The Thursday, July 23 harness racing program at Running Aces featured a bit of an unusual occurrence when the seven-year-old pacing mare Always A Dancer, who is currently in foal to Sunshine Beach, won her second straight race.
While it is not unheard of for pregnant mares to be racing, it is pretty rare to see, and for such a mare to have rounded into top form while carrying her first foal is quite impressive.
Always A Dancer, who is owned, trained and driven by Brady Jenson, posted a career best 1:51.3 win on July 9 for her first win of the season and then stepped up in class this week to make it two in a row, getting up to win by a nose in 1:54 in a $10,845 conditioned event.
The win marked the 14th career win for the daughter of Always B Miki-JK Fannie, now winner of $206,177. She paid $12.80 to win.
Premier Desirey and driver Luke Plano held on gamely for a gate-to-wire score in the $22,535 Mares Open Handicap Pace for her sixth win of the Aces season and her 22nd career score. She was a neck in front of Mother Mary (Rick Magee) on the line in 1:52 while race favourite K T Part E (Jenson) was just a neck further back in third.
The winner is a nine-year-old by Real Desire-Premier Mirage and is owned and trained by Harold Herrera. She was the second choice in the wagering and paid $6.20 on top.
Live harness racing returns to Running Aces on Sunday, July 26 for one of the biggest nights of the season, Dan Patch FFA Final night, which will feature the 2026 Dan Patch FFA pace with a purse of $50,000 USD. There are a total of 12 races on the card on Sunday and there is a Dan Patch puzzle giveaway and a weekly "Sole Survivor" handicapping contest. "Pepsi Family Night" specials and kid's activities are also offered along with trout fishing and food trucks.
There will be a special visit from Hoof Beat Therapeutic Healing Center, a local program that features retired Standardbred racehorses from Running Aces that are now serving in their second careers as emotional support, therapy and enrichment horses for disabled children and adults as well as veterans and the elderly.
The program's founder and manager Patty Strand and her team will be on-site with one of the programs star horses, Firedrake, who was the very first Dan Patch FFA winner at Running Aces back in 2017. He will be located in the grassy area near the winner's circle to meet and greet fans. There will be opportunities to help support the Hoof Beat program as well as sponsored races throughout the night to benefit Hoof Beat.
On the pari-mutuel side, the program on Sunday will offer a Mandatory Payout of the 20-cent Pick-5 Jackpot wager, which will get underway with the Dan Patch FFA race in race eight. There is a carryover of $45,280.68 and an estimated pool of between $100,000 to $150,000 on Sunday. First post is set for 6 p.m. (CDT).
The sequence for the Pick-5 on Sunday will begin with the $50,000 USD Dan Patch FFA final in race eight, with an approximate post time of 8:34 p.m. CDT. Track officials are estimating that more than $100,000 USD will be wagered into the pool on Sunday.
As part of the USTA's Strategic Wagering Program, free Trackmaster past performance pages for Running Aces are available here.
The 2026 $50,000 USD Dan Patch FFA Pace offers a compact but competitive field of five, including 2024 winner and current all-age track record holder Muskateer Hanover (Brady Jenson, 8-5) who has won 10 races and more than $240,000 this season, Cash Money Twenty (Casey Leonard, 7-5) who was the 2024 and 2025 Illinois Horse of the Year and has won six races at Running Aces this season and sports the fastest mile of the meet so far (1:50).
Alta Revelry N (Luke Plano, 2-1) is another top contender with five wins and $171,323 on his card in 2026 and the field is rounded out by 12 time winner Hazardos (Rick Magee, 10-1) and 17-time winner War Machine (Mooney Svendsen, 12-1)
2026 Dan Patch FFA final facts:
- Alta Revelry N has the fastest career record in the field with a mark of 1:48 taken in 2025 and Muskateer Hanover is the richest horse in the field with more than $945,000 on his card.
- Jenson has won the Dan Patch FFA final in both of the last two years, with Dale Yeah in 2025 and Muskateer Hanover in 2024.
- The stakes record for the Dan Patch FFA final is 1:49.2, set in 2024.
- Jenson is the only driver in the field who has previously won the Dan Patch FFA final.
The undercard on Sunday also features the Minnesota-sired sophomore trotters going for $35,000 USD across two divisions, and a very nice field for the $16,000 USD Open Handicap Trot which is also part of the Mandatory pay pick-5 sequence and kicks off the Late Pick-4 wager in race nine.
(with files from Running Aces)