Miami Valley Raceway has introduced a pair of new Late Closing events with an exciting twist: odd distance racing.

Both the Bill Dailey Memorial Medley for male pacers and the Howard Beissinger Memorial Medley for trotters will feature three legs — a five-eighths-mile dash (one lap) the first week, a mile race the second and a 1-1/4 mile (two laps) final. The series are open to horses who have raced for purses of $7,500 (min.) to $15,000 (max.) in each of their last three starts.

“I introduced this concept at Northfield Park as the John Phillips Memorial Medley in the late 80’s,” said Miami Valley Race Secretary Gregg Keidel, “and it was one of our most popular events for close to a decade. The three different distances rewards versatile horses that can race well whether near the front or coming from behind. The odd distances also present a challenge for astute handicappers who like to think out of the box. You’d be surprised how many dashes were won by closers and how many distance races were won on the chooch.”

Bill Dailey, who died unexpectedly in the Fall of 2018, was widely recognized as one of the best trainers to ever make southwest Ohio (Urbana Fairgrounds) his home base. He was annually at or near the top of the Ohio Sires Stakes series standings and campaigned a large string of outstanding horses over the years. Dailey was often heard saying, “Your horse might be better than mine, but he won’t be in better shape than mine” — an indication of how fit and how versatile he wanted his horses to be on the racetrack.

Howard Beissinger is unquestionably the most notable Grand Circuit trainer of trotters that ever stabled in southwest Ohio — in his hometown of Hamilton. The Hall of Famer won most every major trotting stake the sport has to offer, including three Hambletonians with Lindys Pride, Speedy Crown and Speedy Somolli. Widely recognized as a trotting master, Beissinger lead an interesting life. On his 80th birthday, he went para-sailing in Mexico. On his 90th birthday, he went hang-gliding off a 3,000 foot cliff in Lookout Mountain, Georgia.

Nominations ($400) for the Dailey and Beissinger Memorial Medleys are due Tuesday, Jan. 29. The first legs are on Friday, Feb. 8 for trotters and Saturday, Feb. 9 for pacers. The purses for leg one will be $12,500, leg two will be $17,500 and the two-lap finals will go for $25,000.

Nomination forms can be accessed at the website at miamivalleygaming.com by clicking on the ‘Racing,' ‘Horsemen Info,’ ‘Forms’ and ‘February Series’ tabs.

(Miami Valley Raceway)