Lebanon, OH — The aptly named Crews Hilltopper will enter next Monday’s (April 1) matinee as the likely favorite in the $20,000 championship leg of the Robert J. “Skeeter” Brown Memorial trotting series at Miami Valley Raceway.

Crews Hilltopper sweeps to his second straight win in the Robert J. Brown Memorial series at Miami Valley. Conrad photo.

The 4-year-old son of Break The Bank K became the only back-to-back winner in the series when he won the final $12,000 preliminary leg on Monday (March 25) in 1:57.2. Capturing their first series victories and also qualifying for the final were Sweet Swan Of All (1:58.3) and Triple Seven Seven (1:59.2).

Trevor Smith guided Crews Hilltopper to his second straight success, besting Well I’m Fancy (Trace Tetrick) and Monday Nite (Randy Tharps) in an exciting stretch battle. Larry Tinch trains the winner, an Ohio county fair stalwart in 2018, for owners John Foster and Ray Helton.The 1:57.2 clocking established a new lifetime mark for Crews Hilltopper despite a wet track dulled by persistent rain.

Sweet Swan Of All is another who got valuable seasoning at county fairs last year, although his starts were at Indiana fair venues. The 4-year-old Swan For All gelding notched his first win of 2019 by holding off Jimmy Dean (Mike Oosting) and Innisfallen (Brett Miller). Miami Valley’s leading driver Trace Tetrick gave Sweet Swan Of All his commands for trainer Lester Raber, who co-owns the winner with Floyd Raber.

Triple Seven Seven, a 3-year-old filly by Tom Cango, copped the other split with a 1:59.2 victory over My Pure Honey (Brett Miller) and Bad Babysitter (Josh Sutton). Pasko Vucinaj owns and trains the lass whose previous fastest win was a 2:11 triumph as a 2-year-old at the Great Darke County Fair in Greenville, Ohio. Mike Oosting was in her sulky.

Finalists in each of the nine Miami Valley’s Lebanon Legends Series are determined by purse earnings in two preliminary legs. The top nine, in order, in the Robert J. Brown Memorial, are: Crews Hilltopper, Sweet Swan For All, Triple Seven Seven, Monday Nite, Voyage To Paris, My Pure Honey, Innisfallen, Jimmy Dean and Call Me The Fireman.

The final preliminary legs to determine the finalists in both the Omar Hiteman and Dr. Dan Farwick Memorial Series will be contested on the Tuesday (March 26) matinee. Post time is 2:05 p.m.