The smart money and the $2 players agreed: Well Said, winner of both the $1.3 million North American Cup and the $1 million Meadowlands Pace, was the horse to beat in the second of three $50,000 Adios Pace eliminations yesterday at The Meadows.

They sent him off with a roar of cheers and applause and at 1-5 betting odds and then happily watched him prove them right.

Well Said and driver Ron Pierce were no match for their eight competitors as they won by two lengths and in an all-age track record of 1:49. It would have been a stakes record, too, but last year because of the construction of a racino here, the race was held at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, where Shadow Play won an elimination in an Adios-record 1:48 2/5.

Pierce suggested Well Said could have beaten that time, too, if he had been pressed.

"He felt like if I was chasing him; if it was a horse race, if he had some competition in there, he could pace in 1:47," Pierce said. "I've driven a whole lot of great horses and this guy acts like he could go right by them.

"He's scary fast."

Mohawk Raceway-based Keep It Real, driven by Brian Sears, was second to Well Said, and Schoolkids, driven by Meadows star Dave Palone, captured the third and final qualifying spot for the $677,665 Adios Pace final next Saturday.

The top three finishers in the first and third eliminations also qualified for the Adios final.

Finishing 1-2-3 in the first elimination were If I Can Dream, Ideal Danny and Chasin Racing; the first three in the third were Mr. Wiggles, Vintage Master and Straight Shooting.

Strong showings in the July 18 Meadowlands Pace, the United States' richest 3-year-old pace, and Canada's North American Cup on June 27 were good predictors of who would qualify for the Adios final. Keep It Real, for example, was third to Well Said in the North American Cup final.

If I Can Dream was the Meadowlands Pace third-place finisher, and Mr. Wiggles, winner by a nose in the third Adios elimination, was fourth to Well Said in the North American Cup. Vintage Master, the horse nosed by Mr. Wiggles, came to the Adios eliminations off a second to Well Said in the Meadowlands Pace.

Adios drew what arguably is the track's best field in eliminations, and racing track experts gave two reasons: the decision to run the eliminations a week ahead of time instead of on the same day as in past years and the growth in the purse since The Meadows' casino has been contributing.