Harness: Meadowlands Pace Night Experiences

It may not have been a return to complete normalcy - masks were a required accoutrement and security was more prominent - yet it felt great to be back at The Big M for world-class harness racing on Meadowlands Pace night.

Taking a positive from a terrible situation, COVID-19 has done wonders for the traffic (or lack of it) in the New York/New Jersey area. It was a pleasure to spend just over an hour driving from Long Island to East Rutherford, cutting a good 30 minutes off the usual clocking. Upon arrival, everyone was asked to fill out a questionnaire confirming their health and were given a thermal temperature check. The process was seamless and really didn't take very long, as everything was well organized.

Entering through the simulcast area door, once inside the building it seemed like business as usual, other than that everyone had masks on their faces. The main simulcasting region was well-populated but not overcrowded. Walking through the entire facility indoors and out, for the most part, people were respectful of the rules. I witnessed a gentleman at the second-floor lounge area being told he would have to put his mask on or leave and also a loud round of applause came from some on the track apron midway through the night when a non-conforming female guest was escorted from the premises by a pair of New Jersey state troopers.

Management did an excellent job of having ample security to make sure people were as safe as possible. I did notice some social media complaints that a few people were caught on the simulcast feed not wearing masks, but rest assured, they were the exception to a mostly complying crowd.

For the first few hours, with the sun beating down and the temperatures near 90 degrees, it was borderline uncomfortable to continually wear a mask when outside, but that could take nothing away from some spectacular on-track performances. Being on hand to watch Tall Dark Stranger and Papi Rob Hanover empty their tanks through an epic stretch battle made the trip to the track more than worthwhile. The additional benefit of watching nine other stakes winners, including spectacular performances by Manchego, Ramona Hill, Dancin Lou, Gimpanzee and Our Majordan A, was just icing on the cake.

Part of being a writer, handicapper and fan is forming opinions as the races are unfolding and after the dust has cleared. While Back Of The Neck and Ready For Moni both looked good wining their Stanley Dancer divisions, I couldn't help but come away feeling that the Hambletonian picture is no more clear than before I showed up at the track. Neither horse in my mind separated themselves greatly from the "field" which includes 79 trotting colts and geldings plus another small handful of fillies which could conceivably roll the dice versus the boys. After a quick review of the eligibles, it is plausible to see two full elimination fields or perhaps even three eliminations on August 1 at The Meadowlands.

Three horses with Hambletonian eligibility that didn't win caught my eye for the future. I was happy with the Dancer performance from the Per Engblom-trained and Jimmy Takter-driven Beads. After displaying speed from his post-one starting spot, the son of Archangel and his driver found themselves searching for racing room in the stretch. When the seam appeared nearing the wire, some will say he was a bit flat or just even, but I view this horse as one whose best attribute is carrying his speed a long way, regardless of trip, so the lack of a last-second sprint is not overly concerning. What is encouraging is that since his trainer added a hood to his normal equipment, the Renee Spahr-owned colt is very manageable and showing no signs of his previous behavioral issues.

The second notable horse is Maesteraemon, who finished fifth behind Back of The Neck in the other Dancer split. Sitting ninth throughout the mile, few people were paying attention to the son of Andover Hall during the race. What those with eyes on the leaders missed was a 27 2/5 final quarter (fastest of the race) where the colt gained more than five lengths, an amount that would have been greater if not for running into late stretch congestion. The Marcus Melander trainee is worth watching.

Last up on the 3-year-old trotting front is the filly Panem. She finished second behind an impressive two-move win by Ramona Hill. Watching Panem's first start of the year she seemed like a filly that would take a bit of time to realize her potential and every week we are seeing more dimensions from her. In her second start she went wire-to-wire in 1:53 4/5. On July 11, she was a solid first-over second timed in 1:51 during Sorella's monster 1:50 2/5 win. In the July 18 Del Miller we saw even more as she left strong to make the front, settled down nice in the three-hole and had plenty left in the stretch when driver Dexter Dunn got her straightened out (she appeared to be running in a touch). Her final time was 1:50 4/5 and I came away thinking that the Diamond Creek racing-owned and Nancy Takter-trained daughter of Father Patrick has more gas in the tank for the Hambletonian Oaks.

The one winner I'd like to shine the spotlight on is Gimpanzee. The composure of this 4-year-old is just so remarkable. Starting from the second tier didn’t faze him one bit. Getting parked every step of the 1 1/8 distance was no issue. Driver Brian Sears placed the son of Chapter Seven in a reasonable spot behind Forbidden Trade, pulled the plugs in the stretch, and Gimpanzee took off like a rocket, leaving his competition more than three lengths behind at the wire. In the short term, trainer Marcus Melander will skip the $250,000 Spirit Of Massachusetts on Sunday (July 26) at Plainridge Park and aim for the $300,000 (estimated) John Cashman Memorial on August 8 at The Meadowlands for his first try against older horses.

As a horse that has the looks of a potential star for years to come, we tried to pin down Anders Strom (Courant Inc.), who shares ownership with SRF Stable, on what the more distant future holds for Gimpanzee. Could we see the horse on the track in 2021 and beyond? Would a campaign in Europe be in the cards? Is the breeding shed in his future for 2021?

"Nothing is set in stone," said Strom. "The horse will decide his own future and I doubt we (Courant and SRF) will start to think about next year until later this season. The situation with COVID-19 makes racing internationally, like in Europe, difficult. Even racing in Canada is challenging at the moment."

One piece of good news for Gimpanzee, and perhaps why he is aiming for the Cashman instead of the stakes race on Sunday, is that Manchego is not eligible to the former. The biggest aged players in the Cashman are Atlanta and Guardian Angel As. It is certainly easier to beat two stars than three.

Getting back to Meadowlands Pace night, from top to bottom, the team - from security to on-air talent to management - at the track did a great job of putting on the show. The bettors did their part by sending over $5 million into the pools. It was a wonderful experience, and despite making some wagering mistakes that lingered with me on the ride home, I walked away with more in my pocket than when I arrived. Of course, I hit traffic on the George Washington Bridge at midnight on the way home because someone decided that closing two lanes was a great idea. Some things, even in the pandemic environment, never change.