By Evan Pattak For The Meadows Standardbred Owners Association “Horsemen Helping Horsemen”
Captain Albano, the Dan Patch Award Winner for male pacers at 2 as well as Pennsylvania’s champion, leads a field of 15 into Saturday’s eliminations for the $400,000 Delvin Miller Adios Pace for the Orchids at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows.
The $25,000 Adios elims go as races 8 and 9 on the 15-race program. The first four finishers in each elim, along with the fifth-place finisher with the higher lifetime earnings, return on Adios Say, Saturday, July 27, for the $350,000 final. Connections of the elimination winners get to pick their post positions for the final, with the other posts determined by random draw.
The Adios eliminations card also features a pair of stakes for freshman colt and gelding pacers–a $192,108 Pennsylvania Sires Stake and a $120,000 PA Stallion Series event. First post is 12:45 PM.
A son of Captaintreacherous-Angelou trained by Noel Daley, Captain Albano earned $445,680 at 2 and took a mark of 1:49.2 at The Red Mile. This year, he finished fourth in the North America Cup final and ninth after a horrible trip in the final of the Meadowlands Pace. So a strong Adios performance would be his 2024 breakthrough.
Patricia Stable, L.A. Express Stable LLC, Sjoblom Racing Inc. and Michael Dolan own Captain Albano.
Trainers Ron Burke and Travis Alexander each will have three Adios contenders. Burke sends out Outer Banks (race 8, post 4, Ronnie Wrenn, Jr.), Booming Economy (race 9, post 4, David Miller) and Noblesville (race 9, post 6, Wrenn), while Alexander will be represented by Sweet Beach Life (race 8, post 1, Matt Kakaley), Huntingforchrome (race 8, post 4, James MacDonald) and Courtship (race 9, pace 8, Kakaley).
On Adios Day, the final of the Pace for the Orchids anchors a blockbuster program that features six Grand Circuit stakes. In addition, the card will offer a total of $200,000 in pool guarantees spread over11 wagers, thought to be the “Richest Day in PA” for bettors.
The Meadows Standardbred Owners Association (MSOA) is a nonprofit organization that represents the interests of approximately 700 Standardbred trainers, drivers, caretakers and owners at The Meadows. In addition to providing horses to race at The Meadows, MSOA administers such member-centric services as health insurance and retirement programs for horsemen and horsewomen.