Indiana Sires Stakes action returned to Harrah’s Hoosier Racing & Casino on Wednesday, August 19, as the fourth round of the stakes action for the three-year-old competitors took place.

Indiana-sired sophomore trotting fillies were the featured attraction during the evening’s 13-race card, as a pair of $31,500 divisions for the three-year-old trotting fillies took centre stage.

Rock Swan continued her winning ways by capturing the opening division (and her fourth consecutive stakes victory) with driver Trace Tetrick. Rock Swan stopped the timer in 1:53.1, recorded her third consecutive Indiana Sires Stakes victory, and established a new lifetime mark in the process.

Rock Swan extended her win streak to four with a win in ISS action at Harrah’s Hoosier Park.

Tetrick wasted no time and sent Rock Swan to the front through the :27.4 opening panel. May Baby and driver James Yoder, who returned to their home track after an appearance in the Hambletonian Oaks at the Meadowlands Racetrack, grabbed a pocket seat while Swan Bomb and Ricky Macomber Jr. were next in line in third. Rock Swan continued to call the shots through splits of :58 and 1:26.2. and the stage was set for a battle to the wire turning for home. May Baby tipped from the pocket and the top pair matched strides down the lane. Using a :26.4 closing kick, Rock Swan was able to hold off May Baby and get the win by a nose. Deswanslittlelorie and Michael Oosting rallied for third. As the 8-5 second choice, Rock Swan returned $5.40 to her backers at the betting windows.

Trained by Erv Miller, the daughter of Swan For All—Jolly Jessica has now won four of six seasonal outings and 13 of 17 lifetime. Owned in partnership by S&R Racing and Anthony Lombardi, Rock Swan pushed her lifetime bankroll to $471,672. The victory was also one of four wins on the evening’s 13-race card for Harrah’s Hoosier Park’s leading driver, Trace Tetrick.

In the second division, Sam Widger and Pretzel Party utilized similar gate-to-wire tactics to score in 1:55.3. With the win, Pretzel Party recorded her first stakes victory and established a new lifetime best.

Pretzel Party captured her first stakes victory with a win Wednesday at Hoosier.

Widger sent Pretzel Party away from the gate just enough to protect their rail position and grab the lead through the :27.1 opening panel. The field remained in single file order down the backside while Pretzel Party rattled off fractions of :56.3 and 1:26.2. Turning for home, Ricky Macomber Jr. had Skyway Tinacious out and applying pressure from first-over, but Pretzel Party wasn’t finished.

Using a :29.1 final quarter, Pretzel Party kept her challengers at bay to get the win by two and a quarter lengths. Skyway Tinacious was forced to settle for second while La Nancio and Jared Finn trotted evenly to finish third. Sent off at odds of 2-1, Pretzel Party returned $6.20 at the betting windows.

Trained by Jeff Edwards, the daughter of Mr Cantab-Pretzel Hanover recorded her first win of the season from eight tries. Pretzel Party is owned in partnership by Denise Dennis and John Johannsen and pushed her lifetime bankroll to $121,605 with the win.

Indiana Sires Stakes action will continue at Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing & Casino on Thursday, August 20 with two $31,500 divisions of Indiana Sires Stakes for the three-year-old trotting colts and geldings. Thursday’s 14-race card will also feature a $10,000 Guaranteed Pick-4 (Races 3-6) and a $10,000 Guaranteed Hoosier High-5 (Race 14).

The 2020 live racing season at Harrah’s Hoosier Park will feature 111 racing programs and follow a Tuesday through Saturday schedule throughout the season. With a daily post time of 6:30 p.m., live racing will be conducted through November 21. For more information on the live racing schedule, please visit www.harrahshoosierpark.com.

(Harrah's Hoosier Park)