WINDSOR — Any time Jason Bartlett appears at Windsor Fair, he draws the attention of bettors. That should be the case today as Bartlett drives pre-race favorite Viper Hanover in the 10th annual Windsor Invitational.
Viper Hanover, which is partially owned by Bartlett’s wife Kristen, is a 5-2 favorite in the five-horse $12,000 race which pays $6,000 to the winner. Scott Dillon of Anson and Michelle Nelson of Temple are also owners of the horse.
Bartlett has driven the 4-year gelding the past five races, all at his home track of Yonkers Raceway. It has a lifetime mark for the mile of 1 minute, 50 1/5 seconds, established just over a month ago. A Windsor native, Bartlett is making his first appearance in three years at the track he grew up on. He moved to Yonkers permanently in 2007 where he has won three track championships and millions of dollars in purses. He’s currently second in wins and earnings at Yonkers with over $4 million in earnings and more than 200 victories.
The race will be the 13th on the card which begins at 1 p.m. The remainder of the field includes last year’s winner. Malek Hanover, driven by Kevin Switzer Jr., Johnny Z, driven by Shawn Gray, Mr. Nice Guy, driven by Kevin Switzer, and P H Supercam, driven by Drew Campbell.
Malek Hanover won last year’s race on a muddy track with Shawn Gray in the bike. The 7-year-old gelding is listed at odds of 7-2 and finished second at an invitational at Scarborough last week. Johnny Z, an 8-year old gelding, has lifetime earnings of $370,000 and is listed at 5-1 odds.
With the exception of P H Supercam, which has a lifetime mark of 1:54.3, the horses in the race have all finished their best mile within a second of one another. Good track conditions could certainly lead to a track record.
“Your best horse pretty much always dominates on a good track,” Windsor race director Bill McFarland said.
The Windsor Invitational, sponsored by the fair, has doubled the size of its purse since beginning 10 years ago and traditionally caps the final day of racing each season.
“It gives people a reminder there’s good racing at Windsor and it reminds them to come back,” McFarland said.
Gary Hawkins — 621-5638
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