The only three-year-old in a bulky field, Hazardos used an early move and benefitted from well-rated drive from Sam Widger to take the first feature, a $25,000 conditioned claiming pace, on Friday, Oct. 3 at Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway.
The field of 10 quickly made its way into single file as Hazardos grabbed the lead in the :27.4 opening quarter. Widger was able to back the pace down and received a :29 breather in the second panel. Jeremy Smith sent Saulsbrook Litten from back in the pack to mount the only challenge through the three-quarters in 1:24.1. Chris Page slipped out of the pocket around the final turn with favoured Twenty Five, but Hazados and Widger saved enough for a :27 last quarter, tripping the timer in 1:51.1. Twenty Five finished 1-1/2 lengths back in second and Handsome Sir (Brett Miller) completed the trifecta.
Tessa Perrin trains the Always B Miki-Fiery Beauty gelding for Arrhythmic LLC of West Seneca, New York. Winning his Dayton debut, the six-figure earning sophomore improved his career record to 9-4-1 in 21 starts.
In the matching co-feature, Cam McCown used an early give-and-go move with Vel Lickety Split to retake the lead from Tennessee Smooth (Brett Miller). The leaders set :26.2, :55.2 and 1:23.1 fractions and opened a two-length lead at the top of the lane. A :28.3 final panel sealed the deal and gave Vel Lickey Split a 1:51.4 win by 1-3/4 lengths over Fast Dealin (Trevor Smith) and Wirelesscaller (Jeremy Smith).
Jessica McCown trains the four-year-old Lost In Time-Lickcreek Francis gelding for Nick Katterhenry of Saint Marys, Ohio. Vel Lickety Split is now 10-for-60 lifetime with seven of those wins achieved this year.
McCown was one of five drivers to double up on the card. He won the first and last race of the night.
Dayton Raceway will wrap up its week of harness racing with a 14-race card on Saturday night. First post is 4 p.m.
(With files from Dayton Raceway; photo of Hazardos from a previous win at Woodbine Mohawk Park)