Table Games rallies to win Thursday feature

Table Games rallied along the inside in Thursday night's $8,000 featured ninth race at Vernon Downs and pulled off a career-fastest 1:52.3 victory.

Roman Lopez earned a driving triple during the evening's top test for female pacers by sending Table Games up the pylon path from third in the final 16^th-of-the-mile and was rewarded with a neck triumph over the favorite, Bells Are Ringing.

Thursday's tight tally marked the second season's score and the eighth lifetime win for the 4-year-old daughter of Bettor's Delight-Mack's Table, who is trained by Sam Serianni and owned by the Slo-Down Stable, Edmund Namiotka, Jr. and Frank H. Kane.  She increased her all-time winnings to $104,140.

Thursday's racing also saw provisional pilot Michael Mancini earn his first pari-mutual driving victory (behind the pacer Rocks N Bagels in the fourth race), E. J. Treadway's Misty Major become the fastest 2-year-old filly pacer of the track's 60^th meeting with a 1:54.3 "maiden" score in the second race (Jimmy Whittemore steering for veteran conditioner Angus Mac Donald), and the freshman colt trotter Resolve, driven by trainer Lopez for owners Michael Pozefsky, William Pozefsky and Edward W. Wilson, became the swiftest member of his class after 40 program with a 1:58.1 initial career victory in the third event.

Thursday's three-win outing by Lopez was his ninth of the season locally, tying him with leading dash-winning driver Plano (79 first-place finishes), who also earned a "hat-trick" during the card's competition.  Whittemore recorded a pair of scores, as did trainer Mac Donald during the 10-race program.

DOWNS DOINGS—Mancini drove Rocks N Bagels for trainer Jordan Hope and owner Kelly Dawn Hope of Vernon…Plano's victories were in races five (Sweet Baby Jane), six (Heckuvarosa) and seven (Steuben Ruthless)…Friday night's 11-race card, which features an $8,000 trot in race seven, will begin at 6:45 p.m…Saturday night's 13-race program will feature the highly-regarded sophomore trotter Royalty For Life in a final tune-up for the Aug. 3 Hambletonian at The Meadowlands Racetrack…A revised 2013 racing and stakes calendar, as well as additional information regarding Vernon Downs, its casino, hotel, racing and promotional events can be obtained at www.vernondowns.com.