The unusually warm weather on Saturday (Dec. 9) at Freehold Raceway wasn’t the only thing heating up. Driver Jack Pelling was on fire as he visited the winner’s circle four times on the eleven-race card, including a win in the $12,000 Preferred Handicap Pace, which was also known as the Toys for Tots Pace.
Freehold Raceway's leading driver over the last two years, Austin Siegelman, had his first big day in the bike on Thursday (Jan. 13), with five winners on the nine-race card.
The weather was warm at Freehold Raceway this Friday (March 12), but Eric Abbatiello was sizzling. He piloted home six winners on the 11-race card.
The highlight of his day came in the featured Preferred Handicap trot, where he drove Casino Cutie It to a 13/1 upset win. He rated her in fourth place in the early stages, while Life Well Lived set the early fractions. As they passed the five-eighths point, favoured Kinda Lucky Lindy moved first-over to challenge the leader, and Abbatiello grabbed cover with his mare. At the top of the stretch, he flipped Casino Cutie It three-wide, and she stormed down the center of the track for the victory. The final time was 1:56.1 over a fast track.
The Harold Kelly Memorial Pacing Series comes to a conclusion at Freehold Raceway on Saturday (Jan. 23).
The series, named in hounor of the great New Jersey horseman who passed last fall, began on Jan. 9 and was split up into two divisions. Over the past two weeks, New Jersey-sired, owned and foaled horses have been battling it out, and the top eight point-earners in each division have advanced to the final.
The Division I final, for horses who started the series with a TrackMaster Horse Rating between 68.00 and 71.50, is scheduled as the sixth race, with a listed post time of 2:10 p.m. The purse is set at $10,000.