Stream Of Seconds Spawn Exactas In Features; $14 Cal-Expo Winner Tops Prices As 43-Percent Hit The Board

A sprinkling of seconds were delivered throughout our features this past weekend and our best winning price came in the horses-to-watch list (see H2W below).

Hoosier Park’s redux of stakes on Nov. 5, featured many Breeders Crown participants from the week before. We went with some of them but could not beat them, winding up with three seconds, which along with the race favorites, produced a trio of exactas.

Strangely enough, the race favorite we backed, What The Hill (6-5) received a terrible trip and finished ninth of 10. Otherwise, we were second with Overdraft Volo ($4.20, $3.00—exacta $14.60); second with Idyllic Beach ($2.80, $3.20 ok—exacta $12.60; and second with Filibuster Hanover ($3.80, $4.00 ok—exacta $22.40).

The quartet of Kindergarten finals on The Meadowlands’ first program, Nov. 4, was won by three public choices and one second choice. In the first mile we were third with Dab Hanover ($3.00) and sixth with Maria Deo (21-1). In the second mile we were sixth with Dawson Springs (4-1) and seventh with Lindys Big Bang (30-1). The third K-final found us second with Reign On Me ($3.80, $2.60), a partner to a $7.20 exacta with the favorite winning. In the last final we were sixth with I’m A Big Deal (7-1).

We debuted Partners For Picks (PFP), a feature we will be running weekly as the stakes season winds down and through the beginning of the New Year. In each PFP we suggest some outside contenders, as we foresee them, to use in a mulit-race exotic at a raceway of our choice. In the first installment we offered outside contenders at Plainridge Racecourse for Nov. 3’s Pick 5.

We did not deliver any winners but one of our choices was a high-paying second to a longshot that opened the Pick 5. Our choice, Astrogal ($29.60, $10.80) was second in leg one. In leg two we were seventh with Beachfront (10-1). Our third-leg addition, Wishful Desire, was a scratch. We finished fifth with Champaign Punch (9-1) and sixth in leg five with Forced Passage (4-1) Any horse in the PFP that loses will appear in the following week’s H2W.


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 42 active horses (a 14-percent win hit rate and a 43-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

Jazzmanian Devil, $14.60, $6.00, $5.00, Cal-Expo
Aims Whisper, $4.60, $3.20, $2.10, Philadelphia
Manhattan Beach, $4.60, $2.60, $2.60, Hoosier
Il Sogno Dream, $4.50, $2.70, $2.30, Woodbine
Make It Big, $4.00, $2.60, $2.20, Cal-Expo
Miss Annalise, $3.40, $3.00, $2.10, Bangor
 
Seconds

Bella Palazzo, $11.40, $6.20, Woodbine
Nuclear Ease, $4.00, $2.20, Rosecroft
Burning N, $3.80, $5.30 ok, Yonkers
Gossip, $3.80, $2.80, Rosecroft
Blood Brother, $3.00, $2.40 (Exacta $9.50), Yonkers
Cam B Zipper, $2.40, $3.00 ok, Dover
Rockin In The Hills, $2.40, $2.40 ok (Exacta $8.00), Hoosier

Thirds

Sweet Fancy Moses, $6.60, Northville
Alabama Flash, $5.20, Batavia
Heather Loves NY, $2.90, Rideau-Carleton
No Worries Mon, $2.20, Bangor
So Sublime, $2.20, Dover


News & Notes

Miami Valley Raceway is positioned for a higher overnight purse structure than last season, making its upcoming meet one of the highest purse structures in harness racing. Following a fourth season of record handle and purse growth, more than $14 million in purses will be offered within the 87-day meet that begins Jan. 5 and continues through May 7, five days a week, featuring Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday matinees at 2:05 p.m. and evening racing Friday and Saturday at 6:05 p.m.

Champion pacing mare Lady Shadow, winner of $1,905,144 was sold for $310,000 at auction on Oct. 31. The six-year-old daughter of Shadow Play fell just short of defending her Breeders Crown title, losing to Pure Country and Bedroomconfessions. Lady Shadow will leave for Canada and land in the Metropolitan New York area before continuing her race career.

Freehold Raceway will be dropping four Thursdays of live racing due to limited horse supply. The dates being dropped are Nov. 9, 16, 30 and Dec. 7. Freehold will be adding two days of racing on Dec. 15 and Dec. 16. Freehold GM said, “There simply aren’t enough horses to support a three-day-a-week schedule this time of year. We will pick up with Thursday racing again in late December once some of the regional tracks have closed for the winter.” Freehold will race Friday and Saturday through Saturday, Dec. 16. After a brief break, the winter/spring meet will begin Dec. 28. Racing dates for 2018 will be released in mid-November. Post time will remain 12:30 p.m.

Extraordinary Extras

Indulge in many standardbred topics at my Hoof Beats blog titled Vast Performances.

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