Presidente delivered on a 3-2 promise in the $109,589 Kentucky Championship Series third preliminary for two-year-old trotting colts and geldings on Monday (Aug. 24) at The Red Mile, a day that also saw a track record equalled in a non-wagering race before the pari-mutuel card.
In the Monday feature, Presidente (driven by Scott Zeron) seized a brief lead to a :28.4 first quarter before being shuffled to third by Captain Kenny J (Todd McCarthy) and Carbon Fiber (Yannick Gingras), the latter of whom planted onto the point just past a :56.2 half. Zeron lifted his charge from the pylons rounding the last turn and marched to overtake Carbon Fiber by three-quarters in 1:24.4 before muscling down the stretch to win by 4-1/2 lengths. Command Center (Dexter Dunn) rallied from a third-over trip to snag second from Whateverittakes As (Tony Hall), who followed the winner from a second-over seat but settled for third. Captain Kenny J held fourth.
Nancy Takter trains Presidente, a colt by Walner-Grandmas Moni, for owners Black Horse Racing of Pompano Beach, FL, Moni Maker Stable of Enfield, CT, Pryde Stables Inc. of North York, Ont., and Mr. Erik Anderberg of Skanor, SE. The colt broke his maiden with the win, which came in the fifth start of his career, and boosted his earnings to $96,687. He paid $5.02 to win.
Odds On Chesapeake (Todd McCarthy) converted from a pocket trip off fast fractions to equal the track record for four-year-old and aged pacing mares with a 1:47.3 win in the $47,945 Kentucky Sire Stakes second leg for her cohort, which was contested as a non-betting race early in the day. McCarthy secured a golden tow behind pacesetter Three Times Bettor (Dexter Dunn), who rolled through a clip of :26.3, :54.1 and 1:21.3 before coming under pressure in the stretch sprint. Odds On Chesapeake reached for the finish in the closing strides to nail Three Times Bettor at the beam by a neck while Champagne Room (Yannick Gingras) gave chase to the inside in third and Caviart Delight (David Miller) levelled off in fourth.
Virgil Morgan Jr. trains Odds On Chesapeake, a mare by Downbytheseaside-Macaroon, for owner Odds On Racing of Boca Raton, FL. Her 1:47.3 mile, a lifetime best as well as her 17th win from 41 starts, equaled the track record for four-year-old pacing mares set by Sylvia Hanover in October of 2024 and the mark for older pacing mares set by Twin B Joe Fresh in October of 2025. She’s now earned $1,096,356 in her career.
Captain Arturovico (Dexter Dunn) coasted to a pillar-to-post victory in the lone $47,945 Kentucky Sire Stakes division for four-year-old pacing males. Dunn put the Ron Burke pupil on the lead to a :27.3 first quarter and sneaked modest fractions of :56 and 1:23.3 to then sustain in a :25.4 kick for the finish to win by a length in a 1:49.2 mile over Damn The Torpedoes (Tim Tetrick), who pulled from a pocket trip in the stretch but gave chase in second. Whelk Blue Chip (Josh Sutton) gave pursuit down the middle of the track for third with Somelousomewhere (Scott Zeron) finishing fourth and Handsome Stranger (Andy McCarthy) last of the quintet.
A four-year-old gelding by Captaintreacherous-Tilikum, Captain Arturovico has now won seven races from 16 starts this season and his 19th race from 46 starts in his career, good for $816,062 in earnings. He competes for owners Burke Racing Stable LLC of Fredericktown, PA, Weaver Bruscemi LLC of Canonsburg, PA, Larry Karr of Boca Raton, FL, and Phil Collura of Mountain Top, PA. Sent the odds-on favourite, he paid $2.14 to win.
Monday’s card also featured a pair of $41,096 Kentucky Commonwealth Series divisions for two-year-old trotting males. Point Blank (David Miller, 1:54 winning mile; $3.50 to win) ripped late from a pocket trip to collar tempo-setter Gustav Vasa (Marcus Melander) to win the faster of the two divisions while End Result (Dexter Dunn, 1:54.2; $12.04) rallied from a second-over trip and held on for a neck win over closing Marino (Todd McCarthy) to give trainer Marcus Melander one of his three wins on the day.
Melander also won a pair of $20,548 Kentucky Golden Rod divisions with Gagosian (Dexter Dunn, 1:54.4; $5.38) and Kaws (Scott Zeron, 1:56; $6.02).
The other Golden Rod division went to Senor Julio (Tyler Smith, 1:55.2; $22.66) for trainer Jeff Smith.
Live harness racing at The Red Mile resumes on Tuesday (Aug. 25) with a 16-race card headlined by the $80,000 USD Kentucky Championship Series third preliminary for two-year-old pacing fillies as well as by a pair of $35,000 USD Kentucky Sire Stakes events for trotting four-year-olds. First-race post time is 1 p.m. (EDT).
(With files from The Red Mile; Photo of Presidente)