The Sunday night, Sept. 15 program at Running Aces featured Minnesota-sired sophomore trotters in a pair of divisions and the weekly Open Handicap Trot.
In the $28,378 ‘A’ Minnesota split, it was another edition of the DP Freedoms Chrome show as the For You Almostfree colt delivered yet another huge performance for his 11th straight win, posting a track record mile of 1:54 to become the fastest three-year-old trotter ever in Minnesota.
Top filly Baby Flash (Mooney Svendsen) left very quickly from post two while driver James Gould also sent DP Freedoms Chrome away quickly from post six and those two battled through the quick opening panel in :27.3 while Al Mar Puredelight tracked from third.
DP Freedoms Chrome took control right at the quarter mark and settled on top to register solid middle fractions in :56 and 1:24.4 while Baby Flash remained close in the pocket.
As they rounded for the homestretch, DP Freedoms Chrome began to open up with every stride and he drew clear with authority to the wire, checking in 7-1/2 lengths ahead of Baby Flash with Al Mar Puredelight further back in third in the record mile.
The Elvin Zimmerman trainee is undefeated at the Minnesota track and now has 21 wins from 22 career starts, with earnings over $200,000. The winner is owned by Aimes Racing.
DP Freedoms Chrome paid $2.10 to win.
Piggly Wiggly (Nick Roland, $6.60) posted a sharp gate-to-wire effort in the $18,919 ‘B’ division for her fourth win of the season, getting home 3-1/4 lengths ahead of Magnolia Moonlight (James Lackey) with Thom Cruise (Luke Plano) rounding out the top three in a 2:00.1 mile. The winner is a daughter of Southwind Flash and is owned by Set The Pace Racing and trained by Roland.
Majestic J (Tyler Miller, $6) captured the $$20,946 Open Handicap Trot with an impressive mid-race rally to take command heading into the far turn and then drawing away from his rivals in the final stages for a 4-1/2-length victory over longshot Help Page (Sean Smithpeters) and Toccoa Falls (Williams Hernandez). The winner is a ive-year-old son of Walner, owned by Stephanie Longo and trained by Elson Miller. He now has 14 career wins with earnings of $$336,936.
Drivers Nick Roland, Dean Magee, Brady Jenson and Tyler Miller all posted doubles on the Sunday Aces program.
Live harness racing returns to Running Aces on Tuesday, Sept. 17 with first post at 7 p.m. (CDT) to kick off the final week of the 2024 racing season. The final two programs of 2024 are Friday, Sept. 20 and Saturday, Sept. 21 for Champions Weekend. The Saturday card will feature 12 Minnesota-sired championship races with total purses of $780,000 USD. Post time for both Friday and Saturday will be 6 p.m. (CDT).
(With files from Running Aces)