by Emily Gaskin, for Hoosier Park

Anderson, IN — Rock N’ Roll World, with driver John DeLong in the bike, made an emphatic debut at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino on Friday (May 12) winning the featured event of the evening, a $21,000 Invitational Pace, and in doing so, recorded the nation’s fastest mile of the young 2017 season. The 1:48.3 final time established a national season’s record for aged pacers on any size track and also marked the fastest mile over the Hoosier Park oval in 2017 through 28 days of live racing.

Dean Gillette Photography

RockN’ Roll World and driver John DeLong recorded a national season’s record in the$21,000 Invitational Pace at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino.

After fetching a cool $165,000 final bid at the Tattersalls 2017 Spring Mixed Sale at The Meadowlands just five days ago, Rock N’ Roll World is making good on the investment for new owners Tom Pollack and Jeff Cullipher.

Leaving from post seven, DeLong sent Rock N’ Roll World away from the gate firing to grab a pocket seat behind the overwhelming favorite, Night Pro and Sam Widger. Night Pro dictated fractions of :26 and :54.2 while the field remained in single file line down the backside. New Talent and Todd Warren were the first to commit to the outer flow as the field approached the final turn.

Night Pro continued to call the shots through the three-quarter clocking in 1:22.1 but Rock N’ Roll World loomed large in the pocket. Utilizing a :26 final quarter, Rock N’ Roll World exploded past Night Pro late in the lane to win by 2-3/4 lengths. Night Pro maintained his position to secure second place honors while Gerries Sport and Trace Tetrick rallied gamely to round out the trifecta.

Slightly dismissed at the betting windows, Rock N’ Roll World returned $16.60 to his backers.

“That one had me shaking a little bit,” trainer Jeff Cullipher noted in the winner’s circle. “He’s a very nice horse, I don’t know if I expected that much out of him in his first start for us but he’s staked to quite a bit of things this year so we’re really excited about him.”

A regally-bred 5-year-old son of Rocknroll Hanover – Worldly Beauty, Rock N’ Roll World recorded his fourth consecutive victory and has now won five of six seasonal starts. With the 1:48.3 victory, Rock N’ Roll World shaved two seconds off his lifetime record while pushing his lifetime bankroll to $583,160. The win was also one of two wins for driver John DeLong and trainer Jeff Cullipher. The DeLong-Cullipher combination also found the winner’s circle just a few races later with Shooter’s Dream in 1:50 in a conditioned pacing event.

Hoosier Park’s reigning leading driver, Trace Tetrick, had five winners on the evening’s 14-race card. Tetrick leads all drivers with 77 wins on the 2017 season.

Live racing at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino will continue on Saturday (May 13) with a 12-race card. With a daily post time of 6:30 p.m., live racing at Hoosier Park will follow a Tuesday through Saturday schedule and be conducted through Nov. 17. The season is highlighted by the 34th edition of the Breeders Crown, harness racing’s championship event valued at $6 million, on Friday (Oct. 27) and Saturday (Oct. 28).

For more information on the upcoming entertainment and live racing schedule, please visit www.hoosierpark.com .