On the heels of a career season in 2012 that saw Golden Receiver earn $941,025, the 8-year-old gelding by Village Jove-Royal Gold went right to the lead and never looked back, pacing a final quarter in an eye-opening 25.4.
Golden Receiver will head into the Presidential Series as the horse to beat. He was driven by Tim Tetrick for trainer Mark Harder and co-owners Our Horse Cents Stable and Nina Simmonds.
In the A-1 conditioned pace for horses and geldings, River Shark posted a 1:50.1 win for driver Mark MacDonald. The 7-year-old Four Starzzz Shark gelding surpassed the $1-million mark in career earnings for trainer/co-owner Mark Ford and co-owners VIP Internet Stable, Robert Di Nozzi and Mo Coo Inc.
On the wagering front, it was an incredible night at the Meadowlands. The 12-race program produced a total handle of $3,501,092, a percentage increase of 28 percent from this same day one year ago, despite that race card having one additional race.
The Pick-5, which featured a carryover of $20,240.51, produced a pool of $128,061.
The winter series action gets underway on Thursday night with the Super Bowl for trotters, followed by the Clyde Hirt on Friday and the Presidential on Saturday. Post time for all three programs is 7:15 p.m.