Dover Downs harness racing rarely cancels, but on Thursday (1/4/18), the powerful "Nor'easter" which roared through the Atlantic coast states delivered several inches of snow, strong winds and low temperatures necessitated cancelation of racing.
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Tony Morgan accomplished his 16,000 wins milestone on Wednesday by quickly winning both ends of the daily double. Morgan is second in the sport in winning drives trailng only Dave Palone, who passed the 18,000-win mark early in 2017. German driver Hans Wevering is third on the list with the late Herve Filion fourth.
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During the week: A four-horse photo-finish lead-off the Monday, 2018 New Year's day, feature and resulted in a dead-heat for win. race-favorite Splashed and 22-1 shot Great Kate got their picture taken in the 1:55.1 feature with temperatures in the low teens.In addition, Sheer Assault and Pure Kemp were noses away finishing third and fourth respectively before the Judges ruled Sheer Assault interfered with Pure Kemp in the lane and their finishes were reversed.— Tony Morgan moved to within three wins away from registering 16,000 winning drives after Mister Virgin to an impressive 1:51.3 triumph in a $17,500 Claiming pace.—Ross Wolfenden had a triple while drives Jonathan Roberts and Vic Kirby, trainer Wayne Givens and owner Legacy Racing all had doubles.
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On Tuesday, Celebrity Pegasus' 1:54.3 triumph in the $25,000 Open Trot began a back-to-back victory when Perseverance won the sub-feature with temperatures again in the low teens. Art Stafford Jr. drove both winning trots for trainer Eric Ell and owners Ken Wood, Bill Dittmar and Steve Iaquinta.
One race later, in a $13,500 trot, Perseverance won his fourth straight in a wire-to-wire 1:55.4 performance. Earlier, NF Happenstance made it two straight wins, overpowering eight foes in 1:54.2 to win the $13,000 Winners-Over trot for driver Jack Parker Jr.
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Only last spring, NF Happenstance dropped a foal. In late summer, owner Jim Moore brought the now eight-year-old mare back to the races. In late 2017,she had two wins in eight starts, five times finishing in the first three.—- Art Safford Jr. and Tim Tetrick had driving doubles while Steve LeBlanc, Kevin Lare, Eric Ell and owners Ken Wood, Bill Dittmar and Steve Iaquinta also won two.
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The $25,000 Mares pace was another Wednesday highlight for Tony Morgan who drove Divas Image to a passing lane 1:53.1 victory nosing out Newborn Sassy at the wire. It was the third of four wins for Morgan on the momentous day.Tim Tetrick had three winners, Corey Callahan and Vic Kirby won two.
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Tim Tetrick continues to hold first place among drivers at the track with 62 wins. Defending champion Corey Callahan, is currently second with 58 wins in the drivers' standings. Art Stafford Jr. is third with 43 wins, Tony Morgan has 40 trips to the winner's circle. Vic Kirby rounds out the top 5 steering 36 winners, two more than Russell Foster, 34.
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Jim King leads the trainer statistics haltering 19 winners. Kevin Lare is next with 17.Eric Ell is third with 16.Wayne Givens has 15 wins for fourth place and Defending champ Dylan Davis and Nick Callahan are tied for fifth with 14 winners.
Marv Bachrad