The Saturday night (July 21) program at Running Aces featured two big races for Minnesota-sired or owned horses.
The $25,000 trotting event was dominated by Dougs Hobby Horse, a six-year-old mare by Claudius Augustus owned by Rick Bertrand and Doug Flores. Driver Lemoyne Svendsen wasted little time with Dougs Hobby Horse, firing quickly from post 6 in the nine-horse affair to engage in an early battle with French Eclipse (James Kennedy) for the lead. Dougs Hobby horse had the most speed and cleared for the front, with outsider Majestic Lady Jo (Steve Wiseman) getting away sharply to drop into the pocket spot.
Dougs Hobby Horse ($8.20) was never in doubt, as she maintained a solid lead throughout and coasted home a two-length winner in 1:56.4 with a :29.1 final stanza. The winner now shows six wins in 23 starts and earnings of $35,718 for the season. Al Mar Bon Bon (Brian Detgen) closed well for second, and Al Mar Reba Babe (Gerald Longo) was a solid third.
The $25,000 Minnesota Preferred Pace event went to heavily favoured Stuckey Dote, a five-year-old gelding by Voracious Hanover who made a pilgrimage back to Running Aces for this event after spending the last two seasons racing primarily in Ohio. Stuckey Dote was the champion three-year-old pacer at Running Aces in 2016, and is no stranger to the local winner’s circle. From post 3 in the nine-horse contest, driver Nick Roland floated his charge away in third position, and got rolling just past the fast :26.4 quarter-pole clocking. Stuckey Dote swept right to the front and controlled things from there, well in command of the field as they completed the half in :55.3 and three-quarters in 1:24.2. In the lane, a late challenge came from Swagasaurusrex (Gerald Longo) but Stuckey Dote ($3.00) was able to fend off that rival by a neck in 1:52.2 for his sixth win of the season for owner Merlin Van Oterloo and trainer Brett Ballinger. Early leader Make It Big (Steve Wiseman) was a game third, and Whatchyastarinat (James Kennedy) closed sharply for fourth money.
Sunday (July 22) at Running Aces features the $50,000 Dan Patch Free-For-All Final, sponsored by Watch and Wager. Post time for the 10-race program is 6:00 pm Central and also offers a $10,000 guaranteed Late Pick 4 wager, which kicks off in the featured event in race seven.
(Running Aces)