Seven of the sport’s top older trotting mares will square off in the $139,500 Conway Hall Trot on Memorial Day
at Vernon Downs. Perennial powerhouse Buck I St Pat leads the seven ladies with regular pilot Tim Tetrick listed to drive.
Although Buck I St Pat will have one thing she has never had before in her racing career, in the form of a new stablemate entry on Monday. The recently purchased Diana Hall moves into the Ron Burke stable after being privately purchased from Mario Mazza and trainer/driver Francisco Del Cid.
"Howard (Taylor) and his partners just recently purchased Diana Hall to complement Buck I St Pat in these top races,” said Burke. “We are always shipping her to the big events we are hoping that Diana Hall can improve and step up with these trotters. She (Diana Hall) raced against the top trotters last year as a three-year old so she shows that she has the talent."
Buck I St Pat is coming off of her first Breeders Crown victory of her career in a new lifetime best of 1:52. The six-year old daughter of Jailhouse Jessie-Name It Something currently sports a lifetime record of thirty seven wins, nine seconds and five thirds in sixty eight starts for earnings of more than $1.2 million dollars in earnings.
"She came out of the last race very good, everything has been good with her this year it seems like the soundness issue has cleared up,” Burke added. “You know everyone thought that she was no good when she came back from the Elitlopp, but she did have good starts she was just inconsistent, but I blame that on us putting her in bad spots.”
Buck I St Pat currently leads the standings in the Miss Versatility trotting series with two victories and will be the next stop for Buck I St Pat.
"Buck I St Pat will go to the third leg of the Miss Versatility trotting series at Vernon, the final at Delaware on Jug Day, and then we will head to Lexington with her," he added. “We are about 100% sure that she will be coming back for at least another year to race. She is only six years old and all of her soundness issues seemed to have been cleared up.”
(Vernon Downs)