Chicago area, said he was happy with his performance despite th

It is difficult to look at the 2016 edition of the Meadowlands Pace as anything other than a two-horse race. In a field where only a trio of the 10 entrants has won a race in his last three starts, finding value is going to prove difficult for even the sharpest handicapper.The two heavy chalks come post time for the 40th edition of the Meadowlands signature race on Saturday are sure to be Control The Moment and Racing Hill. Each of the two 3-year-old colts head into the $732,050 final having won two of their last three starts.The true role of favoritism seems likely to fall to the Tony Alagna-trained Racing Hill. A son of Roll With Joe, Racing Hill was a strong second in the rich North America Cup on June 18 and followed that effort up with back-to-back wins at Pocono Downs in the Max Hempt elimination and Final.Racing Hill skipped last weeks Meadowlands Pace elimination to get a rare week off during the grueling schedule for the sophomore pacers.Anytime you can take a week off and go right to the final it is a good thing, said Alagna. We got a bye with Captaintreacherous and Wake Up Peter (2013 Meadowlands Pace). I didnt take a bye one time on a pacing filly and she hit the gate, made a break and never made the final of the Breeders Crown, so I will never pass up the chance for a bye.While Racing Hill was relaxing, Control The Moment was winning the lone Pace elimination with a sparkling late rally. The Bradley Maxwell-conditioned son of Well Said paced a 26 2/5 final quarter while making up nearly five lengths to power past Lyons Snyder in deep stretch. His winning time of 1:49 matched the mark set by Racing Hill in the Hempt Final and by Lyons Snyder in the Somebeachsomwehere at Mohawk in early June.I was happy as hell, said Maxwell after the win. He has been racing well all year. He just hasnt gotten any post relief yet and now this week he does.Racing Hill has yet to miss the board in six 2016 starts while accumulating $450,340 for owner Tom Hill. While it is clear to see the colts form on paper, Alagna couldnt be happier with how his horse is coming into the race.He came out of the race in great shape. He was well in hand that night, said Alagna about the Hempt effort. I trained him a couple of light trips on Thursday [July 7] and he trained great.Im very confident in the horse, he continued. Ive always been confident in him. The most important thing is that Brett [Miller, driver] is confident in him. To win in [1:]49 flat like he did the other day, leaving in 25 4/5, shutting him down and taking off again with the plugs in, it just shows you where the horse is at with his confidence as well.Another man with confidence heading into the Meadowlands Pace is Brian Sears. Despite sitting behind Control The Moment for the first time in his elimination, Sears pressed all the right buttons with last years Canadian 2-year-old champion.Ive seen the horse race. Hes a beauty animal. He looks the part and just having the trip work out and having him have the manners to win a race like this. I couldnt be more pleased, said Sears after the win.The elimination win gave Control The Moment the added opportunity to draw for an inside post and that advantage landed him post three, just inside of Racing Hill in post four. The morning line has Racing Hill as the 9-5 favorite ahead of Control The Moment at 5-2, but both horses are expected to drop a few notches from those odds when the gate rolls at 10:18 p.m. for race 11.On paper it looks that way, but you never know which of these 3-year-olds can pop up, said Alagna about the Final being a two-horse race. Right now the way he [Control The Moment] raced tonight and the way my horse has been, on paper it looks like it would be a surprise of neither of those two won, but it is always a horse race and you never know when one of these horses will come back to form and get up to win.Sears reiterated the need for caution when narrowing the field down to just two contenders. Big races are big races, anything can happen. You definitely need some luck on your side, but when you have some power on your side it makes it a little easier, said Sears.The potential third choice in the 10-horse field is Lyons Snyder. The Mark Silva charge finished second behind Control The Moment last week and will start from post five with David Miller handling the lines.Boston Red Rocks continues to search for the form that made him the 2-year-old colt champion in the U.S. last year. While he has earned $182,660 this year, driver Tim Tetrick has only been able to get him home first in two of his eight starts. The pair will start from the six-hole on Saturday.Trainer Ron Burke sends out a troika of outsiders from outside posts seven through nine. JK Will Power and Check Six have each made north of $300,000 in 2016 and either could elect to charge off the gate early for drivers Yannick Gingras and Matt Kakaley, respectively. Manhattan Beach has but one win in nine starts this year and figures to offer one of the larger prices on the toteboard.Rounding out the field are fellow longshots Another Daily Copy (post 1), Good Living (post 2) and Talk Show (Post 10).The Meadowlands Pace is one of nine major stakes races on the 13-race Saturday card which kicks off at 6:30 p.m. Other highlights include the Ben Franklin rematch between Wiggle It Jiggleit, Always B Miki