One of the best Open class trotters in Florida of recent vintage, Keystone Thomas, has been sold by private treaty and is likely to re-surface soon in a more northern jurisdiction

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The six-year-old Revenue S-Keystone Taboo gelding was sold by Fred Monteleone of Pompano Beach to the connections of trainer and driver Daryl Bier of Smyrna, Delaware. At the time of the transaction, Keystone Thomas had amassed 33 career wins and was just $301 shy of a quarter million dollars in career earnings. His best career year was in 2011 when he never left Florida to race and won 14 of 33 starts to add over $112,000 onto his lifetime bankroll last year.

Bruce Ranger, the leading driver in Pompano's 48 year history, also developed Keystone Thomas. During the Wednesday evening, February 29 program at The Isle Casino Racing Pompano Park, Ranger confirmed as fact the transaction and the reported sale price of Keystone Thomas of $100,000.

"It makes you feel a bit sick in the pit of your stomach when you lose two top level trotters like this from your barn in an eight month span," Ranger said. "Last July, Andover America was moved by his owner up to [trainer] Benoit Baillargeon on the Toronto circuit and he's done really well. Now, Keystone Thomas has been sold and is leaving [assistant trainer] Stewart Nemiro and myself. I guess it's part of the price you pay to have the Florida lifestyle and be so isolated from all the tracks up north, but still takes a while to fully accept this kind of loss from your barn when it happens."

With Keystone Thomas not in the field, Scorpion Moon made the most of the situation in the $12,000 purse Open Handicap Trot highlighting the leap year program.

The Armbro Scorpion-Angies Nugget gelding is showing no signs of slowing down in his 11-year-old campaign, as the 82-time career winner of $887,406 sprinted home in 1:55.3 after dictating the half in :58.1. Big Baller followed in from the pocket for Wally Hennessey to hold second and Gale Warning with Tom Sells in tow held third. Tracy Brainard of DeLeon Springs, Florida is the owner and trainer of Scorpion Moon, and Joe Pavia Jr. was in the bike to bring his career wins total to 4,992.

Also on the Wednesday evening program, Pompano's hottest driver for the month of February, Dan Clements, weaved through traffic to execute a 53-1 upset with trotter L M Canon for owner and trainer Jean Beaulieu, which resulted in a Pick 4 carryover of $6,850 to the Saturday evening, March 3 program. The anticipated pool is well in excess of $10,000 for Saturday night's Pick 4 at Pompano. Clements capped off the month as the track's top driver with 18 wins for purse earnings of over $80,000, including a five win performance on February 21.

(Pompano Park)