With David Miller in the sulky, Theater Production notched his second victory in three starts this season with a 1:54.2 mile. Sir Valahad [$2.10] could not sustain a first-over bid and was a distanced third.

Theater Production improved his career earnings to $134,296 for owner Robert Blackman Jr. of Auburn, Maine. John Marshall trains the five-year-old gelding by Movie Mogul.

Earlier on the card, Rockymosa Raptor [$8.60, $5.40, $3.40] nipped Greensview Hanover [$5.60, $5.20] at the wire in the third race, the first of the two Father Foley divisions. Flapjack Attack [$5.40] took advantage of a second-over trip to finish third.

Driven by Yannick Gingras and trained by Mark Ford, Rockymosa Raptor trotted a lifetime best 1:55.4 mile. It was the second victory in nine starts this season for the five-year-old New Victory gelding who is owned by the C Tremblay Holding Incorporated of Brossard, Quebec.

The estimated $50,000 Father Foley Final is next Sunday, May 2.

Luckisasluckydoes, Windylane Hanover and Danish Delight are expected to be among the starters in next week’s events. Post positions for the six Classic Series divisions will be drawn on Tuesday morning.
In his latest effort, the well-traveled Luckyisasluckydoes turned in a dazzling 1:49.1 mile in the first round of the Pacing Classic on Monday , April 19 at Dover Downs.

Trained by Mark Harder, the five-year-old son of Camluck rides a six-race winning streak that includes a 1:50 romp in the $200,000 Dan Patch at Hoosier Park and a sweep of the Isle Of Capri at Pompano.

“I’ve had him about a year,” Harder said. “We bought him out of the sale here. He raced well for us, but by the time August rolled around last year, he just needed a break. We gave him a couple of months, and he’s come back super. It was in Florida [in the Isle of Capri] that he turned the corner. He came to life and really blossomed.

Right now, he’s very sharp. I thought he’d win at Dover [in the first leg of the Classic Series]. That didn’t surprise me, but the time did. “I was concerned at first about shipping him as much as we have,” he continued. “He’s not the greatest eater in the world, and I wasn’t sure a horse with his frame could handle it. But, he loves it, the new environment, the different surroundings. He’s taken right to it.”

Windylane Hanover, the Dan Patch award winner as the 2003 Trotting Mare of the Year, trotted a 1:53.2 mile in the first round of the Classic Series, equaling the world record for the fastest trotting mile on a five-eighths mile track. In her start prior, she finished second in the $134,400 Su Mac Lad Final at the Meadowlands.

“It took us 50 years to get a horse like this,” said the mare’s co-owner, Charlie Keller of Yankeeland Farms in Frederick, Maryland. “I can’t believe that in the history of the sport, that is the fastest mile on a five-eighths mile track. She’s some special mare, really special. Brett [trainer Brett Bittle] does a real good job with her.”

Danish Delight returns to the Meadowlands for the first time in 2004 after finishing second in his seasonal debut in the Trotting Classic at Dover. Trained and driven by Jack Baggitt Jr. the six-year-old son of Royal Troubador had been sidelined by a suspensory injury since August 2003.

“He raced fine considering he hadn’t gone in a long time,” Baggitt said after the first leg of the Classic Series. “I was sitting third early, didn’t want to go first over, so I moved him to the lead. He doesn’t like the front end, but I had no choice. He got a little tired late, but that was okay. I never touched him once. His leg seems good.