Jul 21, 2022 4 min read

When a Hall of Fame trainer says his horse is “special,” it is a pretty good indication of confidence and a knowledge of facts and circumstance.

Ron Burke, who has more than 12,000 training wins and more than $280 million in career earnings, believes in undefeated 3-year-old ByTheMissal in Saturday’s Adios Pace elimination.

The morning line shares that confidence.

ByTheMissal has been installed as the 2-1 favorite in the $25,000 second division of The Adios eliminations. Pebble Beach, the North American Cup champion is 5-2, with Market Based 7-2, Dancin Sancho (6-1), Atlas Hanover (7-1) and Quick Snap (8-1) following. Quick Snap, trained by Tony Alagna, will be driven by Dave Palone.

“He has a super attitude and wants to win,” Burke said.

ByTheMissal’s driver, Chris Page, also likes the colt’s chances in The Adios.

“The horse has been perfect,” Page said. “I’ve driven him three times. He has the mechanics. We’ll be ready Saturday.”

Last month, ByTheMissal won the second leg of the Ohio Sires Stakes at MGM Northfield Park.

In the six-horse division, driver Ronnie Wrenn Jr. pulled ByTheMissal from the fourth spot and went to the top at the quarter pole passing Terminator and driver Joe Bongiorno, who led at the quarter in :26.4.

ByTheMissal, a 1-9 favorite, paced to the half in :54.2.

Western Ready took the lead as ByTheMissal went off stride but re-gained his pace. The two battled through the final turn with ByTheMissal re-taking the lead as both paced to the top of the stretch. ByTheMissal held on at the wire to win by a neck in 1:50.1 and survived a judges’ inquiry.

That was the fourth win in four starts for ByTheMissal in 2022. Burke and the Burke Racing Stable, Fredericktown, bought the horse earlier this year from Eric Good. Other listed owners are Good, Rich Lombardo Racing and Weaver Bruscemi.

ByTheMissal, one-for-one as a 2-year-old has earned $68,500 this year.

Burke said the horse is eligible for the Monument Circle Pace for 3-year-old colts and geldings at Hoosier Park and the Progress Pace at Dover Downs, sponsored by the Hambletonian Society.

Burke said ByTheMissal will likely receive an invitation to Carl Milstein Memorial in Northeast Ohio. He added that ownership plans to “supplement” the horse “to others.”

The top threats to ByTheMissal look to be Pebble Beach and Market Based. Pebble Beach has won three of four starts this year and 10 of 15 overall, never finishing out of the money. He has lifetime earnings of $803,150 and $441,900 in 2022.

Market Based will start from post position No. 2, much better than No. 9 on May 7 at The Meadows, when he broke and finished last, 21 lengths behind.

Trainer Nancy Takter is hoping for some luck and good fortune for Market Based this time on the Meadows’ 5/8-mile track.

“He’s a better 5/8th (mile track) horse,” Takter said. “But having said that, he hasn’t really had any luck at The Meadows so I hope we can change that in The Adios and PASS finals this year.”

In the $25,000 first division, the favorite is Beach Glass at 5-2. I Did It My Way is the second favorite at 3-1. The others in the race are Ario Hanover (4-1), Fourever Boy (5-1), owned in part by Tim Twaddle and driven by Mike Wilder, Burke-trained River Ness (5-1) and Nautical Hanover (7-1).

Burke said River Ness has “raw speed.”

After finishing third in the Meadowlands Pace elimination, Fourever Boy was fifth in the final.

“We were disappointed in how the race turned out,” Twaddle said. “But he raced good.”

Subhead: Down the Stretch

The top four in each elimination and the fastest fifth-place finisher) will qualify for the 56th Delvin Miller Adios Pace for the Orchids, Saturday, July 30 with racing starting at 11:45 a.m… Tomorrow’s race card features three divisions of Pennsylvania Stallion Series 3-year-old Filly Pace which will be contested for purses of $20,000 each. Also, the Romola Hanover, Pennsylvania Sire Stake for 3-year-old filly pacers will be Race 10 for a purse of $132,231… The race card will also feature rolling doubles for bettors.