Take your positions: Adios posts drawn with unique strategy
MEADOW LANDS – Normally, the selection of the post positions for the Adios Pace for the Orchids is usually a routine process.
But Tuesday afternoon, it wasn’t.
In a mildly surprising move, Prince Of Tides, with Dave Palone in the sulky, has the No. 1 post position for Saturday’s running of the Delvin Miller Adios at The Meadows Racetrack.
Southwind Ozzi, and Brian Sears, got the No. 4 position and will go off as the 2-to-1 favorite for the race.
Ron Burke’s Captain Victorious and Yannick Gingras landed the No. 3 spot and will leave at 3-to-1 odds.
Prince of Tides, Southwind Ozzi, and Captain Victorious each won their elimination races last Saturday and part of the prize was the ability to select their post positions prior to the draw.
The remaining post positions were determined by a random drawing.
Normally, the three top post positions are Nos. 3, 4 and 5. But Palone, the winningest driver in harness racing history, who makes his home in the area and knows this track extremely well, obviously wants to take advantage of the so-called “lightning lane,” which had the rails removed in 1992 for safety reasons and add strategy to races.
But Palone had this to say about the passing lane in an interview with Harness Racing Update.
“If I can avoid it, I stay out of going left. I’m not a passing lane guy,” said Palone. “Plus, at The Meadows we have a late passing lane where we don’t get started with the passing lane until inside the eighth pole and it’s really hard to get a horse charged up to go left at that point. So, if I’ve got pace, I’m looking to escape a lot earlier than late in the passing lane.”
So what’s the advantage to the No. 1 post?
“I think the mentality was … everyone wanted to be inside Southwind Ozzi,” said track announcer Roger Huston. “Palone had the rail last week and got away real good. Also, since we went with the less-slanted gate (on the pace car), it has helped post 4 the most. The No.1 is doing a lot better than with the big slant. The others are not that far ahead of him. With the old slant, the No. 9 horse was 14 feet ahead of the No. 1 horse at the start of the race.”
Huston believes Stag Party, with Dexter Dunn, could surprise the favorites. He goes off from the No. 2 slot at 6-to-1 odds.
“He got brutalized last week with a first-over move by another horse and he was able to finish third,” said Huston. “If he gets an inside post … he could upset the whole kit and kaboodle. Even though we have three talented (elimination) winners, no one is writing a check out ahead of time. Anything can happen in this race.”
The nine-horse race is No. 15 on the card, which gets underway at 11:25 a.m. The Adios is expected to go off a little bit after 4 p.m.
The 53rd running of this race features six Grand Circuit stakes and the $50,000 Foiled Again Invitational Pace.