Well, if harness racing driver George Napolitano Jr. is ending his sulkysitting for 2015 on Sunday, he looks like he intends to go out a-blazin'.
Napolitano won four times at Harrah's Philadelphia Thursday afternoon, stretching his lead over Aaron Merriman in this year's North American dashwinning driving derby to seven – the current score is Napolitano 824, Merriman 817.
On a "Trottin' Thursday" card that featured 11 trots in 14 races, Napolitano won three times on the trot and once on the pace, extending his one-year Philly record to 387 victories after having broken Tim Tetrick's old mark of 380 this past Sunday. One victor on each gait was supplied by Gil Garcia-Herrera, who will win his first Harrah's conditioners crown, with a 146 victory total through the Thursday card.
Actually, Napolitano had a fifth horse cross the wire first, but the Garcia-Herrera trotter Czech It Out, known to be hard to handle, eased out of the pocket at and after headstretch rather than use an open passing lane, and in doing so caused first-over Jailhouse Juice to take up slightly, necessitating the placing of Czech It Out for interference. Ironically, the horse who was 2pl1, Schalom G, was a beaten favorite in this class last week — with Nap up, but was overlooked Wednesay and returned $48.80 in being placed first – after coming quickly up the passing late late.
The action today (Friday) finds Napolitano with afternoon duties at Harrah's in the penultimate card of the year at the riverside oval in the south suburbs of the City of Brotherly Love, while Merriman will go day and night at The Meadows and Northfield, with two-time defending NoAm champion Ron Wrenn Jr., whose 2015 output of 750 wins has him third, joining Merriman at the Cleveland oval this evening.
All three drivers are scheduled to be out of action on Saturday; Napolitano is then scheduled to drive his last slate of races for the year at Harrah's Sunday, having said he intends to do no driving, "unless you count motorcross," for the remainder of 2015. This will leave the door open for Merriman, who is supposed to race at Northfield Sunday night and then in Meadows-Northfield doubleheaders on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.
FINISHING LINES – George Napolitano Jr. is unfortunately not a stranger to potentially-historic achievements being lessened by a disqualification from first. Many people remember him tying Dave Palone's one-card single-dash pari-mutuel driving win record with 11 Victory Lanes visits at Pocono on June 10, 2011, but not too many remember that "GNap" crossed the wire first TWELVE times that night – but with one on the run, and disqualified for an LOB.
Jerry Connors