With 2 series finals, Big M handle up $1 million

The Saturday card at the Meadowlands opened with two series finals. The first half of the Daily Double was the $57,000 Aquarius, serving as the rubber match between leg one winner Warranee Needy, sent off as the 3-5 favorite, and Escape The News, who sprung a mild upset in last week's second round.

 

On the wagering front, the total handle of $3,593,659 was $1,029,420 more than the $2,564,239 wagered on this same Saturday in 2012, an increase of 40 percent. The live handle also showed an increase of 13 percent. The Meadowlands has run 32 programs so far this season, all 32 have shown increases in total handle.

 

With a short field of six, tactics would play an important role in the Aquarius and Yannick Gingras had Escape The News on his toes from the outside post, cleared to the lead before turn one and that was the difference. Gingras was able to rate his charge kindly and Mark MacDonald would draft in his wake with Warrawee Needy, saving his burst for the stretch run. On this day, Escape The News had enough and the :27 sprint home held "Needy" at bay a half-length in 1:50.

 

"I figured Mark (MacDonald) would try to keep his horse quiet as wrapped up as he was last week," said Gingras of how the race unfolded. "But I definitely had my horse ready to go and I was trying to keep my options open.

 

"We went :27 and change (to the three-quarters) but it was rated on my part. I was trying to keep Mark locked in as long as I could. I thought my horse would be awful hard to beat on the front. He's really game. Sometimes it's a little hard to get him there, but I got off the gate on the right foot tonight and he made it there.

 

"I wasn't counting my money at the top of the stretch, I knew we had a long way to go, but I was confident in my horse and he got the job done tonight."

 

Burke Stable conditions and shares ownership of the winner with Weaver/Bruscemi, JJK Stables and Howard Taylor.

 

The Burke barn would send out the favorite in the second race Horse & Groom final, the startlingly fast Quick Deal. The trick with "Quick" is a clean start, as his chart reads win or break at the gate. Gingras has become familiar with his tendencies and fed Quick Deal into the gate as it swung away to a smooth start and landed in the pocket behind leg one winner Modern Family, who paid a stiff :26.4 price for the lead.

 

The order was unchanged through a half in :55.1 when Yannick deuce popped and rode up alongside the leader, clearing that one as they straightened up. Longshot Harbor Point followed the eventual winner and continued to gain as they neared the wire, but Quick Deal had just enough for a neck score in 1:52.4.

 

Trained by Ronnie Burke and owned by Our Horse Cents and Rossie Smith, the winner comes from humble beginnings and has clearly found his best form at age five this winter at the Meadowlands.

 

Ron Pierce had a big night winning four on the card, while Gingras swept the early series final action.

 

Racing resumes on Saturday with the third leg of the Rags To Riches Series with post time at 7:15 P.M.