Surreal Ideal has been on a dreamlike roll for trainer/co-owner Vernon Beachy. The eight-year-old male pacer will bring a 12-race win streak to the $100,000 USD “The Wizard” Pacey Mindlin Memorial (Grade 3) at Miami Valley Raceway on Saturday, May 2, and he has not missed a paycheque in 52 consecutive starts dating back to November 2023.
During that 52-race span, the son of So Surreal-Jkmusicofthenite hit the board 45 times, with 25 victories. He finished fourth on five occasions and fifth twice.
“It’s very seldom that he goes to the races and doesn’t get a cheque,” said Beachy, who has owned Surreal Ideal as 518 Group LLC with Ohio-based Gitup Racing since December 2021 and watched the gelding bank $723,646 since then. “He’s kind of flown under the radar. I guess he hasn’t been in the right spots at the right time for the spotlight, but he’s been a real good horse for us.”
Beachy acquired Surreal Ideal, who was unraced at age two, near the end of his three-year-old season. The horse enjoyed success in conditioned classes at MGM Northfield Park and Hollywood Casino at The Meadows as a four-year-old before a 1:49.3 victory at the latter track in August 2022 signalled the prospect of rising to the next level.
“We raced him a few times when we got him and then turned him out for the winter,” said Beachy. “Our plan was just to have a conditioned claimer as a four-year-old, but he turned into quite a bit more than that. Obviously, when he won in [1]:49 – that was the first time I ever had a horse win in [1]:49 – we thought he was going to be a legit Open horse. But he’s just gotten better as we’ve gone along.”
Three weeks after his 1:49.3 score, Surreal Ideal won at the Open level at The Meadows, and he has competed in Opens predominantly ever since. Last October, he lowered his lifetime mark to 1:47.2 when he won a $75,000 Free For All by a head over Bythemissal at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Breeders Crown night. Surreal Ideal was sixth after three-quarters but came home in :25.4 to get the victory. Only six pacers won with a faster time in 2025.
“That was quite an exciting night,” said Beachy. “Coming out of the last turn, we were kind of hoping for third or fourth. One of the best things about the horse is that he never gives up and he loves chasing down horses and he loves beating horses. That’s something you can’t take away from him. That was definitely the highlight race that we’ve had so far.”
The triumph also proved meaningful in setting the stage for Surreal Ideal’s 2026 season.
“My partner always said he thought we should stake him a little bit, and after that race, I had no argument,” Beachy said with a laugh. “I couldn’t hold him back anymore. So, he’s staked up this year. I think the first stakes we have him paid into is the Sam McKee Memorial on Hambletonian Day [on Aug. 8 at the Meadowlands].”
On Saturday, Surreal Ideal will leave from post five in a group of 10 older male pacers. He is the 2-1 morning line favourite and will have Ronnie Wrenn Jr. in the sulky. The field also includes Little Rocket Man, Charlie May and Bythemissal – who all have earned more than $2 million lifetime – as well as millionaire Prince Hal Hanover, who is making his four-year-old debut. Little Rocket Man, Charlie May and Bythemissal drew posts seven, eight and nine, respectively, while Prince Hal Hanover will leave from post four.
“Saturday will be a bigger test for him,” Beachy said about Surreal Ideal. “We’ll see. Fingers crossed. I think he drew in a good spot.”
Surreal Ideal heads to the Pacey Mindlin Memorial off a nose victory over Bythemissal in the Open Handicap on April 24 at The Meadows. Bythemissal, making his seasonal debut at age seven, inched in front in the stretch but Surreal Ideal, who set all the fractions (:26.1, :54.1 and 1:22.3) in the 1:50 mile, battled back to keep his winning streak alive.
It was Surreal Ideal’s second race of the year. He captured each of his two previous starts, on April 17 at The Meadows and Dec. 6 at Hollywood Dayton Raceway, by a head.
“If you watch a lot of his replays and look at his lines, it’s very seldom that he wins by more than half a length,” said Beachy. “If you watch the replays, the slo-mo when they zoom in, his eyes are literally looking back at the other horses. I think he’s just playing. I think he could go more if he had to. Bythemissal had him beat last week. He just has a will to win.”
For his career, Surreal Ideal has won 43 of 130 races, hit the board a total of 92 times and earned $$760,088. What has been the key to Surreal Ideal’s consistency and longevity?
“He is very easy on himself, so he’s really easy to manage,” said Beachy. “Anyone could jog him and do anything with him, really. He’s just a very nice horse to be around. And we’ve only raced him in the summertime, so he’s lightly raced.
“At some point, he has to max out. Every year, I think he’s getting a little older, that he’s going to lose a step. But then he proves us wrong. Hopefully, he has another one of those years.”
Racing begins at 1 p.m. at Miami Valley. The Pacey Mindlin Memorial is the final race on Saturday’s 14-race card, which also includes Ohio Sire Stakes divisions for three-year-old trotters and pacers.
$100,000 USD “The Wizard” Pacey Mindlin Memorial (Grade 3)
Post - Horse - Driver - Trainer - Morning Line Odds
1. Ardens Ace N - Lewayne Miller - Susan Miller - 12-1
2. Lou Hill - Tyler Smith - Brett Miller - Per Engblom - 8-1
3. Carbine - Luke Hanners - Virgil Morgan Jr. - 9-1
4. Prince Hal Hanover - David Miller - Dr. Ian Moore - 6-1
5. Surreal Ideal - Ronnie Wrenn Jr. - Brett Miller - Vernon Beachy - 2-1
6. For Once Inmy Life - Cory Stratton - Cory Stratton - 9-1
7. Little Rocket Man - Kyle Wilfong - Ken Rucker - 15-1
8. Charlie May - Sam Widger - Terry DiCicco - 20-1
9. Bythemissal - Chris Page - Ron Burke - 10-1
10.] Oakwood Heymiki Ir - Brett Miller - Robert Cleary - 5-1
(With files from USTA)