Features Winner At Yonkers Pays $17; Northfield H2W Topper Returns $37; Power Plays Contenders Fill Exotics

Cold and warm, one day after another, the rotating weather conditions were much like the action we suggested through the week. Our selected features’ contenders were alive and our payouts there and in the horses-to-watch list were acceptable. Here are the results of our successes and failures from the past week. Thursday, Feb. 14 Night time was the right time to start off our selected features and scored at Yonkers with a payoff much higher than our expectations. The analysis for Race 7 that evening called for a good price but not the great price we received on our winner, Exs And Ohs ($17.20, $9.80, $4.90). Our exotic companion was third. That was the favorite, Seven Iron ($2.60). At the U.S.’s southern tip, Pompano Park, our Power Plays race shrunk to a win-only race with the scratches of two out of three contenders—Diamond Eyes and I’m Very Special. We were left with Rosella, who turned out to be the public choice, finishing fifth to the public’s second choice. Friday, Feb. 15 Afternoon at the Meadows presented a feature with Race 3 and our contender here also went off the favorite. Zone Blitz ($2.10) finished third with la trip that should not have tired her as it did. At Yonkers after sunset, our sites were on the opening race of the program. We were given 16-1 on the horse whose name we reported incorrectly—we delivered her as Beyond The Silence, which should have read Beyondthesilence. The crowd’s second choice won the race; Beyondthesilence finished fourth. Saturday, Feb. 16 We offered a Power Plays race at the Meadowlands and were unable to contribute the winner, a 4-1 shot. However, we handed over the companions for the exacta, trifecta and 10-cent superfecta. We were second with Bravo Tex N ($2.60, $2.40), third with Rootin Tootin ($3.40), and fourth with Ever Again (6-1). With the public’s second choice winning, the exacta paid $39.40; the trifecta paid $158.00 and the 10-cent superfecta returned $21.33. 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 46 active horses (an 20-percent win hit rate and a 52-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 Dancing Lisa, $37.60, $12.80, $5.20, Northfield Piece Of The Rock, $17.20, $8.40, $5.80, Dover Shneonucrzydiamond A, $10.60, $3.80, $2.80, Yonkers Willieontime, $7.60, $3.20, $2.40, Meadows Kenny Joe, $6.50, $5.30, $3.70, Mohawk Don Domingo, $5.80, $2.70, $2.40, Yonkers Shakerattlenrock, $5.80, $4.00, $3.20, Miami Christen Me N, $4.90, $3.20, $2.10, Yonkers Too Much Hanover, $4.80, $3.40, $2.80, Freehold Seconds Kick It In Kate, $7.60, $2.60, Northfield Johnny Chip, $5.90, $3.90, Buffalo Superior Raven, $4.20, $2.40, Pompano Always Picky, $4.00, $2.20 (Exacta $24.00), Freehold Cowboys Dirtyboots, $4.00, $2.60 (Exacta $5.90), Cal-Expo Southwind Onyx, $3.10, $2.50, Buffalo Jeramaya, $3.00, $2.40, Freehold Red, $2.60, $2.40, Northfield Thirds Mark Your Paige, $8.10, Flamboro My Fleet Three, $7.60, Northfield Be My Lucky Lady, $5.40, Cal-Expo Woodmere Rondesvous, $3.00, Monticello Sing Along, $2.40, Freehold Pink Lady, $2.20, Cal-Expo Totally Racy, $2.20, Cal-Expo News & Notes The recent death of PR-mentor Marv Bachrad brings up a topic the standardbred industry’s powers that be need to address. That topic is the naming of special races for important figures in the sport that have passed on. Over the years, some of the sport’s most potent internal figures have not been saluted in a most essential way—having “memorial” races named for them. Mr. Bachrad is the latest one of three, off the top of my head, who deserve memorial races. The other two are pedigree-experts John Bradley and Curt Green (Google their names). Philadelphia Racetrack has released its 2019 harness racing schedule, a season slated to begin on March 29. The opening-day Friday card carries a first post of 12:25 p.m. The standard race week will follow a Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday schedule. During the spring/summer season weekdays will carry a 12:25 p.m. first post and Sundays will have a 12:40 p.m.first post. The 2019 season will conclude on Sunday, Dec. 15. Female-trotter Atlanta made harness racing history in 2018 by being one of the few fillies to win the Hambletonian. She made history again when she became the highest-priced standardbred sold at auction in North America. The four-year-old was sold to dissolve a partnership dispute between her connections. She was sold at an online auction on Feb. 15 for $1.55 million to Michelle Crawford of Crawford Farms. The sale price tops the record $1.1-million price tag fetched by trotting filly Cameron Hall in 2001. We are only a month away from the first big winter series of the season. Older pacers will be featured at Yonkers Raceway from mid-March into April. The males start their 2019 stakes season in the George Levy Pacing Series. The mares line up for the Blue Chip Matchmaker Series. The legs’ divisions and finals have been our headlining races for more than a decade, first on the defunct YouBet and then, as this year again, on TwinSpires. A quick reminder about H2W horses. Extraordinary Extras Indulge in my monthly columns, Alternative Actions and Bettors Banquet at Harness Racing Update