Keene Road wins twice

Bettors who keyed Keene Road cashed twice in a single race on Saturday, when he won the Harrison Half on the Extreme Day card at Calder Race Course in Miami. The one-mile race asked bettors in two separate bets to pick the leader at the half-mile mark and the winner of the conditioned claiming race. The two bets were taken as races 5 and 6.

Keene Road won the half-way wager in a sudden rainstorm, leading by a half-length in an opening half-mile in 48.49 seconds. For that part of the bet, he paid $12.60. Keene Road completed the race first by 9 1/4 lengths and paid $9.20.

The Harrison Half was part of a card filled with unique betting gimmicks and races run under rarely seen conditions. Calder introduced the concept last summer.

Visually, the World's Fastest Daily Double might have been the most intriguing event. It offered two races, the third and fourth, run simultaneously. The third was at a mile on turf, and the fourth at six furlongs on the main track.

The turf race began shortly before the dirt race, as the call of the races alternated seamlessly between the two fields. The fourth race finished before the third, with King Anthony ($8.40) closing from seventh to win by three-quarters of a length over a fast track. In the third, Ice Skating ($6.60) rallied for the win on yielding turf. The double paid $32.40.

In other races:

* Caller One ($8.80) surged for a neck win in the $50,000 Rocket Man Stakes at two furlongs.

* Golden Strategy ($3.20) led throughout in the $50,000 Turf Marathon, a two-mile race moved from the grass to a sloppy main track.

* Firebrook ($2.60) won the $50,000 Methuselah, for 5-year-olds and up, and Zoobstick ($14.60) won the $50,000 Gray Pride, for grays.

* The $50,000 King George's Wrong Way ended up being run the right way, or counter-clockwise, on the main track after rains forced it to be switched off the turf. Kristali won, paying $4.80.

* The program opened with a fast track, but was downgraded to sloppy after a rainstorm. The sun came out later on the track was upgraded to good.- Mary Rampellini