Fireinsidemyveins hangs tough on the front-end

HAMBURG, N.Y. — Fireinsidemyveins (Muscle Mass-Prize Angie) had ‘ice’ inside his veins late as he held off a stubborn J-s Hopscotch in Buffalo Raceway’s $15,500 Open Trot on Saturday evening (June 24). He managed to squeak out the head harness racing victory in 1:57.2 over the fast track.

Scoring from the seven post, Fireinsidemyveins had a skirmish with Mugshots Bro and J-s Hopscotch before grabbing the advantage at the quarter pole. With splits of :29.2 and :58.1 in the books, action really picked up from there.

Mugshots Bro (Kevin Cummings) tried to go a first over trip around the clubhouse turn but that move sent Lougazi and Overserved on a break. It also eventually led to the disqualification of Mugshots Bro who finished in third but was placed sixth.

Fireinsidemyveins remained strong in the stretch and didn’t blink late, stopping the solid effort put in from J-s Hopscotch (Kyle Cummings) in the passing lane. Batting Stats (Dan Yetman) was elevated from fourth to third due to the disqualification of Mugshots Bro.

Owned by Gary Lance and conditioned by James Clouser Jr., Fireinsidemyveins ($11.60) is a 4-year-old who has produced $34,210 in earnings this season and $120,420 lifetime.

In the $13,500 pace, Idealthecards (American Ideal-Jessalilmixup) dealt himself a winning hand by romping to a convincing 5-3/4 length over American Trademark in 1:54.0.

After an impressive 5-1/2 length score last week in 1:53.4, Idealthecards (Joseph Chindano Jr.) stepped up another notch on the condition ladder and found the going just as smooth.

Settling back into third at the start behind American Trademark and Tony Too Tall, Idealthecards started his first over journey just before the half mile marker. Clearing for the lead at the three-quarter marker in 1:26.1, Idealthecards had the field in surrender mode after that. With the :.27.4 last split, Idealthecards paced away with the 5-3/4 length victory while American Trademark (Keith Kash Jr.) and Bet Eightthirtyone (Shawn McDonough) took second and third respectively.

Co-owned by trainer Terence McClory, Jennifer and Robert Lowe and Chris McClory, it was the third victory in nine appearances for the 5-year-old Idealthecards ($3.00). The victory pushed his 2023 bankroll to $24,570 and $92,901 in his career.

Racing will resume on Wednesday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. with a 13-race scheduled. There will be three $35,200 (approximate) divisions of the New York Sire Stakes for the 2-year-old filly trotters along with a trio of $20,000 Excelsior Series events.

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by Brian J. Mazurek, for Buffalo Raceway