Meadows: Sweet Lou and Bettors Edge win Adios eliminations

The home cooking was sweet on Saturday night for Sweet Lou. The fifth-place finisher in last week’s Meadowlands Pace, Sweet Lou returned to The Meadows to capture one of two $50,000 elimination races for the Delvin Miller Adios.

With his regular pilot Dave Palone in the bike, Sweet Lou ditched the off-the-pace strategy that led to his worst career finish and quickly established control, sizzling the opening quarter in 26 1/5. Palone, who has more career victories than any driver and is a dominant force at The Meadows, forced Meadowlands Pace winner A Rocknroll Dance to tuck in fourth. That allowed Sweet Lou to pace a soft second quarter and reach the half in a moderate 55 2/5 seconds.

The rest allowed Sweet Lou to be fresh when A Rocknroll Dance moved at the half to challenge him. The two locked up in a speed duel leaving the seven other rivals in the dust down the backstretch. They were still glued to one another around the final turn after a sizzling 26 2/5 third quarter.

While Sweet Lou and A Rocknroll Dance were dueling, Meadowlands Pace consolation winner Hurrikane Kingcole and North America Cup champion Thinking Out Loud were mired behind dull cover and powerless to gain because of the pace.
Sweet Lou was able to maintain a safe length and quarter advantage through the stretch, crossing the wire in a solid 1:49 1/5 clocking. A Rocknroll Dance paced right to the wire and Thinking Out Loud put in a monster rally, nearly catching the place spot after being hopelessly out of the race for the first three-quarters. Hurrikane Kingcole also advanced to the final.

Sent off as the 7-10 favorite Sweet Lou paid $3.40 to win.

The second Adios elimination may have been the weaker one on paper but it produced a faster winning time as Bettors Edge overcame post nine and came up the inside to pass pacesetting Bolt The Duer on the wire by a nose in a career best 1:49 mile.

The race unfolded with AllStar Legend and Breakin The Law exchanging the early lead through a 26 2/5 opening panel. Bettors Edge and driver Dan Dube finally crossed to the front past the quarter and then was put under pressure, releasing Bolt The Duer as the field passed the stands for the first time. Bolt The Duer, sent off as the 6-5 second choice, kept a lively pace with a long parked out Dapper Dude effectively clogging the outer tier.

Bolt The Duer and driver Mark MacDonald looked strong on the final turn, especially after reaching the three-quarters unthreatened in 1:21 4/5. But into the stretch Bolt The Duer could not close the door on his rivals and was nailed on the wire.

Breakin The Law rallied nicely between horses for third with Allstar Legend earning the final berth in the Adios.

Bettors Edge, part of an entry that included Allstar Legend, paid $4.40 to win.

The $500,000 Adios final takes place this Saturday afternoon (July 28) with the post position draw scheduled for Wednesday evening before the racing card gets underway at 6:55 p.m.

Post time for the Adios program is 12:20 p.m.