Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Spin Rate wins $101,300 Matt's Scooter

March 31, 2007

Spin Rate and driver Ron Pierce capitalized on scorching early fractions to win the $101,300 Matt's Scooter Final for three-year-old colt pacers on Saturday night at the Meadowlands. Spin Rate drafted behind Panedict Arnold, with George Brennan in the sulky, as he challenged Dragon Master and Dan Dube through blistering fractions of :26.3, :53.4 and 1:22.2. Pierce took Spin Rate three-wide to pass the tiring leaders on the final turn and opened up to a three-length lead in the stretch. The duo held off Art At Heart in the final strides to win the sixth race feature by a head in 1:51.3. Twinscape came from last at the head of the stretch to finish third.

"George's horse [Brennan and Panedict Arnold] came first over and was starting to give it up, so I just creeped up," Pierce said. "Going into the last turn, I decided it was time to go. I asked this colt to go and he was really pacing nice around George and then got around Danny [Dube and Dragon Master]. I figured we'd better get as big a head start as we can because that colt of Andy Miller's, Art At Heart, he can really go. So I started chasing him pretty good at the head of the lane there. The wire - I thought I was never going to get there. Opening up [in the stretch] helped us a lot. We got far enough away from [Art At Heat] where he couldn't catch up."

Spin Rate recorded his fourth win in 17 career starts and improved his earnings to $155,292 for the Ray Remmen Stable. A $19,000 yearling purchase at the Lexington Select Yearling Sale, Spin Rate was winless in nine starts as a freshman. New York residents Joseph Petrera [Harrison] and Robert Pucila [Mount Kisco] share ownership of the colt.

"The horse ended up with Kelly O'Donnell out in Ohio last year," Pucila said. "We wanted to bring him out early this year to give him an early start instead of holding off until the big [horses] come out. It turned out to be a good move for us. He's going into the Berry's Creek and then the Hoosier Cup in Indiana, and then he'll be back [at the Meadowlands]. He's not in the Meadowlands Pace and we're going to put him in the Oliver Wendell Holmes and then he'll be back in Kentucky, that's where he was bred."

The $101,300 Matt's Scooter The Meadowlands: Race Six
Saturday, March 31, 2007
PP Horse                     Driver
8 Spin Rate                  Ron Pierce
3 Art At Heart                Andy Miller
6 Twinscape                  Jon Roberts
4 TJ's Ideal                   Brian Sears
5 Springlake Artist         Mike Lachance
7 Major Suit                  David Miller
9 Dragon Master           Daniel Dube
2 Art's Image                Yannick Gingras
1 Pesto Hanover           Cat Manzi
10 Panedict Arnold        George Brennan
:26.3      :53.4      1:22.2      1:51.3