The $8,500 Minnesota-Sired three-year-old colt pacing division has been a very talented group all season long, and one of the stars of the division has been Stuckey Dote (by Voracious Hanover).
His star would shine brightest on Saturday night (August 27) as he posted a commanding win (gate-to wire) in a new lifetime mark of 1:54.2, for his fourth score in nine starts as a sophomore, adding to the seven wins he posted at age two. Stuckey Dote is owned and trained by Merlin Van Otterloo, and has been driven to all of his top-two finishes this season by Jim Marino. He paid $4.00 as the even-money choice.
The $8,500 Minnesota-Sired three-year-old filly pace would feature a sweeping off-the-pace rally and win for favourite American Dancer ($3.80) as she just out-kicked pacesetter Cruzin Coco (Nick Roland) to the wire in a 1:55.3 thriller. American Dancer is by General Aidid and was confidently driven by Luke Plano for trainer Robert Lems and owner Timothy Lems. The win was her sixth lifetime.
The featured event on the Saturday night program was the $11,000 Open Handicap Trot, and it would prove to be another feather in the cap for Banker Volo (Nick Roland) as he out-kicked his biggest rival, Flameon (Dean Magee), to the wire in 1:57.3 for his ninth seasonal win in 12 starts. The winning margin on Saturday was just a neck between these two, which is fitting because these two have been the dominant Open trotters on the grounds all season. Banker Volo ($4.60) is also trained by Nick Roland, and he is owned by Daniel and Jeralene Roland.
(With files from Running Aces)