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Top Stories, Links & What’s Inside
Harris has Hambletonian aspirations
with Waitlifter K READ MORE
Alagna sends out power combo in
Hambo Oaks Elims READ MORE
Southwind Frank makes final prep
for Hambletonian READ MORE
Watch the Hambo Oaks elims LIVE
+ video analysis READ MORE
Alagna, Burke hold the cards in
$400K Adios Final, Page 3
Summing up a 40-year career in
Harness Racing, Page 4
Takter trio ready for Hambo Oaks
eliminations, Page 5
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Derick Giwner
Email Dgiwner@drf.com
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industry view
The greatest of all time and other quick jabs
By Keith Gisser
Muhammad Ali earned the title “The Greatest,” even if he did assign it to himself. The late
boxer won 56 of 61 bouts lifetime, an impressive record. The term greatest or Greatest of
All Time (GOAT) gets thrown around a lot
these days.
Lately the term has been applied by many
pundits and observers to free-for-all pacer
Always B Miki. While Miki has been very
good, I am not sure his record qualifies him
as great. Miki has six wins in eight starts this
year and is 19 for 43 in the win column lifetime. The fact that Miki missed an entire year
of racing may weigh in his favor, just as we ask
about the affect of Ali’s missed time in prison
or Bob Feller’s four year absence while serving
in the military (Feller debuted at 17 but missed
four years in his early twenties, after pitching
a no-hitter at 21 and making the All Star team
from ages 19-22, before enlisting). Feller was
perhaps great, but still not the GOAT.
Most of the elements of greatness are there
when discussing Miki. There must be dominance. No argument from me; at least for the
past couple of months. There must be a noted
foe or foes. Ali had Frazier; Affirmed had
Alydar, but wasn’t the GOAT; Miki has Wiggle
It Jiggleit and Freaky Feet Pete. Finally, there
must be time or tenure. That is where I am
reluctant to call Miki great. He has always
been pretty good. No, very good, at least from
his 3-year-old campaign on.
If we eliminate a lackluster freshman
campaign, Miki is at 31 wins and nine losses.
But he needs to sustain that performance for
an entire season or longer to be named in the
Nikki Sherman
Always B Miki will take aim at the all-time
speed record on Hambletonian Day.
same breath as Bret Hanover (62 of 68 lifetime
with 24 wins in his best season) or Niatross
(37 of 39 lifetime). Miki has raced longer than
both. But the other two each had undefeated
seasons. He has not been dominant for as long
as those two. Miki has yet to lose to his main
competition this year. His losses have come
to Rockeyed Optimist and Mel Mara. Good
horses, yes. But great ones should not lose to
these. There is a lot of racing left and I would
be happy to print a retraction at the end of the
season.
What would be better for the sport? Always
B Miki dominating the ranks, with Wiggle
It Jiggleit reduced to being Miki’s Alydar, or
having the pair (and even Pete) start splitting
the wins week in and week out? I am not sure
there is an answer. Which do we need more,
a Super-Horse or a several good ones, battling
week in, week out, for supremacy?
CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
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Keith Gisser: Random thoughts that are on my mind
CONTINUED from page 1
An open plea in Ohio
Dear Northfield Park Management and
Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association –
Stop acting like petulant children. Earlier
this month, the OHHA sued Northfield, but
Northfield won’t budge on its plans to close
the backstretch on August 1. So the OHHA
retaliated by pulling simulcast approval
as of August 3. I get it, but as a patron who
has pushed thousands of dollars through
the windows each year for the past 20-plus,
supporting horsemen and management salaries, I no longer care who is right or wrong.
Previously, I wrote, “I have no idea who is
eventually going to win this battle. Actually,
yes I do. Nobody. No matter what the outcome,
even a legitimate negotiated settlement after
16 months or so, the animosity will remain.
Northfield looks petty and cheap. The horsemen look greedy.” I left out one group, the
patrons. We also lose. Fix it. Please!
[EDITOR’S NOTE: An Ohio Judge ruled
this week that there will be a three month
cooling off period between Northfield and the
OHHA. The Judge strongly suggested that
the two entities fix this problem.]
