Meadows Monday Memo

HARNESS RACING SCHEDULE for the week

We are now in our winter 3-day-per-week racing schedule, Wednesday through Friday afternoons at 12:45.  This schedule will remain in place through the end of March.

NOMINATION DEADLINE APPROACHES

The Meadows’ first set of spring series events will begin in early March, but nominations for the 3 & 4YO series have a deadline of this Wednesday, February 15.  For more information, follow this link.

WRENN TAKES THE LEAD

For the first time in his career, driver Ronnie Wrenn Jr is atop the standings at The Meadows in wins.  Wrenn won 7 races last week, giving him a total of 44 for the season, two more than perennial leading driver Dave Palone.

Jeremy Indof is still off to the best start of his career, with 28 wins through the first six weeks of the year.  By comparison, just two years ago, he won 72 races for the entire season.  Driver Dan Charlino is off to a strong start as well, winning 26.9% of his drives (7 of 26).  He has a UDRS rating of .376, second only to Wrenn (.426).

99-1 WINNER

The highest-priced winner of the year is now Creatine Storm a 3YO Creatine gelding that won this past Wednesday as a 99-1 shot.  Owner/trainer David Kuzara took the drive himself, working his way to the lead just past the first quarter in a NW1 trot, and going on to win by a half-length.  In most cases, a 99-1 winner is usually higher, because the tote board can’t show anything larger than a 99.  But in this case, it was accurate, as Creatine Storm was sent off at exact odds of 99.80 to 1.  Kuzara recently returned to racing at The Meadows, as he has spent much of his career traveling the nation as a collegiate gymnastics coach. He paid $201.60 to win.

LEE JOINS TOP 5

Trainer Gerald Lee Jr has joined the top-5 ranks among conditioners after a strong week.  He now has 7 wins, tied for fifth best, among 27 starters.  The three-way tie for fifth includes Norm Parker (7 for 27) and Justin Pirillo (7 for 28).  Ron Burke still leads the way with 28 wins, followed by Dirk Simpson (24), Stacey Currie (16) and Brandon Presto (13).

If you would like additional information at any point, please reach out to track announcer Jeff Zidek (jeff.zidek@pennentertainment.com).

by Jeff Zidek, for The Meadows