Anderson, IN – Forbidden Trade, with driver Bob McClure in the bike, made his first Harrah’s Hoosier Park start a winning one as he turned in a dominant performance to capture the featured event of the evening, the $210,000 Caesars Trotting Classic, at Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing & Casino on Friday.

Stopping the timer in 1:52.4, Forbidden Trade went gate to wire and repelled all challenges to get the victory. The Caesars Trotting Classic serves as the Hoosier state’s richest trotting race and was one of seven Grand Circuit events on the evening’s star-studded card.

Leaving from post seven, McClure left nothing to chance and sent the 2019 Hambletonian winner straight to the front through the opening quarter in :27. It’s Academic and Yannick Gingras also stepped out of the gate to grab position and quickly opted for a pocket trip. The heavily favored Lindy The Great and Andy Miller settled for a spot along the rail in fourth.

Forbidden Trade clicked off middle fractions of :56.1 and 1:24.2 before being joined on the outside by Lindy The Great. Turning for home, as the rest of the field started to close in, Forbidden Trade found another gear. It’s Academic tipped from the pocket and made a solid bid but Forbidden Trade was too strong. Using a :28.2 final panel, Forbidden Trade held off It’s Academic by three parts of a length while Guardian Angel As and Brian Sears rallied well to finish third.

Sent off at odds of 3-1, Forbidden Trade returned $8.60 to his backers at the betting windows.

“This is the best he has ever been,” driver Bob McClure told Bob Heyden in the winner’s circle. “He’s just in unbelievable form right now.

“In a race like this you want to control your own fate,” he continued. “We were able to get a pretty good breather down the backside and with Lindy The Great having to come first-over, I felt good about our chances. It was all up to him after that and he did his job.”

Trained by Luc Blais, the 5-year-old son of Kadabra—Pure Ivory recorded his fourth win from 10 seasonal starts. Owned by Determination, Forbidden Trade now sports a lifetime bankroll of $1,679,379. Forbidden Trade was bred by Steve Stewart.

Ocean Rock wins Hoosier Park Pacing Derby

Ocean Rock (Chris Page) illustrated he can take his show on the road with an authoritative 1:49 victory in his first appearance at Harrah’s Hoosier Park in the $182,000 Hoosier Park Pacing Derby on Friday night. Catch The Fire (Scott Zeron) was second and Indiana stand-out Little Rocket Man (John De Long) was third.

Ocean Rock  rolled to victory in the $182,000 Hoosier Park Pacing Derby. Dean Gillette Photography.

A 4-year-old altered son of Rockin Amadeus-Ocean Pearl, Ocean Rock is a world champion and was honored as Ohio’s 2020 3-Year-Old Pacing Colt and Gelding of the Year.

Commencing his mile from post position four, Ocean Rock was placed on the lead with some early pressure from Workin Ona Mystery (Tim Tetrick) and clicked off fractions of :26.2, :54.4, and 1:22.3 before pulling away in the stretch to stop the clock in 1:49. His rivals simply could not catch him after Ocean Rock put up a last quarter-mile in :26.2.

Owned by his breeder, Sandra Burnett, Ocean Rock improved his record to 33-17-8-1. He is trained by Christi Noble and has earned more than $800,000 in his career.

Fulfullmydestiny Makes Dreams come in Elevation

Trainer/driver James Yoder steered heavy favorite Fulfullmydestiny to the finish line first in the $120,000 Elevation Pace for 2-year-old colt and gelding pacers from post position six. Gentle Giant (Trace Tetrick) and Ponda Warrior (Brandon Bates) were second and third, respectively.

The son of Tellitlikeitis-Driven By Destiny was fourth after leaving the gate but glided by leader Ponda Warrior after a first quarter in :27.3. Once on top, Fulfullnmydestiny began to assert his authority. Using a :27.1 final quarter, Fulfullnmydestiny paced strong to the wire under a hand drive from Yoder to finish 4-1/2 lengths to the good.

Owned by his breeder Brett Boyd, Fulfullmydestiny collected his fifth consecutive victory. His record stands at 8-5-2 and he has amassed $192,190. The win marked the first Grand Circuit victory for his owners.

Chase H Hanover scores in Jenna’s Beach Boy

Hall of Famer David Miller held the reins in Chase H Hanover’s victory in the $130,000 Jenna’s Beach Boy. The world champion defeated Emblaze Hanover (Yannick Gingras) and Virgo (Trace Tetrick) when hitting the wire first in 1:49.2.

A son of Captaintreacherous-Calgary Hanover, Chase H Hanover received a pocket trip right from the start and held the garden seat throughout the mile behind One Eight Hundred’s hooves in :26.2, :55 and 1:22.

When One Eight Hundred faltered in the stretch, Chase H Hanover took advantage of the opportunity to pace home and did so with authority.

Trained and co-owned by Scott Cox, Chase H Hanover has banked $516,250 and won his third race this year from 15 trips to the gate.

Jason Ash also owns Chase H Hanover with Cox.

Jujubee scores in inaugural edition of Phil Langley Memorial

Jujubee (Andrew McCarthy) won his fifth consecutive race in the $100,00 Phil Langley Memorial. The favorite defeated In Range (Tim Tetrick) and Take All Comers (Brian Sears) in 1:52.1.

Fourth in the early stages of the race, the son of Creatine-La Cantera surged to the lead shortly before the half-mile marker. Jujubee then trotted away from the field while establishing fractions of :55.4 and 1:24 before hitting the wire in 1:52.1

The sophomore is owned by Jon Erdner and has banked $350,107 with 12 wins from 15 starts in 2021. Jujubee was 5-2-2-1 as a freshman and earned $13,066 in purse money.