Trot races highlighted the Tuesday (March 16) program at Miami Valley Raceway with two Opens and a pair of first-leg divisions for the Dr. Dan Farwick Memorial Series.
I Know My Chip proved once again that he knows his way to the winner’s circle by winning the $22,000 Open I Trot in 1:54.3. It was the 45th win for the nine-year-old son of Deep Chip in his 150th start, boosting his earnings to $1,070,688. He is owned by Brian Carsey, Casey Myers and the Black & White Stable and has been trained in recent years by Walter Haynes Jr.
Driver Brandon Bates wove through traffic in the stretch to reach the wire first in 1:54.3, besting Hes A Herbie and Sweet Mr Pinetucky.
MVP Luke and driver Josh Sutton copped an $18,000 Open II Trot over Voyage To Paris and Setit And Forgetit in 1:56. However the race was marred by an accident as the horses were turning to go to the gate, which unseated both Trace Tetrick and Brett Miller.
Outrider Ashley Holliday was able to collar Air Assault (Miller’s mount), who was in a full gallop shortly after the mishap; and returned quickly to tend to Nyquist, who Tetrick had in hand on a grassy infield area near the grandstand. Both horses appeared sound and healthy after being scratched, and both drivers continued with their daily mounts for over an hour. Tetrick, however, had pain and swelling in one hand and decided after making five more drives to remove himself from his last five drives as a precautionary measure.
The first $15,000 split of the Dr. Dan Farwick Memorial was captured by Kikimora in 1:55.2, holding off Shine All The Way and Susie D. Trainer Chris Beaver co-owns the winning mare with Sandra Burnett. The four-year-old daughter of Triumphant Caviar won for just the sixth time, but increased her lifetime bankroll to over $300,000 with the score in just her second seasonal start. Brett Miller sat in the bike.
Mr Charmbro went a tick faster than Kikimora to capture the second division in 1:55.1. Longshot Bridge Works and favoured Mary Mag Delene completed the trifecta. Trainer Steve Brannan and his wife Nancie own the winning five-year-old Ohio-sired son of Dejarmbro while Tyler Smith had the reins. Mr Charmbro’s clocking established a lifetime mark and increased his earnings to over $60,000.
The Farwick Memorial features trotters who were shy of either six commercial track wins or $60,000 lifetime at nomination time.
Racing at Miami Valley resumes Friday (March 19) and Saturday (March 20) with 14-race programs beginning at 4:05 p.m. (EDT). The Ohio racing commission recently approved a Miami Valley request to continue the earlier 4:05 post time on Fridays and Saturdays through the remainder of the meet on May 3. The only exception will be a noon post time on Saturday, May 2 (Kentucky Derby Day).
(Miami Valley Raceway)