Quick thought on Gural/Faraldo
Speaking of petulant children, is the Jeff
and Joe show just beginning to wear a bit
thin? Maybe Vince McMahon can sign the
two of them to a one-time only pay-per-view
bout, with proceeds going to a worthy harness
charity. I would suggest the Harness Horse
Youth Foundation, but that opinion may be
slightly biased. Maybe the Standardbred
Retirement Fund or New Vocations would be
a good charity choice. I am not picky.
Great food coming to Tioga
I was at Vernon and Tioga last weekend
as part of my summer Handicapping Herpetologist tour. The construction at Tioga is
amazing, although it is now harder to see and
access the racetrack from the main entrance.
But that is a small price to pay for Virgil’s
Barbecue, one of my go-to New York City
destinations. Granted, I am not in NYC often,
but I love the food and the atmosphere. If they
can duplicate that experience at Tioga, I will
put up with a few extra twists and turns to
get to the grandstand. And hasn’t somebody
been saying for years that racetracks need
to brand their restaurants like this to draw
more people? Who was that guy? Good job
Tioga Downs.
Have reptiles, will travel
This weekend I am off to Running Aces
in Minnesota for my reptile road show. It is
always a fun trip. Running Aces is a great
little racetrack and has amazingly dedicated
horsemen basically working on an island of
harness racing. The reptiles will be there, I
will be doing a couple of on-camera handicapping segments and I hope to see you. I
plan to cash a few tickets. Hopefully you will,
too. See you next month.
Alagna, Burke hold the cards in 2016 Adios Final at The Meadows
By Derick Giwner
Nine of the best 3-year-old pacers in the
sport will line up behind the gate on Saturday afternoon for the 50th Delvin Miller
Adios Final at The Meadows. To say that the
odds favor a victory by a Ron Burke or Tony
Alagna trained horse would be an understatement.
Burke, far and away the leading trainer
in the sport in terms of wins with 466 this
year, will send out five hopefuls chasing the
$400,000 purse. While there is strength in
numbers, Alagna seems to have the advantage over Burke, as his pair is led by 8-5
morning line favorite Racing Hill.
With North America Cup winner Betting
Line remaining in Canada and Meadowlands
Pace champion Control The Moment sitting
on the sidelines, Racing Hill has a prime
opportunity to add the Adios trophy to his
Max Hempt prize earned on July 2 at the
Downs at Pocono. With $636,702 earned, the
Alagna-trained colt sits atop the leaderboard
for all sophomores regardless of gait.
Racing Hill comes into the Adios final off a
convincing 1:49 1/5 elimination victory over
The Meadows’ five-eighths oval last Saturday. While the margin of victory was less
than one length, driver Brett Miller appeared
to be very confident while holding runner-up
Check Six at bay on that day and the son of
Blue Chip Farms’ Roll With Joe seems to be
ready to roll this week as well.
“He’s had a great week so far,” Alagna said.
“He came out of the race good and shipped
home good. He was fresh on Sunday and I
jogged him (Tuesday) morning and he was
very good, so we’ll see what happens. We took
the four post in the final. It’s very good.”
Nikki Sherman
Racing Hill is the 8-5 morning line favorite in Saturday’s Adios Final.
Alagna also sends out American Passport
in the Adios from post six with Scott Zeron.
Prone to mistakes and erratic behavior, the
son of American Ideal was at it again in his
elimination when he put in a few steps on
the final turn. Fortunately, he was able to
recover to finish fourth to make the final.
Despite sending out more than half of the
field, Ron Burke has his work cut out for him
if he is to win the featured race at his home
track. Elimination winner Manhattan Beach
would appear to provide him the best opportunity, though he did pace more than a second
slower (1:50 2/5) in victory than Racing Hill
last week. Manhattan Beach will start from
post three with Matt Kakaley in the bike.
Check Six is another from the Burke
handful with the ability to step up. While he
couldn’t get to Racing Hill last week, he does
own five wins in 10 starts this year and earnings just shy of $470,000. Yannick Gingras
will drive the Somebeachsomewhere-sired
colt from post six.
Burke also has starters from post one (More
Dragon), post eight (Fernando Hanover) and
post nine (Big Top Hanover).
“We’ve got enough shots,” Burke said with
a laugh. “Racing Hill is tough. We’ve got to
put him in a spot where he’s not on the inside
just getting his own fractions. But he’s a very
good horse and it’s going to be hard to do that
probably.”
Rounding out the field for the Adios are
Another Daily Copy (post two) and Lyons
Snyder (post seven).
