Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Big Night at Balmoral & at the Meadowlands
July 3, 2004
by Kimberly A. Rinker

Quik Pulse Mindale Doesn't Disappoint
Driver Tony Morgan zigged and zagged with Lloyd Arnold's Quik Pulse Mindale, guiding the son of Jenna's Beach Boy to a 1:51.4 clocking in the $235,000 American National Three-Year-Old Colt Pace. Mike Arnold trains the powerful pacer, who scored his seventh win in a row. The victory pushed Quik Pulse Mindale’s seasonal earnings to $313,665 and his lifetime earnings to $334,020. It was the colt’s ninth victory in ten lifetime starts, and saw him best Sparkler (Brent Holland) and Enemy At The Gate (Dave Magee).

Kikikatie Bests Sophomore Fillies
After a 45 minute rain delay, which saw the Balmoral Park track scraped and bladed, Kikikatie came out and did what was expected of her. She won the $122,000 American National Three-Year-Old Filly Pace, posting a 1:53 clocking for driver Dale Hiteman. Trained by Joe Seekman for the L& L Devisser LLC of Holland, Michigan, it was the 16th win of 17 career starts for the daughter of Real Artist. Kikikatie pushed her lifetime earnings to $858,905 with the victory, her second of the season in as many tries.

Miller Boys Strike Again
For trainer Erv Miller and younger brother/driver Andy Miller, the first race at Balmoral went neatly as planned. Andy piloted Erv's trainee, Fox Valley Flan, to an easy 1:57.4 victory in the $100,000 American National Stake for three-year-old trotting fillies. The daughter of Vaporize, who is owned by the Tanah Merah Farms LLC, of Springfield, Illinois took her 12th victory of her carreer, pushing her lifetime earnings to $240,520. American Graffiti was second for Dan Shetler, while Merit Badge and Dale Hiteman nailed third.

Cinder Best Prevails in Fairy Godmother
Cinder Best proved she was just that as she came flying late to win the $86,000 Fairy Godmother Stake in 1:52 for driver Ryan Anderson, besting rivals Parklane Powerful and Loyal Opposition in the process. Trained by Seldon Ledford for Thomas Gerdeman and Elaine Lauf of Napoleon, Ohio, the win was the 37 career victory for the seven-year-old Cambest mare. It was her ninth win of the season in 15 starts and pushed her seasonal earnings over the $100,000 mark, and her lifetime earnings to $683,404.

At The Big M Saturday Night: Records Fall & Pierce Gets Victory #5,000
The Meadowlands played host to some big miles Saturday night as well. In the first of two $50,000 Haughton eliminations Four Starzzz Shark paced to a 1:47.4 mile for driver Mike LaChance, besting Mini Me and Art's Chip. That time was just a tick off the all-time fastest pacing record set by Jenna's Beach Boy in 1996, when he paced in 1:47.3 in the Driscol (the former name of the Haughton Stake). It was also a world record for an aged horse pacer.

Four Starzzz Shark’s mile eclipsed the older horse track and world record set by Western Ideal on July 29, 2000. The six-year-old son of Cam’s Card Shark has banked more than $2. 1 million for the FS Starzzzz Stables Inc. of Glenwood, New Jersey.

In the other Haughton elimination Life Source each paced a world record mile of 1:48, a world record for aged pacing geldings. The top five finishers from each of the two eliminations advance to the $700,000 Haughton Final on July 10. That time replaced the mark of 1:48.2 shared by Red Bow Tie, Art Dialing and Armbro Proposal. Trained by Richard J. Banca, the seven-year-old gelded son of Life Sign has nearly $1.1 million in earnings.

Camelot Hall scored a winning 1:49 mile, and equaled the track record for three-year-olds with his stakes record mile in the $85,000 Jersey Cup. That time equaled the track record for three-year-old pacers shared by Real Desire, McArdle and Whatanartist.

Eaton Road Kill equaled the older gelding world record of 1:48, set earlier in the card by Life Source, in the 10th race, a winners of $25,000 lifetime condition pace. Daniel Dube was in the sulky of the Mark Harder trainee who has won 11 of 19 starts this year for Gregg Pistochini of Auburn, California.

Rainbow Blue captured her 13 straight win with a three-length victory in the $85,171 Ladyship Stakes in a personal best of 1:50.1. The three-year-old daughter of Artiscape, trained by co-owner George Teague Jr., posted her ninth win in nine starts this year and pushed her earnings to more than $360,000.

Rainbow Blue also gave driver Ron Pierce his 5,000th career victory.

“It’s good to get it over with,” Pierce said of the career milestone. “I wasn’t even paying attention to it until the other night when Holly [Meadowlands statistician Bob Heyden] brought it to my attention that I was three wins away. Then I started the countdown. I thought I’d get it last night while driving Mr Muscleman. But it was really nice to get it with Rainbow Blue, one of the best fillies I’ve ever driven.

Ron nailed down his first career victory in 1976, driving Clans Amber at Freehold. He scored his first Meadowlands victory in 1977, driving July Sep. His first 100-drive year came in 1985-when he piloted the winners of 143 races. In 1989 he won his first half a million dollar event, driving Sam Francisco ben to victory in the $907,000 Woodrow Wilson. Two years later he took his first Breeders Crown in 1991, winning with Giant Victory, and two years after that won his first Hambletonian, the 1993 edition with American Winner. Dream Away was his first Meadowlands Pace victory, whom he drove to win in the 1997 Pace. In 1998 he became the first driver to win in 1:50 while piloting Badlands Hanover to victory in the Freshman Breeders Crown Pace.

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