and Freaky Feet Pete in the $471,800 William Haughton Memorial and pre-race Hambletonian favorite Southwind Frank racing in one of two divisions of the Stanley Dancer.Wagering opportunities include three guaranteed multi-race pools and a mandatory payout of $267,769 in the Jackpot Hi-5 offered in race 12, the $223,150 Golden Girls for older pacing mares. Scarpe Asics In Offerta . The next step is a better finish. Bae played bogey-free Friday on another gorgeous day at Riviera for a 5-under 66, giving him a one-shot lead over Aaron Baddeley and Robert Garrigus going into the weekend. Scarpe Asics Uomo Scontate . Marincin has played in two NHL games so far this season with two penalty minutes. The 21-year-old has three goals, four assists and a plus-5 rating in 24 games with the American Hockey Leagues Oklahoma City Barons this season. http://www.asicsscontate.it/ . Now tied for second in the league in shootout goals, the 24-year-old likes to see what the opposing goaltender has in store before he ultimately lands on a move. Scarpe Running Asics Outlet . Perhaps Carroll was so prepared for a break because he believes there is very little the Seattle Seahawks need heading into the off-season. "I dont see anything that we need to add. We just have to get better," Carroll said. Scarpe Asics Saldi .com) - Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer were easy first-round winners Tuesday at the Australian Open. HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. -- Ashley Wagner won the Progressive Skate America womens title on Saturday, edging California training partner Mariah Bell.Japans Shoma Uno topped the mens short program earlier, followed by Americans Adam Rippon and Jason Brown.Wagner, the world silver medalist, overcame a few mistakes in her free skate for her second Skate America title in five seasons.Today was a little sticky, but at the end of the day, I got the job done, Wagner said. I think I built upon what I did at the Japan Open. It felt like more of a complete program, and I think thats what pulled me through today. Beyond that, I think I have some serious spin levels to work on going into Cup of China; they were dearly missed today.Wagner, who also noted problems with her loop combination, finished with 196.44 points.Bell, who was sixth after the short program, turned in an event-best free skate with her East of Eden program that helped her net a total score of 191.59. Bell competed on the Grand Prix Series for the first time last year at Skate America, in which she placed eighth. She moved two months ago from Colorado to train under coach Rafael Arutunian in Lakewood, California.Im proud of my performance today, Bell said. My goal this season has been to improve on my personal best. I havent really been thinking about results or placements, but being on the podium is exciting and Im looking forward to the rest of the season. Im feeling now like I can do it under pressure, and thats something that I can take with me.Japans Mai Mihara, second after the short program, hung on to place third with 189.28 points.U.S. champion Gracie Gold, third after the short program, fell out of medal contention with two falls in her free skate.It was an unfortunate long program; the score was overly generous, but I appreciate what I was able to pull out, Gold said. I need to go back to the drawing board.Uno landed two quad jumps and secured the lead after the short program, with Rippon and Brown close beehind in second and third, respectively.ddddddddddddThe free skate Sunday will determine the winner.Everything went as I was practicing, Uno said through a translator. It was unexpected that I missed the triple toe at the end of the combination, but the quad went really well, maybe too well. Overall it was a good performance.Uno scored 89.15 points, while Rippon was second at 87.32 and Brown third at 85.75. Rippon didnt attempt a quad, while Brown fell on his opening quad toeloop.Its always exciting to skate well at home and have the audience on their feet, said Rippon, the U.S. champion. Later in the season, Id like to have a quad in my short program and improve the overall quality.Brown, from the Chicago area, said he was happy with his performance despite the fall on the quad.My mindset for this event is attack, so I just didnt want to hold back, and thats how I feel I did, he said.Seguin and Bilodeau, third after the short program, rallied to win the pairs free skate and competition with a score of 197.31. The Canadian team finished third last year at Skate America.Especially for me, today was a big challenge with the mistake I made yesterday on my jump, Bilodeau said. I was feeling a bit more stressed than other competitions. It was a big challenge for me to keep focused on the long and forget what happened. We did a clean program so were really happy with that.Americans Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier were second at 192.65.?Russias Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov, first after the short program, settled for third with 185.94.The Shibutanis, the reigning U.S. ice dance champions, entertained the crowd with their Frank Sinatra and Jay Z mash-up featuring blues and hip-hop rhythms. Their short dance score of 73.04 topped Russias Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev (68.92) and Americans Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue (68.78). ' ' '