The Meadows will offer a 17-race program
commencing at noon with the featured Adios
slated as race 12.
The track will also offer a filly companion race, the $110,950 Adioo Volo, for 3-yearold pacers. Dismissal puts her seven-race
winning streak on the line as she faces Open
foes for the first time in her career. Brett
Miller will drive the Michael Hall trainee
from post six in the ninth race undercard
topper.
Summing up a 40-year career in Harness Racing
PANDYCAPPING
By Bob Pandolfo
It was at Yonkers Raceway where I first
heard track announcer Max Brewer say,
“The Marshall calls the pacers.” Brewer’s
voice, style, and cadence gave the expression
of reverence. I loved it. I had made my bet.
The tickets were clenched in my hand. The
horses were on the track. When the Marshall
calls the pacers, the race is about to start! I
can remember the adrenaline rush I felt.
This is my last column. I’m not hanging up
the pen, per se. I’m still going to write and
publish books. My next book, Power Pace
Handicapping, a thoroughbred handicapping book, will be out in a few weeks. I’m
also working on a new harness handicapping book. And, I’m planning some video
handicapping segments. But I’ve written
over a thousand columns in the last 40 years,
for DRF Harness, American Turf Monthly,
The Racing Times, Racing Action, and other
publications. I used to relish deadlines. Now,
not so much.
To put myself in the right frame of mind
for this final column, I settled back into a
recliner and closed my eyes. I drifted back in
time, back to when I was a teenager. I could
smell the ink on the Doc Robbin’s Tomorrow’s Trots (past performance program),
ubiquitously tucked in my pocket.
There’s something about being young and
impressionable. My love affair with harness
racing started in 1972. I went to Roosevelt and
saw Albatross. A few weeks later I was there
for the International Trot, which to this day
is still my favorite race. The great French
mare Une de Mai, who won the International
twice, finished second, but her courageous
effort gave me goose bumps. Little did I know,
at the time, that some years later I’d be on
television covering the International Trot
live for Yonkers Raceway.
I remember the crowds. We often talk
about how we can get young people interested in horse racing. Well, having a packed
grandstand helps. It was exciting. One way
or another, you have to get people out to the
track.
Handicapping is a great puzzle, and it
comes with a prize. I loved it then, and still
do. I start handicapping at 6 a.m. most days.
Coffee and past performances, that’s the way
I like to start the day.
Early on, I kept it simple. Herve Filion
was the leading driver. I noticed that many
people who were ripping up their tickets were
saying, “Herve beat me again!”
I figured since I was still learning how to
handicap, I’d make most of my bets on Herve.
One night he had six drives. I bet them all
in a series of three horse round robin win
parlays. Herve won five and lost his last drive
by a nose. You don’t forget those nights.
One night at Roosevelt, I was standing near
the finish line watching the race and Herve’s
horse lost its action, went into a wild break
and started to fall. Herve was thrust out of
the seat and ended up lying on his stomach.
I saw the horse’s nose come within an inch
of the ground. But Herve tugged hard on the
reins and yanked the horse’s head up. The
horse regained its balance, and Herve, his
feet dragging on the track, pulled him up.
That was the magic of Herve Filion.
Once I started working for Sports Eye in
1976, I got to hang around with a bunch of
young guys who were just like me, harness
racing aficionados. It was great.
I covered the 1991 Meadowlands Pace for
The Racing Times. Two-year-old champion
Artsplace was the favorite in a stellar field
that included Die Laughing and Precious
Bunny. Artsplace lost to Precious Bunny in
the final. But Artsplace fulfilled his massive
potential as a 4-year-old. In 1992, Artsplace
had one of the greatest years in the sport’s
history when he won all 16 of his starts
including the Breeders Crown.
In 1984, Nihilator, with Bill Haughton
in the bike, made three moves to the lead
winning a baby race at the Meadowlands. It
was his third lifetime start. Back then, they
brought them along more slowly. The time
wasn’t blazing, but the way Nihilator moved,
I just felt that he was something special. In
my Sports Eye column I wrote, “This may be
the next superhorse.” They used the quote in
an ad.
