Three races shared the spotlight at Miami Valley Raceway on Tuesday afternoon (Feb. 18), as the five-eighths mile oval hosted a $24,000 Open Trot, the $20,000 championship leg of the Robert J. Brown Memorial trotting series, and the $15,000 championship of the Survivor Series for $5,000 claiming mares.
Majestic Player A, a recent import from Down Under, surged past Party At The Banks midstretch and held for a narrow 1:54.2 victory. Peggy Sue benefited from a pocket ride and grabbed third.
Junior Haynes trains the six-year-old winner for Jeffrey Fought, Brian Carsey and Casey Myers. Trace Tetrick sat in the bike.
Mary Mag Delene sat patiently in fifth in the early going of the Robert J. Brown Memorial final for trotting non-winners of two or $20,000. After a :57.3 halfway juncture, the five-year-old daughter of Dejarmbro was angled to the outside. Moving to race second over from fourth at three-quarters in 1:27.1, driver Sandy Beatty and Mary Mag Delene had the most trot in the lane, topping Stone Cold Blue and stablemate B Threeseven in 1:57.4, a lifetime best.
“I thought the other half of my entry had a little better chance,” said an excited Beatty, who co-owns with Mazing Racing Stable, in the winner’s circle, "but this is a good looking mare who seems to be at the top of her game right now.”
Beatty’s other entrant, B Threeseven, made a break nearing three-quarters, which eliminated his chances of winning. Although he recovered to finish third.
The 10 mares who lined up for the Survivor Series final had survived two elimination heats to reduce the field from a group of 38 hopefuls. When the gate swung open Rock The Baby and driver Josh Sutton sprinted to the front, then decelerated to a :28.3 opening panel. Favoured Nice Trip then came calling early, prompting Rock The Baby to accelerate towards a :56.4 half. Rock The Baby still held the advantage as the pair sped past the three-quarters in 1:25.2 and soon put away her challenger through the stretch, pulling away to a 1:54.4 victory.
Rock The Baby, a five-year-old daughter of Rockin Image, was claimed for $6,000 from the first elimination heat of the Survivor Series by trainer Larry Finn and his partner Chad Stone. After a runner-up finish in the second elimination and the victory in the final, she has now produced a $11,250 return on investment in two weeks.
(Miami Valley Raceway)