Everyone loves a winner -- at least they should!

Am I the only one that took something away from last night's 8th Race at Mohawk?

Nineanddivine debuted for Dave Menary just seven days after being privately purchased by Bert Smith's Almost Doesnt Count Stb and was a dominant winner, more or less leading from start to finish. Smith got $5625 of his initial investment back and customers got a reliable (though short-priced) horse to invest in.

After having been sent off at average odds of 12-1 in his previous six starts, Nineanddivine was 1-2 last night. Why such a change in price? Because customers recognize that Menary's numbers with new acquisitions are very good, that the horse was in the right class and that Randy Waples' ability to read the program allows him to put horses in the right spots.

Harness racing needs more of what took place in last night's 8th and I'm not talking about favourites winning more frequently. Our business has perception issues but the noticeable fluctuation in Nineanddivine's odds speaks to the public's perception of his team's intentions last night. These three guys want to win, period -- just as much or maybe even more than the customers that are betting their hard-earned. Waples' tactics were predictable, Nineanddivine's trip unfolded as it was supposed to and even though the price was small, at least customers were left feeling like they actually had a shot.

Nineanddivine was the only of THE PETE SHEETS' three Most Probable Winners on the card to connect. Smokin N Grinin had to settle for 2nd after a compromising trip while the pace dynamics of Mid Town's race led to her being a bridesmaid as well.

Better news was that all four of the horses that THE PETE SHEETS identified as Beatable Favourites proved to be so. Modern Beauty was 7th at 2-1, Hes A Demon was 3rd at 8-5, Brother Glide had no excuse and finished 2nd at 4-5 in the 4th and Lotteria took ridiculous win-based support again (2-1) and finished an uninterested 5th in the finale.

Value Play, Hat Trick Honey ($6.40, $3.90, $4.20) bounced back from last week's breaking incident to win the meet opener for Roger Mayotte.



A watered-down version of THE PETE SHEETS will be available for Mohawk's Friday night card, as will one for Flamboro.

Western Fair is the place to be on Friday with Gold Series and Molson Pace eliminations headlining the second best card of the London track's season. The races will not be broadcast on HPItv, but live video streaming is available at horseplayerinteractive.com and westernfair.com.

To be added to THE PETE SHEETS' mailing list, send an email request to thepetesheets@hotmail.com and be sure to specify which track(s) you're interested in receiving.

Welcome to the long weekend everyone!