Meadowlands: Obrigado wires TVG field

Obrigado and driver Mark MacDonald were insistent on getting the front and once in command never looked back to win a leg of the TVG Free-For-All trot at the Meadowlands on Friday night.

DWs NY Yank was hustled away from the cones as Obrigado showed equal speed away from the gate and eventually wrestled away command after the opening quarter in 26 3/5. MacDonald was able to rate a 29-second half and 29 3/5 third quarter while fighting off a first over Master Of Law.

In the stretch, Obrigado, bolstered by the slow pace, sprinted home in 26 2/5 to hold off Flanagan Memory and Melady’s Monet, who elected to sit most of the mile and shook free too late.

The 1:51 3/5 winning time set a new lifetime mark for Obrigado, who is co-owned and trained by Paul Kelley along with Linwood Higgins, William Weaver III, and Stable 45. The 5-year-old gelding is now 31 for 50 lifetime.

The winner returned $10.20 for a $2 wager.