Trainer Ron Burke and driver Ronnie Wrenn Jr. teamed up for victories in the pair of Open events on Monday, March 30 at Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel, winning the $41,667 Open Pace with odds-on favourite Tip Top Cat and later taking the $34,722 Open 2 Pace with mare Aintnothingucando.
In the Monday feature, Wrenn hustled Tip Top Cat out of post six and ground towards the lead after a :26.1 first quarter, pocketing stablemate Captain Arturovico (Marcus Miller). Tip Top Cat cruised to the half in :55.2 and hit the pedal up the backstretch as Fox Valley Langely (Geremy Bobbitt) mounted a first-over challenge with Burnout (Austin Hanners) in tow. Wrenn kept Tip Top Cat to task through three-quarters in 1:22.1 and held a comfortable advantage rounding for home to coast in a 2-1/2-length winner in 1:50.1. Admiral Hill (Atlee Bender) ripped from last to take second while Burnout kicked off cover and levelled off in third. Captain Arturovico gave chase in fourth.
A six-year-old gelding by Always B Miki out of Western Top Cat, Tip Top Cat won for the first time this year in his second seasonal start and collected his 14th win from 80 starts, pushing his earnings to $795,978. He competes for owners Burke Racing Stable of Frederickson, Pennsylvania, Weaver Bruscemi of Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania, Frank Canzone of Scarsdale, New York and Larry Karr of Randolph, New Jersey.
Sent off as the 4-5 favourite, Tip Top Cat paid $3.80 to win.
Wrenn and Burke later posted another speedy victory with a rebound effort by Aintnothingucando for a narrow 1:51.4 win in the $34,722 Open 2 Pace. After cutting sensible opening fractions of :27.2 and :56.4, Aintnothingucando hit high gear up the backstretch when confronted by first-over Bonitas Best Bet (Marvin Luna) marching to three-quarters in 1:23.2. Bonitas Best Bet continued digging into Aintnothingucando all through the final quarter-mile but came a nose short of the winner. Tarshish (Marcus Miller), the 6-5 favourite, closed from second over for third and pocket-sitter Miss Fancy Nancy (Atlee Bender) finished fourth.
Winning her fifth race from 10 starts this season and her 17th race from 53 starts in her career, Aintnothingucando has now earned $277,687. The four-year-old daughter of Odds On Equuleus and Ever After competes for owners Burke Racing Stable and Weaver Bruscemi.
She paid $6.60 to win.
Oak Grove's Tuesday, March 31 card will feature a showdown between a pair of trotters who have enjoyed recent success in Indiana.
Ponda Jet, a 34-time winner who concluded 2025 with five consecutive wins — including a 1:51.3 score at Hoosier Park in the Indiana Sires Stakes for older male trotters — is the 2-1 morning line favourite in this week's $30,000 USD Open Handicap Trot, which is the seventh of 13 races on the Tuesday program. The six-year-old Dover Dan-Pondas Lucky Lady gelding will make his seasonal debut off a 1:54.4 qualifier at Hoosier. Regular driver Kyle Wilfong will make the trek to Oak Grove to handle the lines for trainer Jay Hochstetler from post eight.
Drink Up Drink Up, who won a pair of Hoosier Opens this month before parrying a late charge from My Man Peter to win the first Open Trot of the Oak Grove meet, will aim to extend his current win streak to four. Trainer Walter Haynes Jr. again calls on Brandon Bates to drive the six-year-old Trixton-Homeforetheholidays gelding, who is the 7-2 second choice from post position seven.
First-race post time at Oak Grove is 1:10 p.m. (CDT)
(With files from Oak Grove)