Drop The Ball paced the mile of her life in a four-year-old world record clocking of 1:48.4 in the $50,000 Fillies & Mares Open Pace at Harrah's Philadelphia on Friday afternoon.
With Yannick Gingras at the controls, heavy 1-5 favourite Drop The Ball got away fourth from post five, but swept to command after the :27-second opening quarter. She hit the half in :55 flat before sprinting to three-quarters in 1:21.4 and opening up nearly seven lengths on her foes down the stretch. Early leader Ginger And Fred, driven by Eric Carlson, followed in second and Higher And Higher, with Daryl Bier aboard, came on for third.
The 1:48.4 winning time shaved three-fifths of a second off the world record for four-year-old pacing mares on a five-eighths mile track, which was originally set by Makerbark at Harrah's Philly in 2009 and later equalled by Higher And Higher at Dover Downs in 2011. Drop The Ball's clocking was just one-fifth of a second off the all-age mare record, estbalished by Southwind Tempo during her five-year-old season in 2009 at Philly.
The daughter of Western Terror, a career winner of 14 races and $872,810 in purses, is trained by Ross Croghan for Florida's Let It Ride Stables Inc., Dana Parham, and Robert Cooper Stables LLC. Drop The Ball has not missed the board in nine seasonal starts, which includes a victory in the Green With Envy Series for four-year-old mares at Meadowlands Racetrack, and a pair of close runner-up finishes in the open mare Roses Are Red and Golden Girls stakes.
Drop The Ball paid $2.40 to win.