Oak Grove, KY — Atlee Bender gave another aggressive steer to Odds On Blockchain and carved a great trip to snag a 1:49.3 victory in the $36,000 Open Pace at Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel on Monday (May 20).

Odds On Blockchain and Atlee Bender winning the $36,000 Open Pace. Mark Herron photo.

Leaving from post one, Bender pushed for the lead after a :26.2 first quarter to pocket Muskateer Hanover (driven by Tony Hall) and shuffle Rocks Shining Star (Jack Killeen) past the stands first time. Odds On Blockchain maintained his momentum past a :54.2 half but soon faced a fierce blitz from Rocks Shining Star up the backside, who then pinned Odds On Blockchain into the pocket to three-quarters in 1:21.1. Rocks Shining Star motored through the final turn while Odds On Blockchain loomed on his foe’s helmet and angled wide for the drive to grab the lead in midstretch in progress to a neck victory. Muskateer Hanover darted up the pylons to take second from Rocks Shining Star with Saddle Up (Marvin Luna) grabbing fourth.

Odds On Blockchain, 5-year-old gelding by JK Endofanera, won his 13th race from 54 starts and has now earned $179,311. Erv Miller trains the $15.92 winner for owner Doug Overhiser.

Hungry For Love (Joey Putnam) later dipped from the Kentucky Sire Stakes and clinched a top-class win in the final stride of the $36,000 Fillies & Mares Open Pace.

Hungry For Love (inside) with Joey Putnam winning the $36,000 Fillies & Mares Open Pace. Mark Herron photo.

Putnam pushed Hungry For Love to the fore through a :26.1 first quarter before settling for the pocket behind Sweet Charlie (Atlee Bender) with a lap remaining. Sweet Charlie coasted to the half in :55 as Ainthesamewithoutu (Tony Hall) rushed from the back on the rim to challenge for the lead. Ainthesamewithoutu ground to put a head in front while under a snug hold from Hall despite Sweet Charlie keeping her parked to three-quarters in 1:23. Sweet Charlie levelled off through the final turn as Ainthesamewithoutu forged to the lead on the spin for home, but Putnam squeezed past Sweet Charlie and the pylons to come charging for the lead late. Hungry For Love slid through and notched the win by a nose at the beam over Ainthesamewithoutu while Southwind Bella (Brandon Bates) closed for third and Sweet Charlie settled for fourth.

Ron Burke trains Hungry For Love, a 4-year-old mare by Stay Hungry, for owners Thomas and Scott Dillon. She won her 14th race from 38 starts, has now banked $450,366 and paid $3.12 to win.

The Anette Lorentzon barn sparkled on Monday with three wins on the 13-race card. Lorentzon scored a quickfire double with Seeuontheotherside ($2.44) and Mister Dad ($6.08) then later sealed the hat trick with a win by Sprinter N ($3.02).

Live racing resumes at Oak Grove on Tuesday (May 21) at 3 p.m. and features a carryover in the last-race Super High-5 worth $1,383.05. Free program pages for every race day, courtesy of TrackMaster, are available on the Oak Grove Racing website (https://www.oakgrovegaming.com/racing/handicapping-resources/).