Despite 26 degree temperatures, snowy conditions and an 11-degree windchill, Noone To Depend On established a new track record of 1:51.4 for harness racing three-year-old pacing fillies on Friday night (Dec. 9) at Hollywood Dayton Raceway. Recently purchased for $25,000 at the Harrisburg Mixed Sale by Stephen Herrick and Mark Bogen, the new track standard-bearer was making her third local start in a non-winners of 10 races with a $30,000 claiming tag (plus allowances, bringing Noone To Depend On's sale price to $51,000).
Trainer-driver Kayne Kauffman, who picked the horse out for her new owners at Harrisburg, was impressed with her first two starts for him, including a 1:53.3 score in the same class a week ago. "She showed me enough last week to think we might have something special, so I decided to test her a little more tonight because we're going to have to move up in class now and I wanted to know if she'd be competitive. Despite the snow and cold, the track was in very good condition under the circumstances so I kept her rolling and she responded."
Noone To Depend On is a daughter of Ontario sire Santanna Blue Chip. She now has 10 victories in her career and with her latest triumph moved within two thousand dollars of the $100,000 earnings plateau.
Halle Shark (Josh Sutton) and Cas Art Apparel (Chris Page) deadheated for the place position with Allthatjazzde Vie (Peter Wrenn) another short nose back in fourth.
The Fillies and Mares Open pacers stepped onto the track a race later with Aniston Seelster (Sutton) downing American Girl (Travis Seekman) and Albanian Era (Jeremy Smith) in 1:53. The 4-year-old daughter of Mach Three recently switched from the Ron Burke Stable to the Virgil Morgan Jr. Stable, making an impressive debut from her new surroundings following a four-week furlough. Kara Witt owns Aniston Seelster, whose bankroll swelled to over $175,000 with the tally.
Racing resumes at Hollywood Dayton on Saturday, December 10, highlighted by the second annual six-race "Buckeyes vs. Hoosiers Driver's Challenge." Leading Indiana drivers Trace Tetrick, Sam Widger, Ricky Macomber, Tyler Smith and Andy Shetler will face Ohio reinsmen Josh Sutton, Kayne Kauffman, Jeremy Smith, Dan Noble and Peter Wrenn for regional bragging rights. In the 2015 inaugural event, it took the Buckeyes until the final race to secure the team title on their home turf.
The real winners Saturday night, however, will be underpriviledged Dayton area children and a paramedic who manned the Dayton Raceway ambulance many of the nights during the track's first two seasons, but suffered an unfortunate fall from a ladder earlier this year and is paralyzed from the waist down. The ten drivers in the Buckeyes-Hoosiers contest have voted to donate their entire $2500 prize pool to paramedic Crystal Wilson to help with her mounting rehabilitation costs. Additionally, the drivers are urging fellow horsemen and patrons to bring new toys to the track for distribution before Christmas to need children in the Dayton Firefighters District 16, providers of the trackside ambulance on a nightly basis. The Ohio Harness Horsemens Association has chipped in with a $1000 donation to be split between the firefighters toy drive and Ms. Wilson; and leading Dayton driver Josh Sutton has pledged all of his Saturday night driver commissions to the toy drive.
MIAMI VALLEY IS CALLING ALL TOP DRIVERS FOR $25,000 TOURNAMENT
The deadline for driver applications to compete in the inaugural $25,000 North America Drivers Championship at Miami Valley Raceway is less than two weeks away. Interested drivers can download application forms at: www.miamivalleygaming.com by clicking on “Racing” and then “Horsemen Info”; or by emailing race secretary/tournament coordinator Gregg Keidel at greggkeidel@yahoo.com. The tournament will be conducted over three matinee programs on January 8-10, but the field will be finalized shortly after the December 23 application deadline.
Half of North America’s top ten dashwinners have already committed to participate and others are expected to sign on soon. If more than 30 drivers apply, those with the most career victories (including a minimum of 100 in 2016) will be selected to compete for the title and the $10,000 first place cash prize.
If you think you have what it takes to beat the best, review the driver application and join the fun. Nationally acclaimed reinsmen Brett Miller, Aaron Merriman, Jody Jamieson, Trace Tetrick and Simon Allard have indicated they will be at Miami Valley for the tourney, plus current Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana standouts Ronnie Wrenn Jr., Josh Sutton, Chris Page, Tony Hall, Dan Noble, Mike Wilder, Kayne Kauffman, Jim Pantaleano, Randy Tharps, Peter Wrenn, Eric Goodell, Jason Brewer and many more.
Leading drivers from throughout the United States and Canada are encouraged to submit tournament applications with a $300 entry fee, which is fully refundable if your career win total doesn’t get you in. The entry fee includes the chance to be named North America Driving Champion and share in the $25,000 cash prize pool, plus includes up to three nights of nearby hotel accomodations, a banquet in Miami Valley’s acclaimed Cin City Steakhouse, and covers your required 2017 Ohio State Racing Commission licensing fee.
Gregg Keidel