Harness Racing: Betting the Fall Final Four & Horses to Watch

Even though the champs have made their statements, the 11th month of 2021 harness is rife with action. Saturday’s Fall Final Four is the last quartet of major miles for freshmen. Even so, plenty of action is ahead as the year wanes. The never-ending TwinSpires H2W (horses-to-watch list) continues and the Mohawk Miles search for longshots in any class.

MOHAWK MILES

Thursday / Nov. 18
Mohawk

Each week we highlight some probable longshots from Mohawk Park in this features section. If they do not win at first crack we add them to the H2W the following week as a bet-back while adding new possibilities to this Mohawk Miles section.

In Race 1–Northern Blizzard, A fresh return after more than 90 days off.
In Race 6–Duke Deo, early foot good over this group.

STAR DESTROYERS

Thursday / Nov. 18
Hoosier

Hometown series The Star Destroyer are features as the meet’s end looms boldly.

3yo filly trot ($50k)
Pub Crawl will gather fans at the windows after some sharp national performances but we will go with homebred Queen Of All, who has been a tough duck in classy Hoosier events.

3yo colt trot ($53k)
Swingforthefences returns home after a Matron victory and won’t have as much competition with this group. His price will not be appetizing, though, so give consideration to Bluebird Maverick, another son of Swan For All. He has been good in Indiana this season.

3yo colt pace ($60k)
The win pool will overflow for Bulldog Hanover but we see a lot of hope for an upset with Rock With JK, who has hit the board in all of a dozen starts and sits in a good spot launching from the 2-hole to start and finish sharply.

FALL FINAL FOUR AND MORE

Saturday / Nov. 20
Meadowlands

2yo colt trot Valley Victory ($413k)
Only six from the big division stakes show up and “now” horse Fast As The Wind wants last licks of the big purse. We can take a shot with the lightly-raced Walner colt Threepointbluechip. Three wins in six tries, fresh and probably let alone by the bettors.

TVG mare pace ($175k)
The season’s big duel continues with Lyons Sentinel and Rocknificent but let’s look outside of that box, too. Watch Me Now N was on our H2W list last week and finished second dueling with Peaky Sneaky (also here) and that was a good prep for the lightly-raced gal who has won three from seven.

2yo filly trot Goldsmith Maid ($479k)
An 11-filly field, 10 of which challenge Venerable again. She returns to the track where she skipped, literally, out of the Breeders Crown (BC). She rebounded in a Dover stakes and takes on some new as well as old blood. Even if she does not break, we like Joviality S, who is Marcus Melander’s savior to rub out a follow-up victory.

TVG mares trot ($175k)
This is seriously a bettor's race if the bettor can accurately make a personal odds line because there are arguments for each contestant. Don’t tell me who you like and I won’t tell you—just find the overlay and tell me because I want to pass.

2yo colt pace Governor’s Cup ($386k)
Beyond the obvious in this field we like PJ Lou. Last week he finished third to Hammering Hank and Early Action, going off at 94-1. He works for new owners since late October and deserves some backing as he improves to finish a better season than expected.

TVG open trot ($350k)
This division never affords me a sharp overlay and here we are again where Forbidden Trade is the ML choice and three trainers each send two horses. All I can see is Back Of The Neck, who may stay out of trouble for three-quarters and finish one place better than second (his BC race improved to a win) at a price.

2yo filly pace Three Diamonds ($359k)
Continuing on our upset path we try to beat Niki Hill again (can we steal USHWA Horse of the Year title from her?) using Don’t Fence Me In. At 13-1, this Captaintreacherous filly dueled hard leaving from the outside (same 9 hole as here) with two others in the Kindergarten Classic Final and was best of the rest at the wire. As a contender she is an overlay here.

TVG open pace ($350k)
Very much like the open pace, this field is tough to find a decent overlay. However, the win pool may be shared more than these foes would provoke earlier in the season. What that possible scenario may do is offer a good, though still low-priced overlay from Allyway Hanover. You can be your own judge on that price but we think anything over 1-1 will be a terrific percentage edge.

H2W Legend

Review our choices and confirm the wagers available at the prescribed track. H2W offers possible contenders researched from reviewing races. Horses’ names are listed beneath the name of the track with the date of their race and the race number (R6 ). If a + is in front of a horse’s name, it appears on the list for the second time (horses are listed twice only if, at first, they fail to win. An “ae” signals also-eligible. Types of wagers to make are based on your judgment.

H2W LIST

Cal Expo
11/19/21, Joltin Joe R3; Fast Track R8; Im An Athlete R9; Gearupn Go Moe R10

Dover
11/18/21, Full View R14

Freehold
11/19/21, Dear Diary R1; +Maydaymaverickhope R4; Pappy Rocks R7

Dayton
11/20/21, In Trouble Again R3; Loutenant R12

Meadowlands
11/20/21, +Truffle Dog R3

Meadows
11/19/21, +Americas Guest R1; +Bereaved Hanover R5; +Malloy R11

Monticello
11/18/21, Believe In Angels R3; Heartland Eclipse R5; His Excellence R7

Northfield
11/20/21, Cinder Rock R5; Always Artistic R9; Rockin Megan L R9; +Official Kisser R15

Northville
11/19/21, Wanderer R6
11/20/21, Noha R9

Oak Grove
11/21/21, +Mayo Neighs R3

Philly
11/18/21, +Brigadoon R2

Plainridge
11/19/21, Super Betcha R6; Prince C Hall R6; One Swan For All R6; +Tobasco R9; Platoon Seelster R9

Saratoga
11/21/21, +Well Lets See R8

Yonkers
11/19/21, +A Fancy Face R1; +Heart On My Sleeve R6; Sportskeeper R12