For photos from the Meadowlands contact Lisaphoto@playmeadowlands.com

Monday, August 22, 2016

We Need More Hardball in Harness Racing

And this was a lesson learned yesterday in the Prix d'Ete.  Rockin Ron shocked the harness racing world by defeating Wiggle It Jiggleit by half a lengh in 1:52,1 over an off track at Hippodrome 3R.

Unlike in many of the big races where it seems the race is defaulted to the heavy favorite; no one wanting to take the overwhelming favorite and risk running out of the money in a race with a slot-fueled purse, Yannick Gingras decided to take on Montell Teague and Wiggle It Jigglit, using his position along the rim to beat WIJI..  Instead of yielding to the sure thing and earning second place, Gingras played hardball and refused to let WIJI clear, making him lose the lead on the final turn; enough to get Rockin Ron the win.




More races should be competed as hard as this one was.  Then some of those stakes races where a forgone conclusion happens would actually be a competitive race and appeal to gamblers as well.

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