British pacer wins American debut

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – As if the Ron Burke barn wasn’t deep enough already, they may have discovered a new pipeline of harness racing talent, as On The Money GB (Control The Moment) scored in her North American debut Friday night (Jan. 20) at The Meadowlands.

“We bought six horses (out of the United Kingdom) three years ago and had some success,” co-owner Mark Weaver told the United States Trotting Assocation’s Ken Weingartner on Thursday. “So, we went back to the well and bought five more. We gave them a little time off, a month in the field, and then trained them back. Hopefully, they make us some money over the winter.”

They’re off to a good start.

After being bet down as the 3-5 favorite, the 5-year-old moved to the lead just after the quarter and had no anxious moments from there, cruising down the road in 1:53.4. It was a length back to Speak Your Mind second with Super Girl third in the $14,500 conditioned pace for fillies and mares.

“I went in with a lot of confidence,” said winning driver Joe Bongiorno. “It was a pretty soft bunch and we were able to set reasonable (:28.3, :57.2 and 1:26.3) fractions. She’s really nice and has good manners but will probably have to race off a helmet when she goes up in class. She was a little green but finished up well.”

ON THE MONEY GB REPLAY

On The Money GB returned $3.20 to win, scoring for the seventh time from just 15 lifetime starts, good for earnings of $18,846.

The next of Burke’s British invaders will head to the gate Sunday afternoon when Ladyford Dollar GB departs from post two as the 3-1 morning-line choice in the ninth race. The Sunday card marks the first of two in a row at The Big M. Post time is 12:30 p.m.

FAB FIVE: All-source wagering totaled $3,038,538 on the 14-race program, marking the fifth time this year that betting has busted the $3-million barrier in as many attempts.

P6 DOUBLE CARRYOVER: No one had a winning ticket in the 20-cent Pick-6 for a second consecutive card, creating a double carryover of $22,246 when the bet is next offered Saturday on races eight through 13.

Free past performances for every race of every Meadowlands card are available by going to playmeadowlands.com.

A LITTLE MORE: Bongiorno and Andy McCarthy led the driver colony with three winners each. … Burke was the top conditioner, training a pair to victory lane. … Racing resumes Saturday at 6:20 p.m.

For complete race results, click here.

by Dave Little, for The Meadowlands