Hoosier Park’s First Breeders Crown Presented 22 Elims With Many Favorites And A Few Wild Upsets

In order of the Breeders Crown elimination races on the Hoosier Park program from Saturday, Oct. 21, here are our accomplishments and misses.

There were three $20,000 elims for two-year-old colt pacers. Two were won by favorites and we took the middle elim with a second choice, Stay Hungry ($7.00, $4.60, $3.60). In the first elim we were fourth with Nutcraker Sweet (5-2) and in the third elim we finished seventh with I’m A Big Deal (9-1).

Two older trot elims were also won by favorites, one of them the dominating mare Hannelore Hanover. We were second to her in the first of the pair with Marion Maurader ($2.80, $2.20) causing an exacta spot worth $19.20. In the first split we finished fifth with Pinkman (8-1).

The pair of older pacer elims put our choice, Missile J ($3.40) in third for round one and our other choice, Mel Mara (8-1) finished sixth, losing a berth in the final.

The soph-colt trotting division offered a trio of elims. As we established, What The Hill ($4.40, $3.00, $2.60) showed again he is the division’s leader, winning the third of the elims. In the second split we were second with New Jersey Viking ($15.80, $7.80) to spark an exacta with the favorite that paid $78.00. In the first of the trio we finished sixth to the favorite with Rubio (6-1).

Nothing good happened for us in the frosh-colt trot elims. We were off the board with Hat Trick Habit (4-1) due to a break that cost him any challenging moves and we were sixth with Fashionwoodchopper (2-1), who was simply disappointing and quit an underlay.

The glamour-boy pacers presented the most disappointing effort by the division leader, Fear The Dragon (3-5), who not only lost his elim but did not make the final, finishing last in the field of eight. The winners were huge prices but did not make the headline that Fear The Dragon made. He never got started after sitting fifth through three-quarters and he had nothing in the stretch. What went wrong will be a matter of reporting as soon as our insiders get to trainer Brian Brown and driver David Miller. In the other elim, Hurricane Beach (9-1) finished eighth, also not earning a berth in next week’s final.

One Friday elim was covered, resulting in a finish eighth for Jaye’s A Lady (36-1), who, as fate would have it, lost to 35-1 Ella Christina in the exact manner we expected “Lady” to win—of a blistering contested pace.


BREEDERS CROWN COUNTDOWN

The “Countdown” covered seven Breeders Crown elims from Oct. 20’s program at Hoosier.

We handed out two winners—three if you count Manchego’s 11^th-straight win ($2.10, $2.10, $2.10 ok) in a frosh-filly trot elim, which was either a pass or a failed shot at an upset with Courtney Hanover (56-1). In the sole soph-filly trot elim we scored with Overdraft Volo ($11.00, $3.80, $3.60) and in the first frosh-filly trot elim we won with the public choice, Phaetosive ($4.60, $3.60, $2.80).

Our two place horses were partners in a pair of exactas and both were in the elims for froch-filly pacers. We were second with Firestorm ($10.60, $7.20, Exacta $34.00) and Reign On Me ($3.00, $2.20, Exacta $5.40).

In the Mares Pace elims we were fourth with Seventimesavirgin (12-1) and sixth with Wrangler Magic (11-1).


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 31 active horses (a 19-percent win hit rate and a 48-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 week) It is up to you to follow horses that have not performed before this weekly review

Winners

The Cuse Is Loose, $18.60, $5.40, $4.00, Saratoga
Whiskey Please, $11.60, $5.80, n/s/, Monticello
Lissoy, $5.70, $3.30, $2.20, Northlands
Roddy’s Nor’easter, $5.20, $2.80, $2.10, Bangor
Chelsees A Winner, $4.00, $3.40, $2.80, Dayton
*Bear King, $3.60, $2.80, $2.60, Plainridge

Seconds

My Spring Fling, $16.60, $8.80, Saratoga
*Devils Embrace N, $8.60, $7.60 (Exacta $32.40), Plainridge
Smilys Amira, $4.00, $3.80, Northlands
Iron Mine Becky, $3.80, $3.20 (Exacta $10.00), Pocono
Fiesty Baran, $3.60, $2.10, Bangor

Thirds

A Dandy Bryer, $9.40, Northfield
Starface, $2.90, Northlands
Royal Renegade, $2.60, Northlands
Dustylane Msvickie, $2.10, Rideau-Carleton


News & Notes

Walter Case, Jr., the eighth leading dash-winning driver in the history of the sport (11,041 wins), received a provisional driving license from the Maine Harness Racing Commission and made his return to racing at Scarborough Downs. Maine is Case’s home state and where his career began. For the last nine years, Case has lived without driving. His racing career went on a hiatus in 2004 when he was convicted of assault and spent four years in prison. Upon his return to the sulky he won and was greeted with support. A large crowd’s cheers welcomed him back.

Dover Downs’ opens Monday, Oct. 30 and continues until March 30 with racing four days a week. Monday through Thursday post times are 4:30 p.m. Novemberfest of lucrative racing, headed by the $350,000 (est.) Hap Hansen Progress Pace and the Matron Stakes get the meet started.

The Matron Stakes begin by featuring two-year-old trotters and pacers on Thursday, Nov. 9. On the following week, the four sophomore divisions contest on Nov. 16. Annually, the Matrons boast an impressive list of nominees. For the 2017 edition, 875 juveniles are eligible. For this year’s Matrons, 507 two-year-olds and 368 three-year-olds are eligible for eight events.

The 2017 Matrons open with four two-year-old division finals on Thursday, Nov. 9. The frosh-colt trotters’ section offers 143 nominees. There are 117 filly trotters nominated. The colt pace finds a group of 133 with 114 filly pacers. Three-year-olds go to post on Nov. 16 with 95 colt and gelding trot nominees. The filly trot has 86 eligible femmes. The Matron three-year-olds feature 99 males in its division and 64 filly pacers.

Add 82 sophomores for the Hap Hansen Progress Pace. The “Progress”begins with $30,000 elimination divisions on Nov. 22, culminating in a rich $350,000 (est.) final also on the following Thursday, Nov. 30.

In addition all four Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund (DSBF) freshman divisions are on the November stakes program. There are two weeks of$20,000 preliminaries with the top eight point-earners matching strides in four $100,000 finals on Nov. 30.  

Harrington Raceway completed its 71st season of live harness racing Thursday (Oct. 19). Brian Malone notched his first training title over the half-mile racetrack, with 33 wins. Malone enjoyed a banner meet and had two of the season’s horses, pacing mares, Ideal Ice and Mcarma. Josh Green, a previous Harrington training title holder, was second with 29 wins. Joe Hunderptfund, Jr., Clyde Francis and Vincent Bradley rounded out the top five.

Extraordinary Extras

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