Running Aces' 2026 Dan Patch Free-For-All winner Cash Money Twenty delivered another commanding performance for his fans and backers on Tuesday, Aug. 11 in the $22,222 Open Handicap Pace.
The event featured a field of seven contestants with Cash Money Twenty sent off as the 1-10 favourite from the outside post and chief rival Alta Revelry N going off as the clear second pick of the public at 3-1 from post six.
Driver Luke Plano blasted off the gate with Alta Revelry N to grab the early lead while Boom Boom Bullseye and Kolton Hauser got away in the pocket and PD The Big Easy with driver Brandon Jenson left fast and battled with Alta Revelry N for the top. Cash Money Twenty and Casey Leonard were parked with cover through the action-packed :26.2 quarter-mile.
PD The Big Easy relentlessly tried to clear for the lead but Alta Revelry N wanted no part of that, and they continued to battle stride for stride as the timer flashed a scorching :53.2 half-mile.
The melee continued down the backstretch and Cash Money Twenty was content to bide his time while still in the second-over position and Handsome Sir and Brian Detgen tipped from the back of the pack to close in on the bunched-up leaders as they completed the first three panels in 1:21.1.
Near the top of the lane, Alta Revelry N finally dispatched of PD The Big Easy and tried to brace for the fresh challenge of Cash Money Twenty, who had clear sailing at that point, but Leonard had a ton of horse and Cash Money Twenty easily sailed by to post a 1-3/4-length victory in 1:50.1 for his third straight win and his eighth of the season in 10 starts. Alta Revelry held second over a late-closing Handsome Sir.
The $2.20 winner is a four-year-old Stevensville-Hostess Lisa gelding, trained by Brett Ballinger and owned by Heart & Soul Racing of Des Moines, Iowa.
Turbo Tinker (Big Oil-Twilight Tinker) posted his third career win from seven starts in the $12,500 Two-Year-Old Open Handicap Trot with a career best 2:02.3 mile over longshots DM American Woman (Rick Magee) and Matagi (Nick Roland). Leonard was the winning driver for trainer Justin Anfinson and owners Cathy Dessert of Vadnais Heights, Minnesota and Ken Stauffer of Withee, Wisconsin. The win mutuel was $2.20.
Brady Jenson led the program with a driving triple and a training double, while Casey Leonard scored a driving double and trainer Mark Anderson also doubled up on Tuesday.
Live harness racing returns to Running Aces on Thursday, Aug. 13 with a nine-race program that will get underway at 6 p.m. (CDT).
(With files from Running Aces)