`Suspicious' trifecta leads to suspensions

Here's everything I know. You Broken Down Horseplayers shouldknow it, too:

Maywood Park stewards late Thursday suspended harnessdriver-trainer-owner Brian Pelling and owner Dennis Nardoni for theremainder of the year with a recommendation to the Illinois RacingBoard that they should not be permitted to have licenses for fiveyears.

Both harness men are expected to appeal.

The suspensions were the outcome of the suspicious 10th trifectaNov. 6 at Maywood after an investigation by state stewards TimSchmidt and Bob Milburn and association steward Bill Baier.

One person won $34,000 after the 7-6-1 trifecta crossed thewire. The winning horses were Thom Eagle, a 10-1 shot; UltraOsborne at 2-1; and Leah Christina at 35-1.

Pelling, aboard Valunga N., the 7-2 third choice, finishedseventh and Dave McGee, driving the favored 9-5 shot, Fox ValleyBullet, was ninth. Bettors said they thought McGee was hemmed in agood part of the race.

The stewards threw the rule book at both. Pelling trains somehorses for Nardoni. However, Nardoni didn't have a starter in therace.

Both harness persons will be denied access to Maywood. There are only four days left at Hawthorne to complete the intownthoroughbred racing season. That's two days before I fly to Miami tosee my thoroughbred kids.

Balmoral will race daily starting Tuesday for the remainderof the year except Christmas day. Hawthorne, through last Saturday, received approximately $873,659.81from Arlington's intertrack betting that was added to the dailypurses. Hawthorne's management was able to pocket $443,482.19 fromthat type of betting.

Off track betting generates 4 percent to the purses. Some trackowners believe the off track betting is good, but with Peoriaaveraging approximately $35,000 daily on the thoroughbreds andRockford handling $40,000, I don't think its such a big deal. Theybet millions daily at New York's off track betting parlors. Harry Nathenson, who made Chicago his home for many years, diedrecently. He owned the fine stakes horse Blue Choir many years ago.

Owner Peter Kissel, who owned the top horses Pass Catcher,winner of the Belmont Stakes, in l971; Executioneer, winner ofHialeah Park's Flamingo the same year and Iron Ruler, another leadingstakes horse, also died recently.

Local horsemen, Al Kara, died a few weeks ago.

So did Buddy Fogelson, who owned the top stakes horse Ack Ack.Fogelson was married to movie star Greer Garson.

Mrs. Lillian Phipps, wife of New York's Ogden Phipps, formerchairman of the New York Racing Association, also died recently. Sheowned the star steeplechase horse Oedipus. Her husband owns theundefeated filly, Personal Ensign and Polish Navy, and raced thegreat horses Buckpasser and Bold Ruler and a bunch of other stakeswinners.

Barbara Janney, owner of the great ill-fated filly, Ruffian diedrecently. Balmoral's strip was snowed under so much Monday night that not onlywas Tuesday's program canceled, but the horsemen couldn't train theirhorses.

I may have been the first to know Tuesday's card would becanceled. I asked a friend to phone me if there were any harrows orother equipment on the strip late at night. When he said "no" I knewit was Waterloo. State Sen. Judy Topinka (R-Riverside) requested off track bettingparlors should hang up notices 2 1/2 percent would be taken frommutuel payoffs.

Too bad we can't put Sen. Topinka on the Illinois Racing Board.The senator thanked me for calling the attention of the surcharge. Gulfstream's publicity man, Joe Tannenbaum, says almost every toptrainer is stabled at his track. I believe some people are willingto invest in betting horses instead of the stock market.

Gulfstream is one of the few tracks where the BDH don't cry whenthey lose their money. It's that nice. Answering some mail: the Breeders' Cup Series will be run Nov. 5 atChurchill Downs. A BDH wanted to make early rservations. Smart BDH.