In the Money Harness Players Newsletter Vol. 28
September 6, 2024
Kevin Plowcha with the Open this week:
As a handicapper and fan of the sport, it's no surprise that I find myself watching dozens of harness races every single day. As long as tracks are running, I will be watching. However, as the saying goes, sometimes even too much of a good thing is bad. Watching the same 8K claimers every week can become tiresome, and watching replays of those claimers for handicapping purposes can become tiresome. What isn't tiresome is watching some of the most talented horses in the sport, regardless of division. Two-year-olds, three-year-olds, Open horses, you name it. The hype and draw around a big card creates buzz, excitement, and a reason to watch. I had the pleasure of watching some of the best two-year-olds that the PA Sire Stake programs had to offer on Thursday at The Meadows, and it was an amazing day of racing. The early consolations proved challenging for the bettors, myself included. The front-end was not holding up like I thought it would. Take race 3 as an example. Joel And The Jets started his move just after the half and gutted out a win over Wedlock Blue Chip who was a proven winner at the top level. The early Pick-4 paid just under $2,500 for 50 cents, showing that the races were competitive and the track was playing fair. The PASS Finals were next, and they delivered. Rose is just a little bit better than Papi Grad right now, as she beat her again in the filly pace final. Would love to see her go up against Chantilly, but she looks unstoppable right now. The filly trot final somehow had an opening quarter of :26.3. Mark Macdonald never left the pylons with She's A Shoe In and upset the field at 16-1. In the male trot final, I was shocked that Father TJ didn't hold on after a :58.0 middle half. Meshuggah finally broke through after three straight second-place finishes. The last final for the male pacers, which appears to be the deepest division in PA, produced the best race of the day, and the best one that I've seen in a while. You must go back and watch the drive Ronnie Wrenn Jr gave Papi's Rocket. He makes about four moves with the horse and somehow finds a seam late to win. At the top of the stretch, seven of the eight horses are within two lengths of each other. It was an amazing race that gave me goosebumps, and not many races do that. Dreamboat Hanover raced his eyeballs out, finishing fifth by just over a length after being parked for the mile. You had a couple of closers that may have found ways to win if the finish line was 15 yards further away. It was a race that delivered on a card that delivered and was refreshing because I got to witness it live. Sometimes, all it takes is one day at the track to get that fire burning just as hot as it did when you first started watching.
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Spot Plays for the Weekend of 9/6-9/7
Friday Woodbine Mohawk Race 7 (6) Blinded By Delight expected to be “revved up like a deuce”. No way she’s another runner in the night though. She will be pacing to victory over these.
~Doug Henwood
Friday Woodbine Mohawk Race 8 (1) Sportsline - was first up against class dropping Hungry Man last week and that wasn’t going to work. He should be able to find a helmet to follow this time.
~Garnet Barnsdale
Friday Woodbine Mohawk Race 6 (4) Control the Smile - First time Malik, not likely to get the 4-1 ML in the win pool but I will be betting something on this horse.
~Murray Slough
Friday Woodbine Mohawk Race 9 (6) Prohibition Legal - Roy once again because of Silver Label, Tells on a Roll and Sylvia Hanover this mare will get the cold shoulder from the bettors. She’s just as good as those three if in proper position. Racing great on lasix.
~Brad A.
Friday Meadowlands Race 7 (4) Soiree Hanover 8/1 ML - bounced back after a poor Hambo Oaks Elimination with a win and a close loss to the favs. She was beating the same gals as a 2 year old. Try for value with Timmy T in the bike.
~Pgh Phil
Saturday Woodbine Mohawk Race 1 (3) Do Better - produced best race in awhile at big odds 8/31. Has back class and a kick when on his game.
~Mikee P.
Saturday Woodbine Mohawk Race 3 - (2) Out of Ice at 5/1. Still a maiden, but has been facing some very nice colts in his young career. This short field will keep him close - any clear sailing in the stretch makes him a HUGE threat.
~Sugar Doyle
Harness Players Podcast Saturday 9/7/24 International Trot and Woodbine Mohawk Stakes
Ace and Garnet Barnsdale join Mike Pribozie for their first official podcast, which is done together and covers the Stakes for Saturday night at Woodbine Mohawk Park. Divisions of the Champlain and Simcoe are discussed featuring the matchup of Legendary Hanover and Nijinsky.
Kirsten Petersen stops in for coverage of the International Trot at Yonkers. Kirsten is a harness racing enthusiast from Holland who has provided coverage of International Racing on the Sweden Harness Players Pods in the past. She gives her impressions of the shippers for this year’s International Trot at Yonkers on Saturday, September 7, 2024.
Fraser Downs is Back Next Week! Thursday and Friday Nights and we will have coverage on the Harness Players Podcast and at nahupicks.com
Swedish Horse Racing
www.swedishhorseracing.com is the place for replays, odds, news and much much more for all tracks in Sweden More podcasts coming this year for all the major races with Edison Hatter, Mike Pribozie and Thomas Svensen!
The ITM YouTube Channel has a Harness Racing Section that archives all our video podcasts.
Upcoming Races for The Stable Horses
Check out thestable.ca YouTube channel here https://www.youtube.com/@TheStableCanada
Contest Jockey is expanding to Assiniboia This week and Next Weekend ContestDriver.com begins with Fraser Downs Harness Racing!!!
Thanks for reading In the Money Media Harness Players Newsletter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.