Chia'sso pays $1,624.60--almost!

Hazel Park Raceway already holds the distinction of being the site of the sport’s all-time record for any $2 wager with a $1,243,053 Twin-Super payout in 1988, and the track nearly added the all-time $2 win payoff to its resume when 811-1 Chia’sso finished a close third in Monday night’s first race.

An 8-year-old mare bred by Cotton Standardbreds and owned by Jeff and Donna Cotton, the trainer, Chia’sso rallied from ninth at the half for driver Randy Edmonds to just miss catching 1:58-winner Smoke Dancer by a length. The race was also suffered a mild interruption of sorts when the field had to pace through a large gathering of geese that had assembled on the racetrack in the first turn, which scattered some of the horses and resulted in three receiving “interference” notations on their charts.

As it was, Chia’sso returned $103.80 to show. However, if she had won her payoff of $1,624.60 would have surpassed the previous record of $1,365.80 returned by Rod’s Faybill at Scarborough Downs on June 23, 1983.

The long odds were no surprise as Chia’sso had a fifth and two ninth-place finishes in her first three starts this year, beating a total of three horses combined. According to Edmonds, who has driven the daughter of Keystone Raider in nearly all of her career starts for the Cottons, it’s lucky she is even racing at all after suffering a leg injury in a race at Windsor Raceway Dec. 1, 2004, that kept her away from the races for two years.

“We thought she had actually broken her leg, but she just had a bad foot. They got her ready again last winter and the same thing, she blew out a foot, which is ironic because Jeff Cotton is probably the best blacksmith in Michigan,” said Edmonds.

“In her last start she raced with earplugs in here and wouldn’t stop, that’s why she went a quarter in :27 and change in the two hole and she stopped to a walk. (Monday night) they put the plugs in her and I was bound and determined no matter what she wasn’t going to leave,” he continued. “And then we ran over that field of geese in the first turn. It was a mother goose and all her goslings, and that looked like it was going to be a disaster.”

Edmonds admitted he was surprised by Chia’sso’s effort, which ultimately brought her career record to 32-4-3-3 and $8,305 in earnings. Her last victory was Sept. 23, 2004, at Sports Creek Raceway, a career-best 1:57.4 effort with Edmonds driving.

“I’m sure she surprised me and everybody else that she had that much pace late,” said Edmonds. “I looked at the toteboard and saw 99-1, but I figured she was about 150-1, where she belonged. I thought that if she won she’d be the biggest payoff in Hazel Park history because I thought she had a shot.”

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