Some favorite moments by great horses:
Shady Daisy’s wicked backstretch brush
winning a stakes race at the Meadowlands…
Sonsam’s monster three wide final turn
blitz winning the Meadowlands Pace at the
Meadowlands…Bonefish’s courageous four
heat Hambletonian win in 1975…Niatross
winning the Meadowlands Pace in front of
a packed house…Peace Corps’ last to first
three wide sweep winning the International
Trot at Yonkers…Cam Fella’s 28 race win
streak…Art Official’s stunning upset over
Somebeachsomewhere (I picked the exacta
cold for this publication)…The great mares
Silk Stockings and Tarport Hap in their classic battles.
It’s not always about the great horses,
though. There were plenty of regular raceway horses that were worth writing about.
The greatest claim may have been Fight
The Foe. Claimed for $10,000, Fight The Foe
climbed the class ladder and became one of
the top pacers in the sport. In 1979, he won
the Cardigan Bay Pace at Roosevelt Raceway, defeating a quality field that included
Rambling Willie, Newt Lobell, Nickylou,
Seedling Herbert, Mostest Yankee, Wizard
Almahurst and Sirota Anderson.
Another cool raceway horse was from
Down Under, Payoff N. Trained by Alan
Alkes and driven by Bob Vitrano, Payoff
N was a big chestnut horse who was popular with racing fans in New York. Prior to
the races he’d warm up with his head bent
down. Once the gate opened, Payoff N left and
opened up a huge lead, sometimes in excess
of 15 lengths while setting a fast pace. Then
at the wire he was life and death to hold on.
But he won 49 races in his career and he was
fun to watch.
Another personal favorite was Momentous,
who wasn’t a top class horse but he had a lot
of fans. Fellow harness writer Doug Kaplan
and I decided to team up and do an interview
with trainer Bob Rahner. When we got to the
barn at Roosevelt, Momentous was standing
outside his stall. Rahner came rushing up to
us with his hands out. “Don’t get too close to
him! He bites, kicks, you name it. He’ll hurt
you.”
Momentous put that mean streak to
good use on the racetrack. He would often
be assigned post 8 in handicap races. He
wasn’t quick out of the gate and didn’t have
a fast brush, so Rahner would leave with
him and let him grind. Momentous would
race parked-the-mile without cover and he
won a lot of races the hard way. Author Carol
Ann Vercz wrote a book about Momentous,
“Momentous: An Unbridled Spirit,” which is
out of print. Momentous was so popular that
Yonkers threw him a retirement party on
New Years Eve, 1981.
Some of the most exciting moments of my
career were when I did live events, such as
television and handicapping seminars. I
did several “Racing From Roosevelt” shows
with Stan Bergstein, Spencer Ross, and John
Dockery. And of course, there was the Meadowlands recap show and handicapping analysis for a popular Yonkers Raceway cable
show with Gary Sussman. On one of those
shows, I covered the International Trot, won
by Reve d’ Udon.
I interviewed The Voice of Roosevelt Raceway, Jack E. Lee, one of the all-time great
race callers. He loved the column so much
that for the rest of his career he had it hanging on the wall in his announcer’s booth.
Probably the most popular column I ever
wrote was an interview with “The Red Man,”
Carmine Abbatiello. We ran teasers in Sports
Eye for weeks, “Why do horses go faster with
Carmine? Find out when Pandy interviews
The Redman.” The Sunday edition sold
40,000 copies, best of the year. Abbatiello
gave out some trade secrets. For instance, he
explained how he used the whip to tease the
horse and keep it alert.
“I tap the horse at the base of the tail, not
hard, nice and easy, just to let it know I’m
here, keep it alert,” Abbatiello said, before
showing me how he held the whip and moved
his hand. “Tap, tap, tap…tap, tap, tap…tap,
tap, tap…and then when I’m ready to make
my move, I shout and shake the reins, and the
horse takes off.”
I could go on and on. But, you can’t put 40
years into one column. It’s been fun. I know
some of you have been reading my columns
for a long time. Thank you!
It’s a wrap. I hear the announcement, “The
Marshall calls the pacers.” It is time for the
next race of my career.
Takter trio on target for Hambletonian Oaks eliminations
By Jay Bergman
Some trainers are so good they make it look
easy.
But make no mistake, nothing is ever as
easy as it looks, especially training high level
trotters.
Jimmy Takter has made it look easy. As the
premier trotting trainer of this generation
he’s carefully brought horses to their peak
performance and has somehow managed to
time it just right to coincide with the first
Saturday in August. Though in 2016 and just a
week away from the big event, Takter doesn’t
appear to be holding all of the cards. He’ll
send out three from his large assemblage of
sophomore filly trotters in two $50,000 eliminations for the Hambletonian Oaks Saturday
at The Meadowlands.
