Driver Anthony Napolitano has been doing good things at the Meadowlands for the last three winters, and Friday night at the Big M, he was without question the big man on campus, winning five times on the 13-race card.
Napolitano had help. With Yannick Gingras absent, ‘ANap’ drove trainer Ron Burke’s stock, and the duo teamed up to win four times on the card. Their winners were Noble Prize ($5.20 to win as the favourite, 1:56.3 for the mile) in the fourth race conditioned trot, Jaded Dream ($7.20, 1:53) in the fifth race conditioned pace for fillies and mares, Stormont Wizard ($5.40 as the public choice, 1:53.4) in the ninth race conditioned trot and Misslarose ($3.60 as the chalk, 1:55) in the 12th race conditioned trot.
Napolitano capped his big night in style, scoring in the 13th race fillies and mares conditioned pace with 12-1 chance Heavenly Bet ($26.80, 1:53) for trainer Brianne Good, who recorded a training double on the card.
Marcus Miller also had a big night, guiding three winners on the card.
The Pick 4 was popular as usual, as the second biggest pool of the year, $88,456, was wagered. The return for a 50-cent bet was $209.15 with favourites winning the last three legs.
The Late 20-Cent Jackpot Super High Five once again failed to result in a single-ticket winner, and as a result, the carryover crept ever closer to the $100,000 mark, just a little over $3,000 short at $96,484.
Racing resumes at the Big M Saturday at 6:35 p.m.
(Meadowlands)