Columbus closer brings Nebraska season to an end

Riders Luis Ranilla and apprentice Ashley Dill have opened up daylight in the standings on Jordan Olesiak, who had to serve a three-day suspension last weekend from a riding infraction at Canterbury Park. Ranilla leads the way with 33 wins after posting riding triples on both Sunday and Monday last weekend. Dill, who gained a short lead with a riding triple on Friday, has 30 wins, and Olesiak is third with 24.

Dudley Graham leads the way in the trainer standings with 14 wins, while Gene DeRoin and Steve Hall are tied for second with 8 wins each.

Business numbers for the meet should be nearly identical to last year, with a slight decrease in ontrack wagering offset by an increase in wagering at the other outlets taking the Columbus signal. Through Monday, a total of $1,149,055 had been wagered ontrack on the live racing card compared with $1,429,473 a year ago. The average ontrack handle stands at $57,453, compared with $64,976 last year.

Intertrack wagering from the state's other tracks on Columbus's live product has nearly reached last year's figure heading into Friday night. The 2009 total for the meet was $742,449 wagered from other sites on the Columbus live product, while this year's total will surpass that mark Friday night. The current total is $741,430 with three days remaining. A year ago, offtrack sites averaged $33,748 per card, compared with a current average of $37,072 this year.

If the averages hold out, total business for the meet should be nearly identical to last year's total of $2,171,922 wagered on the live races here.

Sunday's closing-day feature is the $15,000 Columbus Futurity for Nebraska-bred 2-year-olds. A total of 11 maiden juveniles were nominated for the six furlong race with no winners in the field.