The $25,000 Mares Open Pace on Wednesday (Jan. 29) at Dover Downs was a family affair, as driver Corey Callahan drove Valuable Art ($15.60) to a 1:51.4 victory for trainer Nick Callahan (his father) and owner Dolly Callahan (his mother).
At the start, both Delishka N (Allan Davis) and 4/5 favourite Moments Of Joy (Victor Kirby) left alertly. After rebuffing a quarter-move attempt from Moments Of Joy, Delishka N set fractions of :26 and :55.1 before facing a first-over grind from Valuable Art nearing three-quarters in 1:24. In the stretch, Valuable Art wore down Delishka N and held off an outside rally from Moments Of Joy by a length. Terror At Night finished third, another four lengths back.
Valuable Art, a seven-year-old daughter of Art Official, earned her first win of 2020 and the 22nd of her career.
Dexter Dunn led all drivers with four wins on the card, while Tim Tetrick won three.
Wiggle It Jiggleit will race in the Preferred Pace (race 12) on Thursday (Jan. 30); first post is 4:30 p.m.
(with files from Dover Downs)