Wishing Stone and driver Yannick Gingras went wire-to-wire in the $250,000 Maxie Lee Memorial Invitational Trot, setting a new stakes record and equalling the trotting track record at Harrah's Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon.

Wishing Stone left from post five in the eight-horse field and set up shop on the front end over second choice Uncle Peter (David Miller) and Arthur J. Cutler Memorial champion Sevruga (Andy Miller). The 9-5 favourite carved out fractions of :27.1, :56.4 and 1:24.1 while Sevruga advanced first over and second over Modern Family (Tim Tetrick) rallied three-wide into the stretch. But Wishing Stone pulled clear at the top of the lane and drew off to win by three lengths in 1:52. Uncle Peter finished second with Modern Family third.

Wishing Stone's 17th career win pushed him over the $2 million mark in career earnings.

"He’s got a big heart, but he’s got a big gait too,” said Gingras of Wishing Stone, known for his diminutive size. “He reaches out real nice. He’s beautiful to drive and he trots like a big horse.”

Ron Burke trains Wishing Stone for Cowboyland Aalborg, T L P Stable, J And T Silva Stables LLC, and Deo Volente Farms LLC.

The winner returned $4.40 to his backers.

Earlier on the card, Economy Terror and driver Matt Kakaley waited patiently in the pocket before surging to their own stakes victory down the stretch in the $250,000 Betsy Ross Mares Invitational Pace.

With the inside post advantage, Economy Terror and Kakaley protected the rail position off the gate before giving way to post two starter Drop The Ball (Corey Callahan) into the first turn. Drop The Ball, the second choice in the wagering, took over and reached the first quarter in :26-seconds with the parked Romantic Moment (David Miller) looming first over, followed by the favoured 2011 Betsy Ross champion Anndrovette (Tim Tetrick) and Rocklamation (Yannick Gingras) spotted third over.

Drop The Ball led the field to the half in :54.1 and into the backstretch, where Anndrovette swept three-wide around the fading Romantic Moment. Rocklamation followed that move and then launched an attack three-deep alongside Anndrovette. Drop The Ball was still in control at the 1:22 third-quarter mark, but the backfield was quickly closing in. However, it was Economy Terror from the two-hole that posed the biggest threat. She rallied up the pylons to prevail in 1:51.1 by three-quarters of a length.

Economy Terror paid $21.80 to win for the mild 9-1 upset. Rocklamation came in second at odds of 10-1 with defending champion and 26-1 longshot Royal Cee Cee N (Ron Pierce) coming from last to complete a $1,425.20 triactor.

“She showed up, which is good,” trainer Chris Oakes said after the victory. “It’s a tough bunch of aged mares and this was her first big test of the year. And she passed with flying colours. If today was an indication, it looks like it’s going to be an interesting year.”

The four-year-old Western Terror mare is owned by Chuck Pompey, Howard Taylor, and Edwin Gold. The win was Economy Terror's first in three seasonal starts and improved her career record to 14-7-3 in 29 outings while lifting her bankroll to $1,496,403.

For 25-year-old Kakaley, the victory was the most lucrative open-stakes triumph of his career.

(With files from HRC)