Owned, trained and driven by Bob Rowland, I Get It went coast-to-coast in the Northville Downs $10,800 Open Trot on Friday night (Oct. 28).
Rowland guided his charge to the front from his starting post position six and cleared to the lead by the quarter pole, tripping the beam in :28.3. I Get It trotted a half-mile in :59.3, three-quarters in 1:29.1 then held off a late charge from pocket-sitter Travlin Swan to win by a neck in a final clocking of 1:59.3.
The six-year-old son of Dontyouforgetit earned his 51st win in his 95th career start and pushed his career earnings to $206,331.
In the co-featured $10,800 Fillies and Mares Open Pace, Sara Jane streaked home an easy winner.
Sara Jane, a five-year-old mare by McArdle out of Gargantua Hanover, with driver Kody Massey in tow, got away fourth behind early pacesetters Shes Cruising Home and Vow To Wow. When the dust settled going to the half, Sara Jane cleared to the front, accelerated past the three-quarter pole and opened up down the lane to win going away by 4-1/2 lengths in the night’s fastest clocking of 1:55.3.
Paul Cloer Jr. trains Sara Jane for owner Lases Racing. Sara Jane won for the ninth time in her career and now totes career purse earnings of $127,782.
Kody Massey and Marc St. Louis Jr. both nabbed driving doubles and Paul Cloer. Jr nabbed a training double on the night’s program. Lases Racing also picked up an owning double on the night.
Track announcer and resident handicapper Ken Terpenning correctly selected nine checkmark winners on the 10-race program with his only miss coming in race four where his top selection finished second beat only a neck. The nine winners included his Longshot Play of the Night in the aforementioned Sara Jane, who returned $19 to win; his Best Bet of the Night in Ultimate Winner, paying $9 to win; the $2 early daily double, paying $15; the third race $2 trifecta, paying $61.20; the fifth race exacta, paying $8.80; the winning exacta in race 10, paying $10.80; the late daily double, paying $39.80; and the winning Pick 4 ticket that paid $117.30 for the $1 base bet. The other seven checkmark winners returned $9, $6.20, $5.40, $4.40, $3.60, $3.40 and $3.20 for their respective win payouts. Terpenning's handicapping selections may be found each race night on Harness Racing Symposium 101 on Facebook or heard/seen during each race night’s broadcast.
According to the Michigan Harness Horsemen’s Association’s Facebook page, the Michigan Gaming Control Board has awarded Northville Downs its 2023 race dates: a total of 52 Standardbred race dates, from Friday, April 7, 2023 through Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023, with live racing to be held on Fridays and Saturdays. Each night’s post time in 2023 will be 7 p.m.
Northville Downs will race its next live program on Saturday, Oct 29. First race post time remains 7:30 p.m. each night for the remainder of the 2022 schedule and Northville Downs races each Friday and Saturday night through Dec. 17.
(With files from Northville Downs)