Pompano: Track's faithful to battle in Thursday's Senditin Invitationals

The stats don't lie, at least not when it comes to a pair of $10,000 Invitationals on Thursday evening at Pompano Park highlighting some of the bottom-level pacers and trotters which put it all out on the line week-in and week-out at the south Florida track.

The 20 entrants in the pair of #Senditin Invitationals, 10 each in the third-race trot and tenth-race pace, have combined for just five wins and 31 on-the-board finishes in 2021 from 192 starts.

The brainchild of Caesar's Director of Racing Gabe Prewitt, who also serves as track announcer at Pompano Park, the idea was to give back to the horses which have competed throughout the meet but were unable to win as often as others.

"All of the other Caesar's properties are having #Senditin Invites for really good horses (Scioto for FFA horses, Hoosier for $100K claimers, Indiana Grand for stakes horses), none of which were my idea," said Prewitt. "I decided that the "Pomp" being the original home of the #Senditin wagering "army" should have a race as well. The problem is we have little money for stakes and no access to top-flight horses. So we decided to do it "Pomp" style and work with what we do have, hard-knocking horses that try hard every week."

The fourth race trot is a real brain-teaser for handicappers, with only two of the horses in the field showing a top-three finish in their last three starts. The 13-year-old Guiltywithanexcuse, who has virtually made as much in his career as the rest of the field combined, is the 3-1 morning line favorite with Tyler Shehan driving from post 3. He is one of three horses, along with Fist Fighter (post 8) and First You Dream (post 9), to have found the winner's circle in 2021.

When the pacers hit the track in race 10, eight of the horses will be seeking their first wins of the year. Morning-line favorite Queen Me Again (post 9) is one of the two with a win along with Blurred Lines (post 3). Ira Chief is the veteran of the group as a 12-year-old with $484,000 earned in his career.

The division for pacers will also feature a mandatory payout in the track's Jackpot Hi-5. A carryover of $130,623 awaits handicappers and those successful in selecting the first five finishers will share in the final pool, which should climb to at least $300,000 and perhaps much higher.