Cash Money Twenty turned in a dazzling performance in the $70,432 Dan Patch Free-For-All to equal the all-time track record at Running Aces on Sunday, Aug. 2 during a 12-race card that produced a new handle record for the Minnesota oval.
Cash Money Twenty, who won the Dan Patch Preview on July 19, was sent off as the overwhelming 2-5 favourite over 2024 champion and track record holder Muskateer Hanover, who was 2-1 at post time, and Alta Revelry N, who was given a 6-1 chance by the public. The longshots in the compact field of five included Hazardos at 16-1 and War Machine at 40-1.
When the wings of the gate folded away, Alta Revelry N (Luke Plano) surged strongest from the pole position to get the first call but faced an immediate challenge from Muskateer Hanover (Brady Jenson), who clearly wanted control of the fractions and settled on top well before the :26.4 opening quarter mark.
Driver Casey Leonard floated Cash Money Twenty away in third position while Hazardos (Rick Magee) and War Machine (Mooney Svendsen) rolled away in fourth and fifth, respectively.
Jenson and Muskateer Hanover kept the pedal to the metal during a strong middle half with splits of :54.1 and 1:21.4, which held his rivals firmly in chase mode down the backstretch.
The field began to tighten up as they rounded the far turn and Plano pulled the trigger on Alta Revelry N as they approached the top of the lane, with Muskateer Hanover shaking free and tipping three-wide for the drive.
Alta Revelry N forged to the lead between horses, but Cash Money Twenty was looming outside and clearly loaded with pace.
The top three were firing on all cylinders during the final sixteenth of a mile but Cash Money Twenty was clearly the best and drew clear in the final strides for a 1-3/4-length tally in a career best 1:49.1 to tie the all-age track record. Alta Revelry was home second and was two lengths clear of Muskateer Hanover.
Trained by Brett Ballinger, Cash Money Twenty is a four-year-old son of Stevensville-Hostess Lisa and now boasts 27 wins from 35 starts with earnings of $560,428 to date for owners Heart & Soul Racing of Des Moines, Iowa.
The win mutuel was $2.80.
SV Shining Star (Be The Best-SB Wine Is Fine) was a 1:58.1 winner over Anitras Dance (Scott Sisco) and Model Good Looks (Brady Jenson) for four straight and Bang Bang Boogie (New Jersey Viking-Caitrin Hall) was a 1:57.3 winner over My Little Maverick (Brady Jenson) and Wisco Money Heist (Luke Plano) as both continued their dominance in the $24,648 Minnesota-sired sophomore trot events for trainer Justin Anfinson and driver Rick Magee.
Running Aces had a record-setting night on Sunday as bettors wagered a total of $654,779 USD on the 12-race program. The previous handle record at Running Aces was $414,945 USD set back in 2022.
There was a mandatory payout for the track's 20-cent Pick-5 Jackpot wager, which had gone unclaimed through the first 31 nights of the season and offered a carryover of $49,845 coming into the Sunday program. Players enthusiastically responded to the opportunity for added value and pumped more than $215,000 USD in new money into the Pick-5 wager.
The sequence for the Jackpot force-out bet began with the Dan Patch race that went to heavy favourite Cash Money Twenty. Wisco Wild Card provided some fireworks at 25-1 in leg two (paying $52.80) and the sequence then had back-to-back second choice winners in Fox Valley Ozzy ($7.60) and Its Pointless ($5.40) before race 12 favourite Marc In The Box ($4.60) delivered the goods to close out the night. The 20-cent payout for winning Pick-5 tickets was $541.32.
Live harness racing at Running Aces is offered three nights per week through mid-September, with action on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday nights at 7 p.m. (CDT).
(With files from Running Aces)