Trainer Rod Debeck led the marathon day at Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel, scoring a grand slam from the 24 divisions of Kentucky Proud Series wrapped by Bet On Big Joe -- the fastest winner of the afternoon -- on the special Wednesday (June 19) card.
Bet On Big Joe (driven by Tyler Shehan) posted the swiftest mile of the day in the 23rd of the day's 24 races; 15 on the pari-mutuel card and nine non-wagering events. Bet On Big Joe circled to the lead past the quarter and chugged down the road to post a 1-1/4-length win in 1:54 over pocket-sitter Designated Freak (Verlin Yoder). Debeck owns and trains the Betting Line gelding who won his fifth race from 15 tries, has earned $50,705 and paid $2.32 to win.
Debeck also sent the winner in the fastest race for the three-year-old trotting colts when Escaper (Matt Krueger) completed his pillar-to-post 1:55 effort. The winning Muscle Hill gelding kept 1-2 favourite Swan Explosion (Peter Wrenn) at bay in the final strides to win by 2-1/4 lengths, registering his fourth win from 15 starts and adding to his bankroll now worth $40,369. He paid $7.14 to win.
Aside from his pair of divisional leader's on the day's racing, Debeck also notched wins with Priti Noor (Devon Tharps, 1:58 winning mile; $6.82 to win) in a three-year-old trotting filly division and Gottakeepondreamin (Rodney Debeck, 2:04.2; $4.60) in a two-year-old trotting filly split.
Trainer Randy Jerrell scored a hat trick on the afternoon while winning with the fastest two-year-old pacing colt of the day Docs Buddy (Randy Jerrell) in his only victory on the pari-mutuel card. Docs Buddy parked the mile but powered home off a slow first half to win by 6-3/4 lengths in 1:57.4 over Got Bourbon (Tony Dinges) vaulting over the field for second. The winning son of Hes Watching registered his third win from four starts and has now earned $21,575 for owner-breeder Dr. Andrew Roberts.
Jerrell's other wins came before the betting card with You Fear Me (Randy Jerrell, 1:59) and Purple Toad (Pat Curtin, 1:59.2) winning in two of the two-year-old pacing filly divisions.
In the non-betting portion of the day, Yo Tillie (Verlin Yoder) posted the fastest mile of the three divisions for two-year-old trotting fillies. Yo Tillie managed to be the only starter in the field to not break stride and so strolled from the start to the finish of a 1:59.3 mile with Something Else (Marvin Luna) second, beaten 14-1/2 lengths. Yoder owns and trains the winning daughter of Tactical Landing.
Early in the betting card, Aintnothingucando (Terry Skinner) topped the three divisions for two-year-old pacing fillies with a front-stepping 1:55.3 score over pocket-sitter Cinamontoastcrunch (Ernie Hendry). Terry Skinner trains and co-owns the undefeated daughter of Odds On Equuleus who has now banked $20,548 from three starts. She paid $2.78 to win.
Of the two-year-old trotting colts and geldings, the regally bred World By Storm (Brandon Bates) popped off a pocket ride to a 2:00.3 victory in his career debut. The Tactical Landing colt, out of stakes-winning mare Womans Will, kicked 2-1/4 lengths clear of leader Jog On Col (Emanuel Miller) to win for owner-trainer Mike Hollenback.
Real Deal Lindy (Matt Krueger) led the three-year-old pacing fillies when powering off a first-over grind to a 3-1/2 length win in 1:55. Erv Miller trains the daughter of Huntsville, who won her eighth race from 15 starts, for owner Douglas Overhiser. The winner of $77,036 returned a $2.10 mutuel.
Trainer Erv Miller also sent the fastest of the winners in the three-year-old filly trot with Hauteur (Joey Putnam), who clocked a 1:55.3 mile. The daughter of Muscle Hill worked an easy lead and outsprinted the pocket-popping Embrace The Future (Louis Baudron) by a neck to notch her second win from nine starts. She has earned $31,857 for owners Ervin Miller Stable, Glenn Bechtel, Louis Willinger and Rob Tribbett and she paid $3.38 to win.
Live racing resumes at Oak Grove on Monday (June 24) with the usual 3 p.m. (CDT) first-race post time. Free program pages for every race day, courtesy of TrackMaster, are available on the Oak Grove Racing website.
(Oak Grove Racing Publicity)