Harness Weekly Update: 44% in the money

The TwinSpires Harness Blog Weekly Update covers our successes and failures from selected features and the H2W (horses-to-watch list). H2W horses through the following Monday appear in the next Update’s results.

Thursday, Feb. 2

This week’s quartet of Mohawk Miles (MM) contenders produced one winner: Greystone Treasure ($7.50, $4.60, $3.70). In finishing order, the other posted horses were Chedda Chedda, third in a race with no show wagering; Barroom Brawl Boys (27-1), finishing fifth; and Belvedere Bronx (15-1) finishing sixth.

At Monticello, favorite Nothing Tosee Here ($3.00, $2.50, $2.20) produced the danger we forecasted to longshot contender Calvery Hill (19-1), who finished seventh.

Our Meadows Power Plays aimed at a Pick 4 and single-race exotics. The latter produced components while the Pick 4 came up empty. In leg one we finished second with HP Maestro ($5.60, $3.20), and Romanee Blue Chip (25-1) was third-placed-seventh. In leg two, Priceless Shadow ($4.60) took the show spot. In leg three, Starlit Thiswanman ($3.00, $2.60) was second, and Talladega AS ($3.80) took third. In leg four, Day To Bet (12-1) finished seventh.

Saturday, Feb. 4

Power Plays at the Meadowlands were the focus of race six. In all of the exotics we had the winner with Mysweetboymax ($8.20, $4.00, $2.80). Another component was Stonebridge Reef ($3.60) in third. High Baller (favorite) finished fifth, and Bobcat Bay (19-1) was empty, finishing sixth.

Reminder — MONDAY$MONEY for Feb. 6

Dover Downs
Thatswhatisaid R9; Backstreet Player R11

Please note that some results reflect horses racing after the blog posts (they appear the following week).

This week, there were 39 active H2W horses (an 8% win hit rate and a 44% ATB [across-the-board] hit). Horses with asterisks before their names were tweets @FrankCotolo. Follow for late choices.

Winners

Mandeville, $19.20, $7.20, $3.60, Cal-Expo
Candell, $5.20, $3.20, $2.10, Freehold
Handsome Harvey, $2.80, $2.20, $2.10, Cal-Expo

Seconds

Catch The Wave, $9.80, $3.60 (Exacta $13.20), Batavia
Filly Speaks, $4.10, $2.10 (Exacta $11.80), Batavia
Mandeville, $4.00, $3.00, Cal-Expo
Ideal Chance, $3.60, $3.10, Monticello
Bechers Brook A, $3.20, $2.20 (Exacta $9.20), Dover
Greg, $3.20, $2.40 (Exacta $7.70), Yonkers
Mystical Sarabi, $2.20, $2.30 OK, Batavia

Thirds

Im J Bee N, $7.40, Meadowlands
Ravishing Virgin, $7.20, Rosecroft
Arnold, $7.10, Batavia
Leave Her Wild, $4.80, Meadows
Super Hero Hanover, $3.00, Batavia
Always B Laughin, $2.60, Miami
Coffee Can Cash, $2.60, Rosecroft

NEWS & NOTES

There’s good news from the harness racing programs in Massachusetts. Plainridge Park, the remaining theater, adds two new stakes to its schedule. The added purse from the events pushes the total estimated value of 2023 stakes events to $3.27 million, making it the most lucrative offering of race prizes in New England’s history of harness racing. Plainridge kicks off its live racing season on Apr. 10, and stakes action begins three weeks later.

Batavia Downs, the oldest lighted harness track in North America, handled $340,602 through the betting windows on 13 races on Jan. 30, and that number set an all-time single-card betting mark. It is the highest handle since Western Regional Off Track Betting reopened the track in 2002, and it surpassed the $339,000 realized over 14 races during the 2019 New York Sire Stakes Night of Champions finals.

As TwinSpires harness bettors know, we post stats on drivers’ winning streaks. We hold the raw numbers of success accountable using results of flat-bet profits (FBP are what a bettor wins if wagers are made solely upon a specific driver’s participation). No other harness racing posts report driver performance like this. However, we define a “streak” totaling at least five per program. Some headlines applaud drivers with less, but our FBP figures remain loyal to bettors and to all drivers, popular or not.

Extraordinary Extras

Indulge in our new monthly column, Among Ourselves, at Harness Racing Update.