It was ‘track-record time’ on Tuesday, June 6 at Running Aces, as a charge with a knack for speed re-wrote the speed books over the five-eighths-mile Minnesota oval.
The most impressive performance on the Tuesday evening Harness Racing program at Running Aces came in a $6,000 conditioned event.
From the outset, it was PV Miracle Mary, a four-year-old pacing mare by Dragon Again who blasted from the gate from Post 1 to protect the pylon position in a hotly contested opening quarter of :26, staving off a furious battle from Blue Gem (driven by William Hernandez), who hounded the leader through the first five-eighths of the mile before eventually tiring and finishing well back.
Owner/trainer/driver Joe Casagranda kept PV Miracle Mary to task through the remaining fractions in :55.4 and 1:23.3 and held off the rest of her foes in :28.4 to win by a solid two and a half-length margin and take her place in the Running Aces record books, after completing the mile in 1:52.2.
PV Miracle Mary in her track-record mile with Joe Casagranda on Tuesday, June 6, 2017 at Running Aces.
The previous mark for four-year-old pacing mares was established in 2011 by Little Tootsie with Dean Magee in tow (1:53). PV Miracle Mary paid $4.60 to her pari-mutuel backers and she now shows nine lifetime wins in just 24 starts, and has earned $31,650. PV Miracle Mary is also owned by David Kuzara.
Second in the record mile was Cruzin Coco (Dean Magee) and Place N First (Rick Magee) was home in third.
The $11,000 feature on the night was the Mares Open Pace, and Best of Jenna ($5.40) did not disappoint her fans as she posted another brilliant gate-to-wire tally in 1:52.3 for her third straight victory at the top mares level at Running Aces. Best Of Jenna is trained and driven by Rick Magee and owned by Dr. Ken and Jana Lee Rucker.
The next card of live racing at Running Aces will head to post on Saturday night (June 10) at 6:00 p.m. (CDT), with a carryover in the 20-cent Jackpot Pick-5 wager of $6,938.18
(With files from Running Aces)