Plainville, MA — Nows The Moment made his 100th career start a memorable one for owner Sonya MacDonald after winning his second straight $20,000 Open Handicap Trot at Plainridge Park on Thursday afternoon (Sept. 1).

Nows The Moment and driver Kevin Switzer Jr. took the lead off the gate and completely dominated from there. With the field in single file and the trailers just trying to keep up, Nows The Moment controlled fractions of :27, :56.4 and 1:25. When he got to the top of the stretch, he was gone and opened up a 3-1/2 length margin while Switzer sat chilly, tying his seasonal mark of 1:53.2.

REPEAT PERFORMANCE — Nows The Moment matched his seasonal mark of 1:53.2 with a decisive win in Thursday’s Open Handicap Trot at Plainridge. Tom Melanson photo.

Allison MacDonald trainee Nows The Moment visited the winner’s circle for the 29th time in his career. He paid $3.80 to win.

Switzer ended the day with a driving hat trick.

With the Massachusetts Sire Stakes just over three weeks away, many Massachusetts-breds are in the process of tuning up for the lucrative series. A good example of that came in Thursday’s opener, an $11,500 conditioned trot, where 3-year-old filly Grits N Trix (Trixton-Bourbon N Grits) made a first-over move from fourth at the half before puling away down the lane to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:57.1 for owners Ray Campbell Jr. and Al Ross. It was the fourth straight victory for the sister of 2013 Hambletonian winner Royalty For Life.

The Massachusetts Sire Stakes start on Sept. 25 and feature three preliminary legs before the final. To be eligible for the finals, horses must compete in at least two of those three legs. This will provide larger fields and more competition in the weeks leading up to the series finals on Oct. 24.

Live racing resumes at Plainridge Park on Monday afternoon (Sept. 5) with post time at 2 p.m. Free full past performance race programs for all live race days can be downloaded by visiting the track’s website.