Meadowlands Late Closing Finals; O'Brien Awards Simulcast

The Meadowlands wraps up the first round of their late closing series Saturday night with the final of The Complex, Clyde Hirt, and the Presidential Series.  The finals come after two weeks of eliminations.  One thing I would like to know is what happend to late closing series?  I recall preliminary legs of three or four weeks for events like the Presdidential, but now they contest only two preliminary legs.  I imagine it has more to do with the abundnace of late closing events which tracks like the Meadowlands and Woodbine hold.  Once you are seemingly eliminated from the series finals, these owners and trainers want to move on to the next series.  This is why I always like series like the Levy Memorial at Yonkers where there are six preliminary legs which are used to determine the final field; it is more of an ironman competition.

Anyway, here is my analysis of the three stakes finals for Saturday evening:

Meadowlands 3rd Pace - $65,000; The Complex Final - 5YOS and Under that are NW4PM or $125,000LT
   1 - Code Word (Campbell, pp 4, 4-1) - Improved with stable change and draws best of entry
1A - Windsong Gorgeous (Sears, pp 8, 4-1) - Runner up to #5 in last three starts.  Post only hinderance.
1B - Southern Allie (Gingras, pp 9,  4-1) - Appears overmatched.  May be best used as a sacrificial lamb.
1C - Get It Now (A Miller, pp 10, 4-1) -  Draws the worst of it.  Unlikely member of entry.
  2 - Unicorn Hanover (Simpson, pp 1, 15-1) -  Rail an advantage.  Leaves early but expect a late falter..
  3 - Born To Rockn Roll (Dube, pp 2, 15-1) - Has not been able to show any life in this series.  Pass.
  4 - Thunder's Fury (Pierce, pp 3,  15-1) - No chance in last; may land share.
  5 - St Elmo Hero (Tetrick, pp 5, 1-2) - Going for win #23.  Willing to take less than 1-2?
  6 - Mccelland (D Miller, pp 6, 6-1) - May try to sting the favorite from here.  Possible upset chance?
  7 - Urgent Action (Silverman, pp 7, 10-1) - Has shown little thus far.
Selections: 6-5-1
Coupled: Code Word, Windsong Gorgeous, Southern Allie, Get It Now

Meadowlands 5th Pace - $62,600; Clyde Hirt Final; 4YOS and Under S&G that are NW3 PM or $75,000 LT
  1 - Buckeye In Charge (D Miller, 15-1) - Has shown little in series.  Don't see improvement.
  2 - No Monkeys Allowed (Gingras, 10-1) - Gelding seems to be returning to Chester form.  Don't ignore.
  3  - Freddy Day Hanover (Pierce, 15-1) - Draws a decent post and may be upset chance.
  4 - Royal Cam-Hall (Marohn, 15-1) - Draws better, may improve chances for share.
  5  - Diablo Seelster (Simpson, 8-1) - Pena trainee may be the one ot be with the bad draw of favorite.
  6  - Snipper Seelsster (Campbell, 5-1) - Two of three this year.  Logical contender.
  7 - Highland Rocks (Tetrick, 10-1) -  Tough spot this week. 
  8 - Meirs Hanover (Sears, 4-1) - Most logical choice to score the minor upset. 
  9 - Touch The Rock (Dube, 8-1) - Draws outside after a couple of inside efforts; pass here.
10 - Summer Camp (A Miller, 2-1) - Winner of five straight draws the worst of it.  May be overbet.
Selections: 8-10-6

Meadowlands 6th Pace - $127,000 - Presidential Final - FFA
  1 - River Shark (Gingras, pp 5, 8-1) - Mid-pack start little help for him.
1A - Handsome Harry (Simpson, pp 8, 8-1) - Solid contender just over his head at this level.
  2 - Bettor Sweet (Campbell, pp 6, 5-2) - DH winner last week looks to be up front through race.  May falter.
2A - Western Shore (Dube, pp 9, 5-2) - Contender gets saddled with poor post.
  3  - Blatantly Good (A Miller, pp 7, 5-1) - Best efforts are on the smaller ovals.  Pass.
3A - Real Celebration (Tetrick, pp 10, 5-1) - Post ten eliminates.
  4 - Alexie Mattosie (D Miller, pp 1, 4-1) - DH Winner draws inside of #2 this week. Consider. 
  5 - Golden Receiver (Pierce,  pp 2, 10-1) - If   looking for an upset choice, he may be the one.
  6 - Vlos (Sears, pp 3, 9-5) - Will seek front and may get it.  Think he may be too presssued to win.
  7 - Schoolkids (Berry, pp 4, 15-1) - Expect more later this year; pass today.
Selections: 4-5-3
Coupled: River Shark and Handsome Harry; Bettor Sweet and Western Shore; Blatantly Good and Real Celebration

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For those South of the Border who are interested in who win's year-end awards in Canada, the O'Brien Awards are being broadcasted over the Internet this year.  It is always interesting to see who wins the awards North of the lower forty-eight as performances in Canada have greater weight than efforts in the United States; the reverse of what happens with the USHWA awards. The awards kick-off this Saturday at 9pm.