Take A Gamble continues on tear with fifth straight

For five straight starts there has been no reason to not take a gamble with Take A Gamble (Bettor’s Delight) as the five-year-old harness racing pacer continued his winning ways Monday (May 1) at Yonkers Raceway.

Competing in the 8^th race $36,000 Open-Handicap Pace, Take A Gamble and driver Scott Zeron got away in fifth place as Ultimaroca (George Brennan) cut the mile to the first quarter in :28.1 with Speed Man N (Joe Bongiorno) sitting the pocket trip.

The short field of five starters raced single file to the half mile marker in :57.1 before the action started to heat up in the backstretch as the race favorite, Take A Gamble, was moved first-over by Zeron. They were in third place on the outside at the three-quarters in 1:25.

By the top of the stretch, Take A Gamble was second on the outside and coming down to the wire, Take A Gamble wore down Ultimaroca and then held off a strong closing effort by the pocket-sitting Speed Man N to win by a head in 1:53. Captivate Hanover (Daniel Dube) was third.

TAKE A GAMBLE REPLAY

Not only was it the fifth straight win for Take A Gamble, but also his seventh win in just eleven starts on the year for trainer Jared Bako and owner Stephen Klumowski. He paid $4.10 to win.

Semi Tough (Somebeachsomewhere), pulled off a mild upset at odds of 7-1 in the 2^nd race $30,000 pace sub-feature. Driven by George Brennan, Semi Tough raced second-over while pacesetter and race favorite Certifiable (Jason Bartlett) cut the mile and battled with first-over Loorrim Lake A (Matt Kakaley).

Semi Tough moved up into second place by the top of the stretch and went on to win by one and three-quarter lengths in 1:52.4. Oakwoodnitownit IR (Zeron) was second with Nome Hanover (Bongiorno) third.

SEMI TOUGH REPLAY

It was the second straight win and fifth of the season for Semi Tough. The seven-year-old gelding is trained by Ron Burke for Burke Racing Stable, LLC, Frank Baldachino, J&T Silva-Purnel & Libby and Weaver Bruscemi and paid $16.40 to win.

For complete race results, click here.

by Steve Wolf, for Harnesslink