Fast trotting miles were on the menu during the Sunday night (July 2) harness racing program at Running Aces, with the action producing two new track records as well as the fastest trotting mile of the season.
The first event of the night was an early non-betting affair featuring the Minnesota-sired sophomore 'A' trotters and Bps Lucky Star got the excitement rolling early with a career-best effort to surge by Iron Sharpens Iron late in the lane. Stopping the timer in 1:55.2, Bps Lucky Star became the fastest sophomore trotting gelding ever in Minnesota, eclipsing the previous mark of 1:56 (set in 2020 by Hearduwhispermynam).
Driver Mooney Svendsen got Bps Lucky Star away in a great spot from post one and sat contently while Iron Sharpens Iron (Luke Plano) and Wisco Wild Card (Jacob Cutting) did the heavy lifting on the front end, trading the lead and posting fast fractions :27.4, :56.3 and 1:26.4, which put the track mark in serious jeopardy. Iron Sharpens Iron was strong in the homestretch but Bps Lucky Star exploded with trot late and surged right at the wire to get up by a neck and capture the track record. Al Mar Richs Jetta (Brandon Jenson) was late on the scene to get third money.
The winning son of For You Almostfree is owned by Brenda Lovetinsky and Penny Lundell as well as trainer Rick Huffman.
On the main card, Count Jogging stole the show with an eye opening gate-to-wire effort in 1:54.4 to re-write the record for four-year-old trotting geldings, taking down a mark that had stood since 2013 (Silence Son, 1:55.3) in a $7,200 conditioned event.
Luke Plano was in the bike for the record mile and wasted no time in getting the son of Full Count to the front from post six, setting fractions of :28, :57.3 and 1:25.3 while drawing away from his rivals at every call. In the end, Count Jogging had demolished the competition by 8-1/2 lengths while posting the record. He paid $4 to win. SD Eliminator (Brian Detgen) was second best and Stravinsky (Jacob Cutting) was home third.
The winner is owned by Jose Cervantes and is trained by Williams Hernandez.
Jack Vernon and driver Todd Warren posted the fastest trotting mile of the Aces season to-date when he erupted with late trot deep in the lane to capture the $18,500 Open Handicap by a half-length in 1:54 for his 43rd career win.
Jack Vernon left sharply from post three and made All American N (Brandon Jenson) work hard to get the front spot before following along intently in the pocket while Winnerup (Luke Plano) hounded the leader. All American N fought very gamely all the way into deep stretch but Jack Vernon was fresh with trot late and surged up the inside passing lane to get the victory over All American N and Winnerup. He paid $13.60 to win.
The winner is a 10-year-old son of Muscle Hill and is owned by Lester Peters and Richard Tomei as well as trainer/driver Warren.
Whata Tettegouche (Nick Roland) was a dominant winner in the $14,500 Minnesota-sired sophomore 'B' trot, posting a career-best score by more than five lengths in 1:59.3 while Caronamar (Todd Warren) was second best and Flash Of Glory (Mooney Svendsen) trotted home in third. He paid $2.20 to win.
The winner is a son of Braggart, owned by Mitchell Banks, Rebecca Sandbulte-Banks and trainer Craig Banks.
Trainer Williams Hernandez led the Sunday program with three wins, while drivers Mooney Svendsen, Nick Roland, Todd Warren, Luke Plano and Elson Miller all recorded doubles.
Live harness racing returns to Running Aces for a special Monday night (July 3) racing program with first post at 7 p.m. (CDT). The 10-race card will feature a carryover of $3,413.91 in the early 50-cent Hi-5 wager (Race 4) and a carryover of $16,626.30 in the 20-cent Pick-5 Jackpot wager.
(Running Aces)