Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Load The Dice upsets Nuclear Breeze

January 20, 2007

After having his own four-race streak snapped by Nuclear Breeze
last week, Load The Dice turned the tables on his foe in the $50,000
second leg of the Presidential Series Saturday night at the Meadowlands.
Driven by Yannick Gingras, Load The Dice sat third along the pylons as
4-5 favorite Nuclear Breeze battled Roddy's Bags Again for the lead
against strong winds down the backstretch. Load The Dice surged past
the tiring favorite at the top of the stretch and held off Roddy's Bags
Again for a length and a half victory in 1:50.3, in the evening's
featured third race for free for all pacers.

"I only used him the last three eighths of a mile," Gingras said. "He
was well in hand. I didn't even have to kick out the earplugs. Hopefully,
we get a good trip next week and then he will be hard to beat."

Nuclear Breeze finished third, with his winning streak snapped at
eight races. The pacer's troubles began just prior to the start of
the race, when driver Brian Sears had to return him to the
paddock for shoe repair on his front left foot.

"He wasn't himself tonight, he wasn't as sharp," Sears said after
the race. The victory was vindication for the John McDermott-trained
Load The Dice. The Chicago shipper had carried his own four-race
skein into last week's opening leg of the Presidential, but he could
not outmuscle Nuclear Breeze and finished second.

"His win tonight was what I expected," McDermott said. "Last week he
was good, but he had a couple of weeks off. I thought he'd be
phenomenal tonight. He's not the same horse as he was last year.
He's so sharp right now, it is scary. He needs the same type of trip
next week, to draw inside and brush past. Nuclear Breeze is a real
horse. I'm sure that last second shoeing didn't make him happy."

Last year, at four, Load The Dice posted a record of 12 wins, six
seconds and three thirds from 34 starts, for Illinois-based Engel
Stables, LLC, D.R. Van Witzenburg and the Sheffield Stable of Gladwyne, Pennsylvania. Lifetime, the pacer has won 16 of 61 starts for
earnings of $405,460. The $116,600 Presidential Series Final is Saturday.