Wednesday September 30 Recap

October 1, 2026

The feature race of the day was the $8,100 Open Trot, #4 Southwind Banshee was scratched sick, the betting public made #5 KJ Title the post time favorite , DC Anna (B. Aldrich Jr.) was first away from the gate and cut the mile via splits of 28.1, 57.4 & 1:27.2. Throughout the mile the 15-1 Andover Contessa was quietly lurking in fourth. Turning for home Mike Merton used the passing and began picking off horse after horse to get up for the win in 1:57.1 – $32.84. DC Anna finished second with Austral Hanover getting up for the show positon. Andover Contessa is trained by Jake Huff , the aged mare by Andover hall secured her fourth seasonal win.

There was a Dead heat in the second race between Beentheredunethat (G. Merton) & High Lighting (K. Dibenedetto) in 2:00.1. Captain Dee Tee (G. Merton) kept his win streak alive after his open length win in 1:56 -$2.32. The Jennifer Petrelli trainee now has a 6-race win streak going for his tenth seasonal victory, upping his 2026 earnings to over $50,000; he was claimed by Ralph Silvestri III. Watching Sunset (M. Merton) now has back to back wins after his 1:53.4 – $4.32 score for trainer Jenn Petrelli

Cory Stratton may have a nice colt with Calculated Risk, the son of Huntsville has shown improvement every week, this afternoon he went wire to wire for his first pari mutual win in 1:56.2 – $64.02, he is owned by Excelsior Equine Racing and Stratton Stable.

Numerous trainers and drivers had doubles or triples on the elongated 11 race card, Greg Merton had a driving triple, Jimmy Devaux. Mike Merton and Kyle Dibenedetto each had a pair of wins. Going into today’s card, Leading Trainers Jennifer Petrelli and Tammy Sowers were tied with 116 win apiece, Jennifer Petrelli had a triple and Tammy Sowers had a double, no doubt this race will go down to the wire, Danny Gill had a double.

In this week’s edition of Harness Racing Update, Greg Merton was the hottest driver in all North America tracks with a win percentage of 68%, with 9 wins in 19 starts Congratulations Greg.