Horse Racing Betting - Presque Isle Downs Masters yields juicy exacta

• Who: Thoroughbreds – Informed Decision, Sweet Lorena

• What: Horse Racing Results – The Presque Isle Downs Masters

• Where: Presque Isle Downs

• When: Saturday, September 12th

Readers of Friday’s article will know that Informed Decision was my racebook selection to win The Presque Isle Downs Masters. She was the logical choice, and I was willing to bet on her to win at odds of 2-1 or better. When she went off at 4/5, I looked elsewhere, eventually making a small win/place bet on Porte Bonheur (11.10-1). Porte Bonheur launched a 4-wide bid at the top of the stretch, but weakened late to finish 5th.

The chalk won going away by 2 ½ lengths, but the real story of the race was the bang-up effort turned in by 17.30-1 shot Sweet Lorena. In a race loaded with Grade 1 winners, Sweet Lorena was overlooked in the online wagering, despite her outstanding record (6-4-2-0) over the local strip. She is the epitome of the term “horse-for-the-course”, and once again demonstrated her affinity for Presque Isle Downs with a pace-pressing, second-place finish, worth $80,000 to her connections. The good news for bettors who keyed Informed Decision on top in the exacta was that Sweet Lorena rounded out a $58.40 ticket. Those are horse racing results that keep you coming back to the track.

Mike Ferraro, one of the all-time top trainers at Finger Lakes Race Track in upstate New York, knows when the time is right to tackle the heavyweights of the sport. In 1981, he won The Whitney at Saratoga with a big gray named Fio Rito. Fio Rito was the Finger Lakes Horse of the Year from 1979-1981, and the New York State Horse of the Year in 1980 and 1981. His victory in the Whitney marked the first time that a NY-bred horse won a major Grade 1 race. The Whitney was one of 16 stakes or handicap victories during Fio Rito’s stellar career. He won at distances from 5 ½ furlongs to 1 ¼ miles, and captured the 1980 Wadsworth Memorial Handicap at Finger Lakes while carrying a staggering 138 pounds. Fio Rito loved it at Saratoga, just like Sweet Lorena loves it at Presque Isle Downs. Congrats to Mike Ferraro for a job well done. I only wish I had picked his horse last Saturday in horse racing betting.

Happy gambling!

Pete Mitchell is BetOnline.com's horse racing expert.