ANDERSON, Ind.-July 9, 2019– The curtain rose for two-year-old Indiana Sires Stakes harness racing action at Harrah's Hoosier Park Racing & Casino on Tuesday, July 9.
With three $45,500 divisions, the freshmen trotting fillies took to their first leg of stakes races. The night provided impressive performances and the post time favorites delivered as May Baby with James Yoder, Rock Swan with Trace Tetrick and Givemeonemoretry with Robert Taylor all found the winner's circle.
In the first division, May Baby went right to the front when the wings of the gate opened, closely followed by La Nancio and Jared Finn. The top two pairs held their position through the opening quarter in 29:1, and had Slick N Sassy with LeWayne Miller following in third the half in 1:00:2. The three remained in that formation through the three-quarter in 1:30:2.
Once the field hit the stretch, May Baby distanced herself from the pack and crossed the wire 1:57:1, followed by La Nancio in second and Slick N Sassy in third. Powering home with a final quarter of 26:4, May Baby finished seven lengths in front of her competition and also recorded the fastest divisional time of the night.
"I didn't really have a plan going into the race," trainer, driver James Yoder noted after the victory. "The front is where we ended up. She can be a little tricky to drive, but when she gets to the stretch, she's all business."
May Baby paid $2.40 for her betting backers and brought her lifetime bankroll to $27,750 for owner Cheyenne Yoder. The daughter of Guccio-Free Wheeling is undefeated in both of her pari-mutuel starts.
The second division of the night started with Act Of Faith and Dale Hiteman heading to the front out of post nine. Act Of Faith remained unchallenged until Skyway Tinacious and Peter Wrenn came first-over just after the quarter in 29:0. Skyway Tinacious took command by the half in 1:00:0, but the morning line favorite Rock Swan with Trace Tetrick followed intently in third. After the three quarter in 1:30:0 with the wire in sight, Rock Swan left her comfortable rail postion, tipped out in the stretch and tracked down her competition. Stopping the clock at 1:58:0, Rock Swan finished four lengths to the good and paid $3.40 to win. Rock Swan was followed by Skyway Tinacious in second and Whom Shall I Love with LeWayne Miller in third.
Rock Swan delivered as the post time favorite —Linscott Photography.
With the win, Rock Swan brought her lifetime bankroll to $29,250 and has now won both of her lifetime pari-mutuel starts. The daughter of Swan For All-Jolly Jessica is trained by Erv Miller and owned in partnership by the S&R Racing Stables and Anthony Lombardi.
The third and final division of stakes action had all eyes on Givemeonemoretry and Robert Taylor. The pick of the betting public went straight to the front once the wings of the gate closed, followed closely by Pretzel Party with Brandon Bates and then Deswanslittlelorie and Peter Wrenn. By the time the trio hit the quarter in 28:1, Deswanslittlelorie moved into second, and a gap of three lengths had formed between Pretzel Party and the rest of the field. With middle fractions of 58:2 and 1:28:2, these three remained in this formation, holding onto their spots. The only challenger was a fast-charging Woodside Datendiva with Verlin Yoder but she couldn't reach Givemeonemoretry. Coasting on to the wire, Givemeonemoretry finished three-lengths in front, stopping the timer in 1:57:3. Deswanslittlelorie came in second, followed by Woodside Datendiva in third.
"She's got good gate speed, so I wanted to get good position," trainer, driver Robert Taylor mentioned after the win. "She was a little bit of a headache training down, but she's getting better with every start. She's got a lot of heart and desire."
Givemeonemoretry went gate to wire —Linscott Photography.
Givemeonemoretry paid $3.00 to win at the betting windows. The win brought Givemeonemoretry's lifetime earnings to $28,700 for owners Kent Schenk, Taylor Racing LLC and Donnie Ray Taylor.
Indiana Sires Stakes action will continue at Harrah's Hoosier Park on Wednesday, July 10 with four $36,500 divisions for the two-year-old pacing fillies. The 14-race card will also feature the $20,000 Guaranteed Trifecta in race 10 and a $10,000 Guaranteed Hoosier High-5 in race 14. With a daily post time of 6:30 pm, live racing at Harrah's Hoosier Park will follow a Tuesday through Saturday schedule and be conducted through November 9. For more information on the upcoming entertainment or live racing schedule, please visit www.harrahshoosierpark.com.
Rose Flood
Race Marketing & Operations Admin