It is less than a week into the second season at Hollywood Dayton Raceway and already five track records have fallen with more sure to come.
Track Superintendent Bill Mt. Pleasant and his crew have the five-eighths mile oval in tip-top condition and fast miles have resulted throughout the first four nights of year two at harness racing’s newest venue.
Native Dream clocked the fastest-ever mile by any female when she captured the $11,000 Fillies and Mares Open Pace in 1:50.3 on Friday night. Driver Chris Page was content to sit fourth through aggressive opening splits of :26.2 and :54.1 before angling out into third-over position going to the three-quarters in 1:22. An early speed duel between favoured Stucklikeglue (Greg Grismore) and Yankees Lady (Josh Sutton) began to take its toll entering the stretch at which point the trailers fanned out and sped past the tiring pacesetters. Southside Cammie (Jason Brewer), who had been racing second-over, assumed the lead early in the stretch, but couldn’t hold off Native Dream or uncoupled stablemate Igottafeelinfran (Jack Dailey) in the :28.3 closing panel.
Jim Dailey trains both the win and place finishers while Sandy Beatty conditions Southside Cammie, who got the show dough.
Native Dream is a five-year-old daughter of Allamerican Native whose 2015 earnings passed $61,000 with the win, bringing her lifetime bounty to $263,891 for owners Pacey Mindlin and Kenneth Cohen. The old track record for aged pacing mares was 1:53.2, established by Holiday Shopper.
A race later, Sectionline Aqua (Grismore) set a new standard for four-year-old pacing mares, beating Latenite Rendevous (Page) and Betit To Getit (Brewer) in 1:51.2.
(Hollywood Dayton Raceway)