The Saturday night harness racing card at Running Aces featured Minnesota Sired three-year-olds in action, with the pacers going for $16,000 in two divisions, and the trotters fielding a full gate of 10 sophomores in one $13,000 division.

In the $9,600 “A” division of the three-year-old pacers, Whatitdo Babyboo ($3.80) posted a very sharp win in a 1:54 lifetime best mile, with Rick Magee in the sulky for trainer David Flinn and owners The Van Otterloo Stables. Tonight’s tally was her ninth lifetime win in 12 starts. More on Flinn's night later.

In the $6,400 “B” division, it was the Up Front Brad filly Exsqueezeme ($11.00) who posted a gate-to-wire victory in a very sharp lifetime best 1:56.1. Exsqueezeme is owned by Alan and Cheryl Sandbulte, trained by Denise Maier, and was driven to her first lifetime win by Tim Maier.

Filly Imapixieatmidnight posted a razor-sharp win over a wet surface in the $13,000 three-year-old trot event despite a second-tier start. Trainer-driver Nick Roland got his filly away from the gate in fifth position before grabbing the second-over position just at the three-eighths pole, tipping three-wide down the backside to sweep into second and ultimately roll past race leader Al Mar Money Glide (Tim Maier). Imapixieatmidnight ($7.00) drew away impressively to score in 2:02.1 and register a new life mark for owners Set The Pace Racing, LLC.

Trainer David Flinn had five horses in-to-go on the Saturday program with three of his charges going to the gate in the same event -- the $9,600 Minnesota-Sired Pace Class "A", and two others going in separate conditioned events.

This certainly makes for a busy night for Flinn and his team, which is not uncommon for his operation to have five or six horses in on any given night, but what transpired on this particular evening was something special and most certainly noteworthy.

It all started in Race 3 on the card, the race where Flinn sent out half the field, for three different Iowa owners. Flinn's charges swept the top three poitions when Whatitdoo Babyboo (Rick Magee aboard) charged home in the stretch to pass Steves Hot Rod (Joe Casagranda) and pace a lifetime best 1:54 mile. The winner, owned by The Van Otterloo Stables, is no stranger to success at Running Aces, as she was the 2016 State Champion Two-Year-Old pacing filly. The third place finisher was the other Flinn trainee, Deweydiddonegood (Steve Wiseman), also a champion pacer from last year.

The Flinn team had a couple of races off until Race 6 when they sent out Swagasaurusrex in a $3,500 conditioned pace. Driver Dean Magee helped Flinn back to the winner's circle after the duo posted a sharp win in 1:55.2 for the pacer's first victory in five starts this season for owner Richard Davelaar.

Finally, Flinn sent Okee Dokee to the gate in a $4,400 conditioned pace in Race 8 with driver Brian Detgen, and that tandem proceeded to trounce the competition and post a 9-1/2 length romp in a career best mile of 1:56.3. This three-year-old pacer is also owned by The Van Otterloo Stables.

Final Score: five horses in, one trainer, four different owners, five different drivers. Three wins plus a second and third in the same race. In any kind of racing, it just doesn't get much better than that.

Drivers Nick Roland and Tim Maier both picked up driving doubles on the card.

Live harness racing returns to the Running Aces oval on Sunday, June 18, with a first post of 7:00 p.m. CT, and a carryover in the 20-cent Jackpot Pick 5 of $13,020.26.

(with files from Running Aces)