“I’m happy with all three,” said Takter,
taking the politically correct path. A trainer
on his level deals with multiple partnerships,
but at the same time he has managed to keep
a level head and a solid stable with similar
talent.
Unica Steed is a relatively new example of
a Hambletonian Oaks contender in that the
daughter of Muscles Yankee was racing in
Italy before arriving on these shores early
this season.
“It was a little difficult for her to acclimate,” said Takter. “She was trotting miles
in 2:01 in Italy and now she had to go in 1:53.”
The transition was a bit slower than Takter
would have expected, but Unica Steed finally
put it together when surprising Womans Will
on the wire with a 1:54 2/5 dead-heat victory
in a division of the Del Miller on July 16.
Unica Steed drew post two in the first of the
two Hambletonian Oaks divisions and will
once again have Tim Tetrick in the bike in
the field of ten.
Unlike Unica Steed, All The Time, one of
two Takter-trained fillies in the seventh race
and second Oaks division, is home grown. A
sparkling 2-year-old season made her one of
Nikki Sherman
Unica Steed will try to make her second
U.S. winner’s circle appearance on Saturday at The Meadowlands.
the top rated fillies in North America heading into 2016, but All The Time has been less
than perfect.
“She’s been dealing with some back issues,”
said Takter, quite aware that the beautifully
bred daughter of Muscle Hill is still as consistent as she was winning seven of 12 starts as
a freshman, but has lacked the killer instinct
others have expected.
Most recently All The Time finished
second to Broadway Donna in a division of
the Miller but the trainer praised the perfor-
mance nonetheless.
“I don’t think it was a great drive,” Takter
said critically. “She’s more of a hunter.”
Though driver Yannick Gingras did take
All The Time to the front, the fractions were
not very taxing. Despite the second-place
finish, both Takter and Gingras appear to
be on the same page with the pilot in charge
once again from post five on Saturday.
The Pennsylvania-bred Miss Tezsla has
been notably flying below the radar but
Takter believes she earned a spot in the Oaks.
“She came a faster last quarter than any of
them,” Takter said referring to the 27 flat last
panel Miss Tezsla showed in the Miller two
weeks earlier.
With one win in her six seasonal starts it
would be easy to discount the daughter of
Andover Hall from post seven, but here’s
where Takter’s experience and knowledge
comes in. Miss Tezsla’s dam, Filly At Bigs,
was campaigned by Takter during her racing
career and in 2003 the Donerail-sired filly
finished third behind stablemate Southwind Allaire in the Hambletonian Oaks.
She too was a bit of a closer. Perhaps it’s that
connection that has Takter excited about his
chances on Saturday night.
The trainer is not short of talent in the
3-year-old colt and gelding division and with
entries due on Monday he was still on the
fence about just how many from his stable
would enter the $1 million Hambletonian on
August 6.
“I’m going to train them on Saturday and
make a decision by Monday,” said Takter in
regard to his expected presence in the sport’s
top event.
“I definitely think I’ll have at least three,”
Takter said.
Meadowlands 13-race program on Saturday has a first post of 7:15 p.m. and also
features likely Hambletonian favorite Southwind Frank. Also driven by Gingras, he will
start from post 11 in the second tier in the
fifth race $53,488 Reynolds Memorial.
Harness Racing loses Berkner, Marsh
George W. Berkner universally known as
“B” throughout the harness world and the
world in general, succumbed to the ravages
of pancreatic cancer following a gallant
battle. “B” was 74.
A long-time trainer/driver, Berkner is best
known for steering the fabled BG’s Bunny
to a then track record 1:54 in the inaugural
Meadowlands Pace first heat back in 1977.
Although Escort won the second heat as BGs
Bunny was unable to return, coming up sore
following his effort, it was “Bunny” that won
the hearts that night.
More recently, Berkner trained and
partially owned New Jersey Classic winner
BG’s Folly p,3,1:49 1/5 (Rocknroll HanoverArt Amour) and put together the ownership
group behind that one’s sensational full
brother Rockeyed Optimist p,5,1:48.
