Suffolk Saturday
Another Suffolk Downs racing season is coming to an end. Originally scheduled to close next Saturday, November 19, Suffolk’s last day will be Wednesday, November 23, to make up for three racing days cancelled earlier this fall. Despite the short fields and tiny pools that particularly plague the track this time of year, there were several good plays on Saturday’s card and even a couple of long-priced winners. In the ninth, Dan’s Soldier, a three-year-old gelding by the same sire as Lost in the Fog, was sent off at 9-1 despite his improving form and a switch from route to sprint. Dan’s Soldier paid $20.60 to win. In the seventh, a three-year-filly named Starship Elaine paid $17.40 to win. I didn’t have Starship Elaine, but my friend Sage, making her very first trip to the track and her very first wager, did. Sage bet the filly because it shared her late grandmother’s name; I should have known not to play against beginner’s luck.
