Josh Sutton strengthened his stranglehold on the top spot in the Miami Valley Raceway dash derby with a six-pack of wins on the Saturday (March 5) program.
The 33-year-old reinsman now sports 84 wins, 22 more than runner-up Chris Page, who himself fashioned a grand slam with four Saturday victories. Sutton’s 84 wins and .293 UDRS have generated $634,856 in 2016 earnings, all at Miami Valley, and placed him eighth in the current North American dash standings.
Six different trainers benefitted from Sutton’s stellar night, starting with conditioner Daniel Jones, who saw his $8,000 claimer Peck Blue Chip capture the first race of the evening in 1:52.4 and return a $10.80 mutuel. Sutton’s other triumphs came behind Major Blue Coat (1:53, trainer Jeff Nisonger, $4.40), Mojito Hanover (1:52.2, Robert Cook, $6.60), Frass Bluegrass (1:53.1, Richard Lindsey, $32.40), Roll Em Up (1:53.3, Virgil Morgan Jr., $4.20) and Talk Strategy (1:52.1, Barry Langley, $5.00).
With the meet approaching the halfway point, the top 10 drivers are Sutton (84 wins), Page (62), Jeremy Smith (57), Tyler Smith (55), Trace Tetrick (48), Kayne Kauffman (41), John DeLong (35), Randy Tharps (32), Dan Noble (30) and LeWayne Miller (23). Each of the top 10 drivers has earned over $250,000 for the owners of horses they have driven.
Features on the Saturday card were a pair of Open paces and two divisions of second round late-closing action for top condition pacers.
Mykindachip (Tyler Smith) copped the $20,000 Open I with a 1:51.4 score over Santa Fe Beachboy (Chris Page) and Doctor Carter (Jeremy Smith). It was the second win to go along with three place finishes from just seven starts this year for owner Carl Atley and trainer Bill Dailey’s seven-year-old stable star, who now boasts $558,067 in career winnings.
Mojito Hanover (Josh Sutton) won the $15,000 Open II for his fourth consecutive victory. The five-year-old was claimed for $8,000 by Deborah Burt for trainer Robert Cook just five starts back. He has now reeled off a condition race win, a $15,000 claiming level score and a $20,000 claiming triumph before successfully stepping into Open company. The 1:52.2 winner topped Bettor Than You (Derek Watiker) and Radar Warning (Tyler Smith).
Stonebridge Adam (Chris Page) beat A Stitch In Time (Jeff Nisonger) and Militia Man (Jason Brewer) in the first late-closer division, clocked in 1:52.1. The second split went to Major Blue Coat (Josh Sutton) over Gareth Nourrir (Jeremy Smith) and E R Rudy (LeWayne Miller) in 1:53. Those six will be joined by Rocknroll Reality, No Excuses Please, E R Michael and Just Fred in the $20,000 championship of the series next Saturday.
(With files from Miami Valley Raceway)