Lebanon, OH – Ten-year-old American Girl won for the 54th time in her illustrious career on Friday night (Jan. 18) at Miami Valley Raceway.  The daughter of Art’s Chip is now just one win away from reaching the $1 million earnings plateau.

American Girl outlasts JB’s Shooting Star in Miami Valley’s Mares Open Pace, inching closer to $1 million in earnings. Conrad Photo.

Sent off as the 4-5 favorite in the $25,000 Fillies & Mares Open Handicap, driver Trace Tetrick took no chances in the bulky 10-horse field, heading directly towards the front when the gate swung open.  Getting where he wanted to go, though, wasn’t as easy as it might have been.  Although American Girl had her head in front she wasn’t able to clear to the lead until well past the :27.2 first quarter.  From there, however, there was little doubt about the outcome until runner-up JB’s Shooting Star (Chris Page) rallied furiously through the stretch to make things interesting near the wire, reached in 1:54.2.  Cast No Shadow (Josh Sutton) also raced admirably to grab the show money.

Three final preliminary legs of the Claim To Fame Series for male $12,500 pacers were also contested.  Winners were Rock Of The Ages (John DeLong, 1:52.1, $10.40 to win), RHP (Dan Noble, 1:53.1, $3.60) and Mosee Terror (Noble, 1:54, $3.60).  In addition to that trio, finalists for next Friday’s (Jan. 25) $25,000 championship leg are Stonehouse Adam, Max Hanover, Ruthless Call, Key Word, Hezabluechipboy N and Believe In Your Mach.

With an extreme winter storm forecast for the weekend in Ohio, Miami Valley horsemen can expect a text alert by 11 a.m. Saturday morning (Jan. 19) in regards to the status of Saturday night’s live program.