Driver David Miller won five races on Sunday afternoon (June 14) at Harrah's Philadelphia including one of the two featured Opens, which were valued at $30,000 each.
The Open Handicap Pace was race six on the 14 race program. It featured two of the top three finishers from the Jerry Taylor Invitational, including winner Great Vintage (Dave Miller) and third-place finisher Mach It So (Jason Bartlett). The race favourite, however, was Doctor Butch (Scott Zeron). The five-year-old son of Art Major finished fifth in the Jerry Taylor two starts back, winning his last start in 1:48.2 at the Big M.
Doctor Butch was forwardly placed at the start, leading at the quarter-pole (:26.4). Mach It So quickly vacated the pocket to take the lead, hitting the half in :55.1. Longshot Big N Bad (Eric Carlson) made mild headway first over, but was unable to gain past three-quarters (1:22.4). In the stretch, Doctor Butch was able to close home in :26.3 to win for the 25th time in his career, stopping the timer in 1:49.2. Mach It So finished second, while Great Vintage closed for third.
Doctor Butch is owned by Kenneth Jacobs and trained by Linda Toscano. He paid $5.00 to win.
In the Open Trot (race 10), Tom Fanning trainee Possessed Fashion (Jason Bartlett) was the lukewarm favourite. The son of Donato Hanover left well for early position from post three, settling in behind battling leaders at the quarter (:27.3).
Linda Toscano trainee Uva Hanover (Dave Miller) and Jimmy Takter trainee Not Afraid (Corey Callahan) battled for the lead with the latter being used hard to clear from post eight. After the tempo settled down at the half (:56.1), Jim Raymer trainee Rossini (Andrew McCarthy) mustered up a first over challenge. They battled to a three-quarter time of 1:24.3. Not Afraid put away the longshot's challenge in the turn, but could not hold off Uva Hanover down the stretch. The four-year-old won by a little more than a length, stopping the clock in 1:53.2, a lifetime's best. Possessed Fashion got up for second, while Not Again tired to third.
Uva Hanover is owned by Stake Your Claim Stables and Martin Sternberg. He paid $8.40 to win.
(With files from Harrah's Philadelphia)