Miller, Ginsburg, and Siegelman dominate at Freehold

Together, Tyler Miller, Vinny Ginsburg, and Austin Siegelman won all but one of the eleven harness racing races that took place on Freehold Raceway’s half-mile oval on Friday, November 24, 2023.

Vinny Ginsburg opened the card with a win after a gutsy trip with the John-Urbanski-trained, Girl Almighty (Great Vintage). After settling in fourth for the first three-quarters, Ginsburg steered his mount three-wide around the leaders in the final turn and the bold move paid off as they paced to victory at 2-1.

Tyler Miller contributed the most wins with four victories. His first win took place in race two where he led the way around the track from post one with 4-5 Two Friskie To Pet (Pet Rock) for trainer Izzy Estrada.

Siegelman entered the mix in race three where he patiently sat the rail with 1-9 Bluebird Crush (Captain Crunch-All About The Pace) from post three for Jeff Smith. He let two challengers overtake him but ultimately got the best of them and went right around them in the stretch to earn his first win of the day.

In race four, Miller sat the pocket with 1-9 Don’t Trip (Nob Hill High) from post four and pulled at the three-quarter pole and went on to win by two-and-one-half lengths for trainer Maria Reid. He returned in race five with Sheeznotkidncowboy where he left from post seven and was able to capture the lead and maintain it until the finish to give the filly her first pari-mutuel win for trainer Alexz Goldin.

Race six resulted in another victory for Siegelman. He patiently sat the rail from post four with LA Magic (Kadabra) for Edwin Quevedo and waited until the three-quarter pole to erupt three-wide around his challengers and take over the lead for the remainder of the race.

Steve Smith was the only other driver to visit the winner’s circle for the day as he steered Smooth Debate N (Well Said) who he co-owns to victory in race seven for Karen Garland.

Race eight was “The Turkey Trot” race sponsored by Peter and Mary Grandich to benefit The Blessing Bag Brigade of New Jersey, a humanitarianism organization that helps homeless people in need. Austin Siegelman had the pleasure of winning this race quite easily from post one with 1-9 B Nicking (Wishing Stone) for Scott DiDomenico.

Race nine was an exciting battle between Siegelman and Miller, who were both looking to score for their fourth time of the day. Miller captured the early lead from the rail with Lazin On The Beach (Lazarus N-One For The Beach) and fended off some pressure from outside to maintain his prime position. Siegelman settled in sixth with Eden Paige N for the first half. However, in the third turn he steered his mount three-wide around his competitors and easily claimed the first-over position and the head-to-head duel began with Miller for the final quarter. Miller was able to hold onto the lead and claimed the grand-slam honors with the Edwin Quevedo trainee, which gave Quevedo a training double.

Vinny Ginsburg took care of the last two races. He piloted 8-5 Crazy About Pat (Crazed) from fourth on the rail to first-over to battle the 3-5 Siegelman-steered favorite after the half. The two dueled the rest of the way but Ginsburg and the Paul Fusco trainee ended up on top at the wire. He rounded out the card with a perfect pocket trip with 3-1 Cutting Humor (Heston Blue Chip) for trainer Kenny Anderson.

Live racing returns tomorrow (Saturday Nov. 25) at Freehold with 11 more races beginning at 12:30pm.

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

by Katie Eick, for Freehold Raceway