Berkner is survived by his beloved wife
Ginny Whipple, who was at his side throughout. In lieu of flowers, the family requests
that any donations be made to the Alan
Kirschenbaum Heading for Home Horse
Retraining and Adoption Center at 683 Lake
Avenue, Saratoga, NY 12866
It should be noted, that “Kirsh” got his
start as a caretaker and then was second
trainer for Berkner.
Arrangements will be announced shortly.
--Bob Marks
Joe Marsh Jr., 82, one of the top drivers
from the “glory days” of harness racing,
died peacefully on July 27, 2016, after a long
illness.
Born on June 20, 1934, at Cadiz, Ohio, Mr.
Marsh followed in the footsteps of his father,
beginning as a groom in 1952, and entering
the driving ranks in 1959, when he batted .316
against all other North American drivers,
placing him 12th in the nation.
He soon became one of the leading drivers on the continent, competing at Roosevelt, Yonkers, Liberty Bell, Washington
Park, Hazel Park, Wolverine, The Meadows,
Sportsman’s Park, Maywood, Aurora Downs
and Hollywood Park.
Mr. Marsh and his son Ron share membership in the “5,000 win club” as the only fatherson driving team in harness racing history to
achieve that elite status.
Mr. Marsh drove 5,882 winners to the tune
of $36,401,271, and also had the longest streak
(35 years) of driving at least 100 winners per
season, from 1960 through 1994. From 19781992 he also had consecutive $1 million-plus
seasons.
Mr. Marsh also held the distinction of being
the first American driver to win the World
Driving Championship in 1974. He also represented the U.S. in 1973, 1975 and 1987, and
over the years won driving titles in Illinois,
Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan. In fact,
he won nine consecutive driving titles at all
Chicago area racetracks from 1971 through
1973, and as a result of that was voted 1973
Horseman of the Year by Harness Horsemen
International.
Besides steering racehorses in Califor-
The joy of watching
Wiggle It Jiggleit
By Derick Giwner
Joe Marsh Jr lived 82 years.
USTA Photo
nia, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Illinois,
Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, he drove
in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and
Europe. In 1972 and 1973 Mr. Marsh finished
second to Herve Filion in North American dash wins, and was also voted Chicago
Driver of the Year in 1972.
Mr. Marsh captured numerous stakes
races, and trained and/or drove some of the
top horses in the country in some of harness
racing’s major events for five decades. He
won seven American-National events and
finished third in the Little Brown Jug once.
Some of his top horses included Careless
Time, Tarport Hap, Sir Dalrae, Follow That
Star, Rambling Willie, Jiffy Boy and Pacific
Dream.
“Joe was a very good friend of mine and
was at the very top of the list of great drivers,” said USTA President Phil Langley.
“Were he in his prime today, he’d rank right
up there with Yannick, Brian, Tim, Dave and
other top drivers.
“I had the good fortune to go to Europe
with him in the World Driving Championship and also to see him race a good part of
his career in Chicago. He drove and trained
a lot of very good horses including the excellent mare Glad Rags.”
Mr. Marsh was preceded in death by his
wife, Marge; and is survived by his sisters,
Donna Dusseau and Patricia Snide; sons,
Ronnie, Ed (Maureen), Robert (Niki) and
Dan; daughter, Susie (Jay) Litchfield; grandchildren, Deadra, Brad, Ryan, Tara, Chris,
Frankie, Eric and Adam; and great-grandchildren, Brooke, Brandon, Mackenzie,
Eddie, Logan and Cadence.
--USTA Communications
It seems the moments when we get
an excited crowd in harness racing are
few and far between. From the moment
Wiggle It Jiggleit came on the track
for Saturday’s $260,000 Joe Gerrity Jr
Memorial at Saratoga Hotel Casino,
there was electricity in the air.
The large crowd was anticipating a
big effort and they got it. Despite getting
parked three wide and taking a big
portion of the first half of the race to
secure the lead, Wiggle It Jiggleit came
up with a huge mile to win in 1:51 without much trouble in the stretch.
Said George Teague Jr on the moment
as the crowd cheered WIJI home through
the stretch, “We don’t get it very often.
Sometimes you look at the grandstands
and it is pretty bare. When you see this
here and you get to be a part of it, it is
definitely a great feeling.”
We agree. It was great to be at Saratoga on July 23. Kudos to the crowd for
showing apprecation and to the connections for making the horse available.
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