Meadowlands: Track conditions a clear factor in Meadowlands Pace elims

Every handicapper relies, at least in part, on the past performances to arrive at a winning combination that will produce a profit. While these past performances offer the cold hard facts, as in the case of Meadowlands Pace night, they don't always reveal an accurate picture of what was happening on that night.

Looking back to the July 10 Meadowlands card, there was a freak act of nature which had a clear effect on the conditions of the track, yet all the past performances will show is that the track turned "sloppy" after race three.

Setting the scene, on a seemingly perfect night for racing, the first event on the 13-race card saw "good but not great" 3-year-old pacers stop the clock in 1:47 4/5. That was followed up with 2-year-old pacing fillies, specifically Gotthegreenlight, putting up the second-fastest time of the year (1:51 2/5) for the age group. Clearly Meadowlands Director of Racing Properties Ryan Napierala had the track in perfect condition for a huge night of stakes racing that included the Meadowlands Pace eliminations, two Graduate finals and the Reynolds series.

"They were rolling," said Napierala about the start of the card. "I was excited. I was telling one of my workers, 'you're going to see some times tonight,' not that we were shooting for records."

All seemed to be normal in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with three races in the books as some dark clouds began to appear over the property, specifically the east end. Horses and drivers stepped out onto the track from the paddock on the west end totally unaware of what awaited a quarter-mile and a few minutes away.

When horses post parade and score-down for a race at the Meadowlands, they typically go down the stretch the opposite way (clockwise) until at least the backstretch. What clearly caught the eye was Yannick Gingras and Andrew McCarthy going about 100 feet past the toteboard and turning around early after viewing the sky above.

As the fourth race began, the track was virtually split into zones of varying rain. At the finish line there was a light rain, on the first turn it was more like a drizzle and from the half-mile pole until midway down the stretch it was a monsoon.

"I've seen it before but not when we were in the middle of racing," said Napierala about the uneven amounts of rain over the one-mile track. "I said to Mo in the starting gate to be careful going down the stretch, and he said 'what are you talking about? The other half of the track is dry.' My booth is on the back turn, and I couldn't even see the other side of the track it was raining so hard. It was just nutty.

"You see stuff like that in the southern states like Florida a lot. When I was a kid down at Spring Garden Ranch, one half would rain and the other half wouldn't."

That the skies opened up just before the race and considering the forecast called for only a five percent chance of rain, there was no time for Napierala and his team to react. The bad luck meant a much different "sloppy" surface than is typically the norm at the Meadowlands, which handles water as well as any track in North America and typically plays faster after it rains. On this Saturday the track clearly slowed down for a few races as there was visible water on portions of the stretch and backstretch.

The sudden nature of the downpour meant the track couldn't be sealed, which basically means packed down "tight" so it allows for minimal moisture build-up. On a normal night Napierala will always wait before sealing the track to give the horses the best surface to race over as possible.

"I try to go as long as I can for the horses' sake because you don't want them running on asphalt," said Napierala, who added there are a number of ways to seal the track but even 20 minutes could be enough time before it rains to get much of the job done.

As you drag the wet material to the dry and vice-versa, the result is somewhat soupy conditions, which happened to effect both Meadowlands Pace eliminations (races six and eight). That led to slow half and three-quarter times (56 3/5 and 56 2/5 middle halves) and sub 26-second final quarters in both races.

So, when handicapping the $700,000 final on Saturday (July 17) how much weight do we put into two races where there was a slow pace and virtually no movement?

Looking at it in black and white, here are the elimination facts along with some added notes for each horse in post order for the final:

1-PERFECT STING came home in 25 1/5 in a good effort. Nothing occurred that should sway you off his bandwagon.

2-HELLABALOU proved he is capable of going with the best but remains a big question in terms of being able to win a 1:47 race or overcome a tough trip.

3-CHASE H HANOVER kept up nicely as usual. He had some stretch traffic which could've cost him a position; status quo.

4-SOUTHWIND GENDRY is a tricky read. Driver Yannick Gingras said he "felt" different behind the gate, like he wanted to go forward in his elimination. It was a step in the right direction, but maybe not enough to play him as one of the favorites?

5-LAWLESS SHADOW raced like a green 2-year-old in the pocket but ultimately turned in a good performance. Driver Mark MacDonald said he "scored him out and got him up on his toes a bit" and that the slow quarter didn't exactly play into those tactics. Ultimately MacDonald added that he was very pleased with the effort.

6-ROCKYROAD HANOVER aborted a leave attempt and came home in 25 3/5 off dull cover. It is hard to knock the performance but it was also nothing to get excited about. Trainer Tony Alagna summed the eliminations up perfectly: "It was moreso the fact that only two horses had to be eliminated that set it up for slow fractions and a sprint. You add the weather on top of it, where horses might have taken a shot but didn't because they wanted to be a little more on the conservative side when the rain came. I think those two factors together is what changed that races quite a bit."

7-ONE EIGHT HUNDRED went from potential Meadowlands Pace favorite to just potential contender by setting slow fractions and fading through the stretch in his elimination. Trainer Nancy Takter relayed that he was wearing aluminum shoes (also wore them in his previous start) and they didn't agree with the heavy and sticky conditions.

8-ABUCKABETT HANOVER raced basically evenly in an unimpressive effort. He did finish in 25 3/5. If you loved him coming into the race it would be hard to hate him now off the performance. According to Alagna, both Abuckabett Hanover and Rockyroad Hanover trained well Wednesday morning (July 14) and are ready.

9-CHARLIE MAY made a strong move on the final turn but gave up the lead in deep stretch. It is expected that a change is coming to an open bridle for the final. His elimination effort only helped his credentials.

10-AMERICAN COURAGE put in the same effort as Perfect Sting. He sat and finished fast in 25 1/5 while easily advancing to the final. Connections made some hobble (let-out) and shoeing (aluminum) changes before the elimination and are going back to his previous setup for the final.

While some uncertainty remains as to how to handle what occurred during the eliminations, and the weather is always the great unknown, one sure thing is that the track will be in good shape.

"I won't take a chance if there is rain in the area. I'll just keep [the track] tight and ready to go for Saturday . . . as long as it doesn't rain on half the track again, we'll be fine," said Napierala laughing.