by Dean Towers

I’ve been a little lax in writing columns lately, but I’ve been watching and wagering on the sport and, shocking, I know, I do have a lot on my mind.

I’ll try and jam a few thoughts for your perusal in one column, with a quick trip around harness racing, primarily through the eyes of a customer.

THE AMATEURS ARE KILLING MY BANKROLL

The last time I mentioned the amateur driving series I got some hate mail, so I guess it’s time to get your pens fueled up.

I’ve about had my fill of amateur racing at The Meadowlands.

I played Yonkers last week and the amateur trot featured a few horses of some merit, and the usual hardball was played with Bruce Baker — as he is wont to do — parking out Fanatic and Yogi Sheridan. It was fine, really; the fractions were slow, the racing was safe, the horses were not too taxed; it is what it is.

Meanwhile, however, at the flagship wagering track, it’s continually a different story.

Last Friday evening (March 28) at The Big M, the amateur race, kicking off a Pick-5 with upwards of $50,000 bet into it, featured the usual assortment of cheaper claimers. A 70-1 shot driven by William Clarke made the lead, but then immediately parked out a 3-2 shot who was pulling the 2-hole. This was after an already super-fast :27 flat first quarter. The drivers appeared to have a conversation. What they were saying one only can guess.

The result was pure carnage for customers, with the battling leaders both dead, and a 65-1 shot closing from last.

Is this handicapable? Not on your life.

I wish this was just one instance, but it happens more and more often in that series.

I’m all for these men and women having a little fun at this grassroots game. But can we run these races on Hambletonian morning, at Monticello or at 5 o’clock? I’d love to be able to play the Pick-5 again.

YONKERS, DEALING WITH THE HAND THEY ARE DEALT

I have to hand it to the management of the Hilltop Oval. They are trying their best to drive handle to their track, and I believe they’re doing it in fundamentally correct ways.

Nightly, I notice Empirecitybets.com promoted on their feed which offer every day players rebates, helping them win more when they bet Yonkers. They increased the cost of the late Pick-4 to juice-up payoffs. They report prices correctly on the feed. They got rid of the passing lane where drivers now pull the 2-hole almost every race by the three quarters.

Frankly, the only gripe that I have as a bettor is that they show pool data on the feed while the horses are lining up behind the gate.

The problem for bettors at Yonkers of course, are the prices, and that’s directly linked to the passive racing style. With inside posts showing such a high impact value (wins over expected) and the purses being so large where outside horses can take a week off and wait for a better post, it just makes things pretty bland.

I think management at Yonkers understands the gambler and is doing a lot of good things, but it’s difficult to succeed when you’re not playing with pocket kings.

SPEAKING OF DRIVERS…

A couple of things:

One, I miss a driver that hasn’t driven at The Meadowlands much this winter, and two, I’m super-impressed with his fill-in.

I’m a huge Yannick Gingras fan. For my money he’s pound for pound the best driver in our sport. Watching Yonkers of late it reminded me how great he is. His mind, his effort, just about everything is vintage Gingras; even on a rainy Wednesday night in the middle of February.

I once had a thoroughbred owner tell me he loves listing leading rider Irad Ortiz not just because he’s very good, but because he will try to win on his 5 claimer like he’s riding the chalk in the Kentucky Derby. I put Gingras in that exact same vein. Cheap overnights at Yonkers or the Meadowlands Pace, it’s the same Gingras.

Over at The Mecca, a young man making some noise is Brett Beckwith, and even at his age, to my eye at least, he looks pretty seasoned. He’s cool and calm regardless of the situation, and appears to have little fear. He puts his charges in a position to win, in my view rarely over drives or under drives a horse, and thinks his way around the track. He’s been a great addition to the colony.

PREWITT PLEASED, BUT WORK TO DO

I noticed the Hoosier Park handle was pretty boisterous early in the meet, even pushing almost a million through the windows on a competitive Saturday last week, so I pinged the track’s grand poo-bah Gabe Prewitt for a status check, and he seemed fairly happy with the early results.

“We’ve struggled early for horses, but have been overwhelmed with the support,” he said via text. “I’m really excited to see what happens when we get rolling with typical Hoosier competitive cards. The upcoming week looks like the best yet.”