WASHINGTON, PA, July 22, 2023–It’s My Show (Sweet Lou) put on a show once more, blazing to a world record 1:47.4 Saturday (July 22) in a $25,000 elimination division of the Delvin Miller Adios Pace for the Orchids at Hollywood Casino at The Madows for three-year-old harness racing pacers. 
Cannibal (Sweet Lou-No More Losses) captured the other elimination. Those two will be joined in Saturday’s $350,000 final by the rest of the top four finishers in each elim as well as the fifth-place finisher with higher career earnings. Thus, in addition to It’s My Show and Cannibal, the Adios final field will include Redwood Hanover, Seven Colors, Fulton, Ken Hanover, Ervin Hanover, Flite Craft and Bamboozler (who was the qualifying fifth-place finisher. Linda Toscano will be the only trainer with two finalists, sending out It’s My Show and Fulton.
The draw for Adios final post positions will take place Wednesday, with the connections of It’s My Show and Cannibal choosing their post positions after a random draw to determine their selection order. All other post positions will be determined by random draw. The July 29 Adios Day card shapes up as a blockbuster, featuring five Grand Circuit stakes in addition to the Adios. First post that day is 11:45 AM.
Ervin Hanover cut the fractions in his elimination, throwing down a swift 1:20.1 three-quarters while It’s My Show followed patiently in third. But when Scott Zeron tipped him off the cones, the gelding left Ervin Hanover in his wake and defeated the closing Ken Hanover by a length while Ervin Hanover saved show. The mile is the fastest ever by a 3-year-old gelding on a five-eighths-mile track, knocking a tick from the record shared by Wiggle It Jiggleit and Lucan Hanover.
The Pepsi Norh America Cup winner is now undefeated in seven outings this year–with career earnings of $536,215– after a winless freshman season. But he hadn’t raced since the June 17 North America Cup, skipping the Meadowlands Pace by design, and Toscano, who conditions the homebred for Richard Young and Joanne Young, wondered if he’d be as tight as he needed to be.
“This was a really nerve-wracking race for me because it’s chancy when you give one five weeks off,” she said. “It was what I wanted to do, I wanted to freshen him up, I want to try to keep him fresh for the whole season. Yet at the same time, you want him to be tight, happy sound. The race was important because it’s the Adios.
“I’m really happy that he didn’t power move back to the lead because that would have created a really tough race for him today.”
Cannibal suffered his only defeat of the year in the Meadowlands Pace final, when he struggled to make up ground from the back of the pack. Though he hadn’t been better than third at the quarter in any start this year, Yannick Gingras was determined to give him his chance this week, battling hard for the lead before yielding to Seven Colors. Winning trainer Nancy Takter said getting to the point early wasn’t necessarily a key goal.
“This was a different race from last week,” she said. “The flow just didn’t develop in the Meadowlands Pace the way I would have liked. But he raced super; he just wasn’t in a good spot. He can race on the pace, he can race off the pace. It’s the first time he’s ever been here, and he got around the track good. So I think we’ll keep things the same for next week.”
Cannibal kicked clear in the lane and defeated Redwood Hanover by 1-1/2 lengths in 1:48.2, with Seven Colors third. Diamond Creek Racing owns the homered lifted his lifetime bankroll to $194,978. 
Takter said Cannibal is ticketed for Kentucky Sires Stakes as well as most of the rich late-season events.
By Evan Pattak, for the Meadows Standardbred Owners Association
