The husband and wife team of Nick and Betty Clegg may have one of harness racing’s next stars in their barn following an impressive effort by Janelle Granny on Wednesday, June 21 at MGM Northfield Park.

It was the pari-mutuel debut for the Ohio-bred son of Fear The Dragon who finished a game second at Paulding, Ohio fair in his first career start. Janelle Granny took no prisoners during his impressive victory on Wednesday, becoming the fastest two-year-old to pace on a half-mile track so far this season and was one-fifth of a second off becoming the fastest two-year-old overall this season, stopping the clock in 1:53.4.

“I’ve had the utmost confidence in him since I started training him down,” said Nick Clegg. “I’m thankful I picked this colt out and took a chance on him.”

Leaving from the inside, Clegg defended pylon position well, making the lead into the opening turning, but dealt with immediate pressure from Strictly Perfect (Luke Ebersole) and a three-wide Born To Dance (Anthony MacDonald). Born To Dance was allowed to clear past the quarter in :27.4, but heading to the half in :56.4, Janelle Granny was put back into play and cleared again into the clubhouse turn.

Into the backstretch for the final time, Im Fancy Like (Ryan Stahl) made a bid for the lead with his filly and got within a quarter of a length of the lead at three-quarters in 1:25.2. Still, the talented colt wasn’t done yet, repelling the filly easily and drawing off in the stretch to win by an impressive 4-1/4 lengths.  

Owned by trainer Betty Jo Clegg, Larry Miller bred Janelle Granny in Ohio. 

Wednesday’s trot extravaganza proved challenging for gamblers, with both the Pick-5 and Pick-6 going unclaimed. Saturday’s $1 Pick-5 that begins in race six will sport a carryover of $5,529.78. The 50-cent non-jackpot Pick-6 that begins in race eight features a carryover of $1,093. Both wagers feature a low 14 per cent takeout.

Live harness racing resumes on Sunday evening at 6 p.m.

(With files from Northfield Park)