First Class Rule used a first-over trip to defeat seven rivals in the featured $43,836 Open II Handicap Trot at Miami Valley Raceway on Wednesday, April 29, earning his second win of the year in 13 starts.

Starting from post six, First Class Rule left between horses, with Niko Man (Trevor Smith) at the inside and Yanks Dugout (Austin Hanners) powering up on the outside to take the lead. First Class Rule settled in fourth, opening a gap for the hard-leaving Abbey D (Brett Miller) to drop in third as they passed the opening quarter in :27.2. Reggianito (Hugh Beatty) pulled first-over from seventh in front of the toteboard and drew cover from Nickel And Dime (David Miller) and First Class Rule (Luke Hanners) en route to the half in :57. 

Yanks Dugout led the field past the three-quarters in 1:26 with First Class Rule advancing first-over to his outside. As they rounded the final turn, Niko Man broke stride when making incidental contact with First Class Rule, causing the second-over Nickel And Dime to also jump it off. The side-by-side breakers allowed Yanks Dugout and First Class Rule to separate from the rest, with Yanks Dugout narrowly ahead at the top of the stretch. The two battled nose-to-nose down the lane, and First Class Rule got up in the final strides to win by a half-length in 1:54.3. Reggianito finished third. The judges lodged a lengthy inquiry into the incident on the backstretch and placed Niko Man, who finished seventh, behind Nickel And Dime but left First Class Rule up.

The win was the 11th lifetime in 43 starts for the Ron Burke-trained First Class Rule. The four-year-old Muscle Mass-Ruling Class gelding, owned by Burke Racing Stable LLC, Weaver Bruscemi LLC and Knox Services Inc., pushed his lifetime earnings to $224,569. He paid $18.20 to win.

Leading Miami Valley driver David Miller won four races on the 14-race card. Three drivers walked away with two wins apiece: Marvin Luna, Sam Widger, and Luke Hanners.

Just two days remain in the 2026 Miami Valley meet. Racing resumes on Thursday with the normal 4 p.m. post, followed by a special 1 p.m. Kentucky Derby Saturday card, featuring eight divisions of the Ohio Sires Stakes and the Grade 3 $100,000 USD Pacey Mindlin Memorial.

(With files from Miami Valley Raceway)