Running Aces’ Tuesday evening (July 16) program at Running Aces featured the weekly Mares Open Handicap Pace.
This week’s edition of the race drew a field of eight that vied for the lion’s share of a $16,000 purse.
Pull The Shade (who was driven by Dean Magee) was sent off as the odds-on 4-5 favourite from Post 5. Delightfully Wild (Nick Roland) was a clear second choice at 7-2.
Delightfully Wild was fastest from the gate and established a quick early lead through sharp opening quarter of :27.2. Delightfully Wild then led the field through the middle stages with a second quarter breather of :29.1 (:56.3) and a quick third panel in :27.3 (1:24.1) with Cenalta Diamond (Tim Maier) on the first-over attack, and Place N First (Steve Wiseman) locked in the pocket.
Delightfully Wild made a break just past the three-quarters juncture, which bothered Place N First and Alwaysalittlemore. Emerging from the pack was PV Miracle Mary (Rick Magee) who was able to steer clear of trouble and had plenty of pace for the stretch drive. Alwaysalittlemore got past Cenalta Diamond to post a one and three-quarter-length win. Pull The Shade got up for second and Cenalta Diamond finished third. The mile was clocked in 1:53.1.
The win was the second victory from eight seasonal starts for PV Miracle Mary, who now has 21 career wins and $93,048 in the bank for owner Joe Casagranda. PV Miracle Mary is trained by Rick Magee.
Tuesday was a big night at Running Aces for the Kathie Plested-Wiseman stable, as it picked up four wins and one second-place finish from six trips to the starting gate. Kathie is the defending champion trainer for the past two seasons at Running Aces, and has also won the training title at Cal Expo in both of the last two meets in northern California. Kathie currently sits atop the list of trainers at Running Aces along with Tim Maier, each with 23 wins. Owner Benvenga Racing LLC had a huge night out of the Plested-Wiseman barn, going a perfect three-for-three on the Tuesday card as Platinum Time ($7.20, Steve Wiseman), The Gobye Girl ($7.00, Steve Wiseman) and Time To Play The Game ($12.80, Steve Wiseman) all scored victories for the longtime owner and patron of the Plested-Wiseman stable.
Drivers Dean Magee and Steve Wiseman led the program with three winners apiece.
The Tuesday card was a pari-mutuel bonanza for some lucky patrons, with huge payouts in many of the evening’s key wagers. The 20-cent Pick-5 Jackpot was hit for $7,783.82 and the 50-cent Hi-5 in the final race returned a hefty $9,425.50.
Live racing will return to Running Aces on Saturday night (July 20) to kick off the meet’s signature weekend of the summer, Dan Patch weekend. There will be two big races on Saturday – the $25,000 Ron Banks Pace and the $25,000 Vernon Devine Trot. On Sunday (July 21), the track will host its main event of the season – the $50,000 Dan Patch FFA Pace. Post time for both nights will be at 6:00 p.m. (CDT).
(With files from Running Aces)