Thursday-Friday-Saturday schedule the second week, and resumes a Tuesday-Saturday schedule the remainder of the meet. With a post time of 6:30 p.m. the racing season goes through Nov. 9. Hoosier Park is harness racing’s sole host in Indiana and always offers an action-packed stakes season. Hoosier’s signature event, the $300,000 Dan Patch Stakes, is slated for Friday, Aug. 9. In league with the stakes schedule, Hoosier offers a variety of overnight series beginning in April. The casino gaming section at Monticello Raceway closes its doors for good this spring. Harness racing will continue at the half-mile oval, according to a published report, but the future of live harness racing at the facility is in doubt. Racing at Monticello employs roughly 40 workers directly, but is surely the main source of income for the people racing at the track and the multiple associated equine and agricultural industries that it also supports. Monticello is a survivor of New York’s one-time prolific harness racing circuit that offered as many as seven pari-mutuel raceways. Our H2W department performed its annual itinerary duties in order to update horse information. Many H2W horses disappear for weeks and sometimes months after their first appearance on the H2W. We maintain their presence. Some take long vacations from racing, while others ship away (we catch 99 percent of them and change their venue on the H2W). There are some, though, that stop performing without leaving a trail, so every January we file them as non-active until certain data is discovered. We began 2019 with a fresh H2W list and promise to keep on top of changes through the year. Driver Wally Hennessey achieved a milestone earned by only 16 North American drivers. At Pompano Park on Jan. 23, Wally won his 10,000th race. Wally has been a mainstay performer at Pompano and popular with bettors. This season, Wally continues to compete against a talented driving colony. In 2018 Wally had 382 wins. Lifetime, he has driven winners of more than $66 million. However, just like the elite crowd of drivers he joins in the 10,000-win club, Wally has earned far more—percentage-wise—in his profession than any statistic a bettor of his horses could claim. Popullar drivers, after all, get the best horses, most of which win at low, unfair odds, never [sic] making up for the drives they lose at higher odds. The “club” includes Dave Palone, Anthony Morgan, Herve Filion, Cat Manzi, David Miller, Dave Magee, Billy Parker, Jr., Walter Case, Jr., Aaron Merriman, Tim Tetrick, John Campbell, Mike Lachance, Kevin Wallis, Peter Wrenn, George Brennan and Brian Sears. Extraordinary Extras Indulge in my monthly columns, Alternative Actions and Bettors Banquet at Harness Racing Update