I Did It Myway had his way with the field, going wire-to-wire to win the $49,315 Horses and Geldings Open Pace at Miami Valley Raceway on Sunday, Feb. 1.
Leaving from post four, Jeremy Smith and I Did It Myway fired off the gate and quickly assumed command as the field settled in line past an opening quarter of :27. Heading past the line for the first time, I Did It Myway continued to show the way while Joelsyy Hanover (Sam Widger) popped out from third to lead the outside line, with Better Is Nice (Tyler Smith) on his back and Humble A (Brett Miller) following third-over. I Did It Myway maintained his lead through the half in :55.4 while Joelsyy Hanover stalled and started sliding backwards, forcing Better Is Nice to go three-wide earlier than anticipated.
I Did It Myway was pressured by Better Is Nice at three-quarters in 1:22.4, but that attack was short lived as the leader rebuffed that effort and started to ease away around the final turn. As they straightened for home, the question was no longer if I Did It Myway would win, but by how much, and the answer to that was a comfortable 2-1/4 lengths under mild encouragement in 1:51. Better Is Nice grinded it out for second while a hard-charging Little Rocket Man (David Miller) rounded out the triactor.
I Did It Myway took his first win in four starts since joining the Virgil Morgan Jr. barn in December. The seven-year-old intact son of Captaintreacherous-Flyme To The Moon, owned by David Hamm, EVM Racing LLC, and Glenn Phillips, is now 38-for-11 lifetime with earnings of $1,613,464. He paid $6.20 to win.
Jeremy Smith led all drivers with four wins on the 14-race card. David Miller followed closely with three tallies, while Chris Page made two trips to the winner's circle. Trainer Elson Miller had a double.
Racing action returns to Miami Valley on Monday with a post time of 4 p.m.
(With files from Miami Valley Raceway)