Betting Line the favourite for $1-million Pepsi North America Cup harness race

CAMPBELLVILLE, Ont. – A career-best effort secured Betting Line early favourite status for the $1-million Pepsi North America Cup, but trainer Casie Coleman believes an even better one will be needed to win Canada’s richest harness race.

And unfortunately for the nine other horses in the field at Mohawk Racetrack, Coleman is convinced the son of ’01 Cup champion Bettors Delight can deliver.

“It’s for sure going to take that or more,” Coleman said during the race draw Tuesday at Mohawk. “We’re going for $1 million in the North America Cup final so everybody is going to be on top of their game.

“We’re going to have to go that or more but I believe he’s got that in him. He’s quite a talented colt and I see no reason why he won’t keep improving as the summer goes on.”

Betting Line won his elimination race last weekend as the 8-5 second choice in a career-best time of one minute 49.1 seconds. He was named the early 5-2 race favourite for Saturday’s event and Coleman took the No. 3 post with Toronto Maple Leafs’ prospect Mitch Marner serving as guest drawmaster.

Betting Line will start inside of Boston Red Rocks, the 3-1 second choice whose handlers took the No. 4 spot. Boston Red Rocks won last weekend’s other elimination race in a career-best tying 1:50.3.

But Coleman said Saturday’s final isn’t a two-horse race.

“It’s a 10-horse race,” she said. “Everyone in here has a shot.

“It’s a nice group of horses.”

The field for Saturday’s race, with starting position, horse, driver and odds is: 1) Big Top Hanover, Yannick Gingras, 6-1; 2) Lyons Snyder, Sylvain Filion, 4-1; 3) Betting Line, Dave Miller, 5-2; 4) Boston Red Rocks, Tim Tetrick, 3-1; 5) Micheals Victory, Scott Zeron, 12-1; 6) Racing Hill, Brett Miller. 10-1; 7) Beast Mode, Trevor Henry, 20-1; 8) Manhattan Beach, TBA, 15-1; 10) Magnum J, Doug McNair, 15-1.

The field consists of the top-five finishers in both of last weekend’s elimination events.

Coleman, of Cambridge, Ont., won this race in 2010 with Sportswriter and said a second championship would be very significant.

“It’s something special,” she said. “It’s the only $1-million pacing race out there right now so it’s the biggest one we’ve got and it would be pretty awesome to be able to win it again.”

Betting Line has won nine-of-16 career starts and three-of-four events (the other was a second-place finish) in 2016. The American-bred three-year-old has amassed earnings of $619,922 for owners West Wins Stable of Cambridge, Christine Calhoun of Chatham, Ont., and Mac Nichol of Burlington, Ont.

Boston Red Rocks, American-bred and owned, has six wins in 13 career starts and finished in the money in all four of his ’16 races (two wins, second and third). His father, Rocknroll Hanover, won the ’05 Cup and trainer Steve Elliott captured this race in ’09.

Boston Red Rocks won a Breeders’ Crown final at Woodbine in 2015 en route to being named U.S. racing’s top two-year-old. And at $735,418, Boston Red Rocks has the highest earnings in the 10-horse field.

“I’m a firm believer in this horse,” said Tetrick. “I know he’s a nice horse.

“Every time he got beat, he got beat by a head, a nose. He got beat, but he raced good enough to win. Just horses sitting in the pocket beat him. He’s a little lazy and he kind of loses focus sometimes and you got to stay after him, but he got the job done. He finds ways to win so that’s what I like about him.”

But Coleman said Betting Line is versatile enough to run any type of race and adjust to conditions on the fly. In his elimination race, he rallied from fifth to secure the victory.

“This colt can do anything,” she said. “He can lead, he can come off the pace.

“He has raced any way and he can do whatever Dave wants to do.”