Running Aces’ 2019 Father's Day program was a huge success on Sunday (June 16).

The program perpetuated a long history of large, enthusiastic crowds making their way to the north-metro Minnesota track to celebrate the holiday with the whole family and enjoy all of the amenities that Running Aces has to offer.

The card of racing was fantastic, as it overflowed with exciting, well-matched contests and impressive performances. The big race of the card was the first annual North Metro Pace, which sported a $20,000 purse which attracted a very talented field of Open-level pacers.

SF Donttellonme (who was driven by Joe Casagranda) was the talk of the tote board (8-5) and the top pick of track handicappers. He was making his Running Aces return after a two year hiatus from the Columbus five-eighths mile track where he posted a strong campaign in 2017 and took a 1:51.1 mark.

Annihilator (Dean Magee) and Holdingallthecards (Tim Maier) were both well supported at just over 3-1 and King Of The Crop (Steve Wiseman) was the only other horse sent off at odds in the single digits (6-1).

The gate sped away with Holdingallthecards in hot pursuit from Post 8 for the lead and Bettors Promise (Mooney Svendsen) flooring it from Post 4 to secure the garden spot. Prodigal (Tony Succarotte) was also away fast from Post 3 and settled third and just off the early leaders. The quarter was a fast :26.3. Tim Maier quickly throttled the leader down for a second quarter breather of :29.2 while War Daddy (Williams Hernandez) got the ball rolling on the outside, creating an outer flow that included race favorite SF Donttellonme (second-over) and Annihilator in the third-over spot.

Holdingallthecards responded to the pressure with a :27.3 panel that brought the field around the far turn, and turned back the closest outside pursuers. Bettors Promise had enjoyed the perfect trip throughout and was poised to strike as they turned for home, but getting by the leader was no easy task. A furious charge to the wire ensued and Annihilator joined the fray on the far outside to bolster a nail-biting finish. When the dust cleared at the wire, Bettors Promise had gotten home first, a neck ahead of Annihilator and a further neck back to Holdingallthecards in a 1:52.4 mile. The top seven finishers were beaten less than three lengths and entire field was covered in under five lengths.

Bettors Promise gets up to win a thrilling inaugural North Metro Pace.

Bettors Promise ($35.60) took the top prize in a thrilling inaugural edition of the North Metro Pace and his connections were presented the giant cheque in the winner's circle. The eight-year-old gelding by Bettors Delight is owned by Richard Morita and David Yamada and trained by Jessie Pacheco. Bettors Promise now has three wins from 12 starts this year and 27 lifetime victories. He has a career bankroll of $183,695 after Sunday's big win.

Winning driver Lemoyne ‘Mooney’ Svendsen dedicated his wins on Father's Day weekend to the memory of his father, Lorenz Svendsen. Both father and son are members of the Minnesota Harness Racing Hall of Fame. Svendsen had two wins on the Father's Day program.

Driver Steve Wiseman, who is the two-time defending champion driver at Running Aces, turned in a huge night on Sunday. He celebrated his Father's Day in style with five wins during the card (the first driver to win more than three on any card this season).

Live racing will return to Running Aces on Tuesday night (June 18). First post will be at 7:00 p.m. (CDT). The card will feature a couple of nice carryovers ($9,662.11 for the Pick-5 Jackpot, and $5,371.39 for the Hi-5).

(Running Aces)