Meadowlands: MacDonald discusses his Saturday night contenders

Driver Mark MacDonald is quite familiar with racing under difficult conditions. The transplanted Canadian knows what it's like to race during the winter.

"I used to race at Woodbine, and the wind was a major factor," said MacDonald. "The wind at the Meadowlands is a big deal. I don't think people realize how big a deal it is. They put a variant of minus two, but that doesn't tell the real story."

MacDonald hopes the weather cooperates this Saturday when he's listed to drive some major contenders on the 15-race Meadowlands program.

Sports Column is a horse MacDonald knows very well. The Blake MacIntosh-trained 7-year-old was one of three horses MacDonald drove last week that were victimized by the track bias.

"I had three horses that I put on the front-end, and they all got passed," said MacDonald. "If I had driven any of them later on the in the card, I would have raced them differently."

MacDonald conceded that cutting the mile last Saturday night was not the place to be. Sports Column was a solid second behind Incredible Shark in last week's battle and takes him and eight others on in Saturday's opener.

"He's just a real nice horse," said MacDonald of Sports Column. "He won for me two starts back in 1:53 and came a last quarter in 30 seconds. Handicappers would look at the last quarter and think it was slow, but it was into a vicious wind, and he was really, really good."

Sports Column drew post two in the non-winners of $7,500 condition, and his driver think's he is still below his true level.

"He was an Open horse at Yonkers not too long ago," said MacDonald.

Heza Real Diamond (post two) is a 5-year-old that doesn't look that good on paper of late, but MacDonald is optimistic his fortunes can turn in Saturday's fifth race, the $20,000 Big Game Series consolation.

"He's been really hard to steer the last couple of weeks," MacDonald said. "He's another one that I put on the front-end that was hurt by the bias."

Heza Real Diamond paced to a 1:48 4/5 mile late last year for MacDonald but has since gone winless.

"He may have gotten a little high in class," MacDonald said.

The 5-year-old has been on the lead in his last three starts, and his driver suggested he might be looking for a change in tactics, expecting trainer Edwin Quevedo to make some equipment changes to help MacDonald navigate the turns better.

MacDonald has a solid chance with Buck Dancer (post seven), who he'll be driving for the second time in the Saturday feature trot, a $22,500 affair carded as race six.

"He moved up in class and had to race from the outside last time. I thought he raced very well," said MacDonald of the Carmen Auciello trainee. "My brother drove the horse at Woodbine Mohawk Park and told me he really liked him."

Buck Dancer was a 1:53 4/5 winner in his Meadowlands debut on January 23.

MacDonald hopes he can even the score with Taste Of History in the $17,500 Big Game Series final for the $12,500 claiming level pacers, race seven on the program.

"I told Dexter (Dunn, driver of Forevernalways) that I might as well have been a travel agent setting up his trip to the winner's circle last week," said MacDonald of the dream trip Taste Of History gave his rival, cutting all of the fractions and then finishing second to the pocket-sitter.

MacDonald hopes that Taste Of History (post six) might also benefit from that race.

"He was racing on the half-mile track, and sometimes they need to get acclimated to the mile," said MacDonald.

Points North finally moves south for MacDonald and Auciello, at least when it comes to post positions. The recent arrival from Ontario has somehow managed a victory in his three local appearances despite having drawn post 10 on two occasions and nine on the other. Saturday night, Points North will start from post three in the $22,500 winners over $11,500 contest (race 10).

"I left out of there with him last week and as soon as I found a seat Simon (Allard) was on the move," said MacDonald. "It's tough having to make a second move from the outside. Once I sat in, he just got shuffled back."

The trip didn't dull MacDonald's confidence in Points North, who should be a major contender.