On Sunday, August 13 at Running Aces, SF Donttellonme ($15.40) captured the featured $12,000 Open Pace in a lifetime best 1:51.1 for trainer/driver Joe Casagranda.
SF Donttellonme got the first and last call in the nine-horse contest. The duo left well from Post 2 and clicked off the opening quarter in :26.3. SF Donttellonme then yielded to Easy Again (driven by Rick Magee), who went on to cut the middle fractions in :55.3 and 1:23.2 while facing strong first-over pressure from Lodi Machette Man (Dean Magee).
Easy Again fought gamely as the field turned for home, but it was SF Donttellonme that found an inside lane and powered by for the one and a half-length tally. Easy Again held on for second over a fast-closing JDS Brent N Sheree (Nick Roland).
Casagranda also owns SF Donttellonme, a seven-year-old son of Cam Terrific that has now won 28 lifetime races, and earned $173,770.
The $13,000 Minnesota-Sired Three-Year-Old Trot was won by Imapixieatmidnight ($3.60), who dominated in gate-to-wire fashion from Post 3 with trainer/driver Nick Roland. The 2:01.3 winner is a filly by SOS Lunar Eclipse. She has now won four of her 13 seasonal starts and has bankrolled $39,343 this year for Set The Pace Racing, LLC.
The leading driver and leading trainer contests are very close as the track moves into the final month of its 2017 season. Nick Roland and Steve Wiseman have been trading the lead amongst drivers over the past week, and Roland currently holds a one-race advantage at 64-63 after the weekend action. On the trainer side, the race has tightened up tremendously over the past week. Kathie Plested-Wiseman has advanced to the lead by one win (33-32) over Nick Roland.
The 20-cent Jackpot Pick 5 wager has a carryover of $33,892.55 for Tuesday night (August 15) and the Hi-5 wager in Race 10 will also feature a carryover of $1,585.81.
(Running Aces)