News & Notes

Jonathan Roberts has a two-win lead over Frank Milby in the driver standings through the first six racing programs, but things are tightening up.

Roberts has nine wins to Milby’s seven, with Roger Plante Jr. and John Wagner right behind with six wins each. Five drivers each have five victories: Tyler Davis, Russell Foster, Jared Moyer, Richard Still and Jason Thompson.

On the trainer side, Arlene Cameron has been on a roll of late and now has seven wins from a meet-leading 44 starts. Basil Sapienza has five, followed by Brian Malone with four. Four trainers have three wins and 13 each have two.

Trained and owned by Sapienza, the 4-year-old gelding Jack Quick, now three-for-three at the meet, leads all horses in the local earnings category with $11,250. He’s entered in Race 1 on the Sunday, March 3, program and steps up a condition but still looks pretty tough.

Here’s a look at a few other races on the March 3 card:

Race 2

Bluebird Goldwyn took the inside route from last early in a Feb. 27 condition event won by a good front-end shipper from Dover and didn’t shake loose until the top of the stretch; this “NW 3 life” pace is not an easy spot but he probably fits with the right kind of journey and moves inside a couple of spots. Owen’s Spirit was competitive versus Jack Quick in his last two starts in this class and seems the one to beat.

Race 5

Muscle Beachboy makes his third start after a year-and-a-half absence in this $4,000 claiming pace and has improved each time. The 9-year-old got jammed up near the three-quarter-mile mark as winner Hide Me Away began to run away and hide to a 7 ¼-length victory; closing quarter-miles don’t excite but trip seems more important in a crapshoot affair.

Race 8

Allie’s Finale got the shuffle in last week’s “winners over” pace that included legit Open types and lost all chance, but he came home quickly and didn’t lose any ground even though he checked in last of seven. The price will drop considerably from 29-1 last time out but could still be fair given presence of Al’s Hammered, Sentencing Memo and Sawbuck Hanover—all legitimate.

Race 9

The Cameron barn has heated up lately and it might be time for Blue Fox, who not only moves way inside from posts 9 and 7, respectively, in his first two starts of the meet but drops in class as well. He should prove a tough customer at much less than the published morning-line odds.