Elmo Blatch secured his spot as the winningest horse at the current Miami Valley Raceway meet on Sunday afternoon (April 29) by winning for the eighth time during the four-month session, which is about to close on Monday, May 7.

After sweeping the Ray Paver Sr. Memorial Series for non-winners of four pari-mutuels and then the Dr. Dan Farwick Memorial Series for non-winners of six pari-mutuel races earlier in the meet, Elmo Blatch was forced to go directly to the Open ranks and he upset the talented field of the region’s finest trotters in just his second try.

Dispatched at 15-1 odds, driver Tylor Lough left alertly from an inside post allowing only Rose Run Sydney (Jason Brewer) to cross over in front of him before reaching the :27 first quarter. Content to sit in the pocket until the head of the stretch, Lough watched as first Another Breath (Chris Lems) and then eventual show finisher Walter White (Dan Noble) challenged the front-runner as they passed the half in :56 and the three-quarters in 1:24.3. When that pair tired coming out of the final turn, Elmo Blatch pounced from the pocket and wore down a stubborn Rose Run Sydney in 1:53.3. Backers of the upstart five-year-old son of Andover Hall were rewarded with a $33.80 win mutuel. The exacta was a handsome $244.

Lough’s father David owns Elmo Blatch, who he discovered late in 2017 readying to become an Amish buggy horse. The jubilant winner’s circle photo included David and his wife Amy, Tylor’s significant other Casey and the couple’s infant daughter Kendra.

(Miami Valley Raceway)