Anvil Hands sweeps late for $25,000 victory

Plainville, MA —  A pair of Baystate Starter Allowances for pacers racing regularly at Plainridge Park were held on Tuesday (Sept. 16) at The Ridge during a beautiful late summer afternoon.

The first group went for $25,000 and Anvil Hands (Always B Miki) was late to the party but got the big prize.

Major Betts (Bruce Ranger) overpowered E R Griffin (Matty Athearn) for the point passing the :26 quarter and continued to lead to the half, where Always A Miki (Brett Beckwith) pulled first-over to challenge. Always A Miki pushed to the front at three-quarters as Major Betts began to fade. But on Always A Miki’s back was Anvil Hands (Jim Hardy), who continued to follow around the turn until the race reached the stretch. That’s where Anvil Hands tipped around Always A Miki and paced home clear by a length in 1:52.

Anvil Hands ($6.00) is owned by David and Christine Thibault, in partnership with his driver Jim Hardy and his trainer Jolene Andrews.

ANVIL HANDS REPLAY

Then in the $20,000 division, Sundown Kid (Irvin Crews) and Sweet Street Lou (Nick Graffam) locked horns and battled side by side through quarters of :26.1, :54.2 and 1:22.2 while P L Pasquale (Brett Beckwith) laid silently in wait third during the battle. As the race entered the final turn, Beckwith tipped P L Pasquale into action and then three-deep around Sweet Street Lou, gaining the lead at the top of the stretch. From there, P L Pasquale paced home clear and won in a new lifetime mark of 1:51.3.

P L Pasquale ($7.20) is owned and trained by Neal Grass.

Bruce Ranger had three driving wins on Tuesday while 11 different trainers each won one race apiece.

Live racing will resume at Plainridge Park on Thursday (Sept. 18) at 2 p.m. with a $5,088 carryover in the Wicked Hi-5 wager in race six.

Free full past performance programs and race replays for all live racing days at Plainridge Park can be found at plainridgeparkcasino.com.

For complete race results, click here: US Trotting results.

by Tim Bojarski, for Plainridge Park