Dayton, OH – A pair of impressive mares prevailed in the co-featured $18,000 Mares Open Pace and the $18,000 Open Trot at Hollywood Dayton Raceway on Friday night (Dec. 7).

American Girl crept closer to $1 million in earnings winning the Mares Open at Dayton on Friday. Conrad photo.

American Girl (Aaron Merriman) worked hard from an assigned outside post to gain command through the :26.2 opening panel, then coasted to a comfortable 5-3/4 length victory in the distaff pace.  The final 1:50.3 time equaled the 9-year-old daughter of Art’s Chip’s lifetime best and pushed her closer to the $1 million earnings plateau for owners Darla Gaskin and Stanley Rosenblatt.  With the $9,000 winners share, American Girl has now banked $972,110.  She has won three straight weekly features at Dayton following a pair of runner-up finishes since returning to the races in mid-October following a three-month layoff.  Tyler George is her trainer.

Rosemary Rose (Chris Page), who was ever so slightly favored, was runner-up while A Little Starstruk (Trevor Smith) was the best of the rest.

Party At The Banks surpassed $100,000 in 2018 earnings by beating the boys in the Open Trot at Dayton. Conrad photo.

Most 4-year-olds who have banked $125,000 made the majority of their bounty in their juvenile seasons at two and three. That’s not the case for Party At The Banks, however, as she crushed a field of male Open trotters in 1:53 for her tenth win in 22 starts in 2018.

She has now banked more than $106,000 of her $125,000 in lifetime earnings since turning age four.  The talented daughter of Break The Bank K now possesses a string of six wins and two place finishes in her last eight starts.  She is trained by Ron Burke for the Burke Racing Stable and Weaver Bruscemi LLC.  The odds-on favorite, driven by Chris Page, bested Primed N Powerful (Tyler Smith) by a length-and-a-half with Monopoly Blue Chip (Kayne Kauffman) another two lengths in arrears.

Although driver Dan Noble didn’t get to visit the winner’s circle following the co-featured races, he did pose for a picture after five other races on the card.  He scored with Gold Record in 1:56.2 and subsequently triumphed with Rolling Thunder (1:54.3), J M Jet Set (1:51.2), Velocity Mattis (1:52.2) and Allbeastnobeauty (1:52.2).