Columbus, MN – Wet weather and sloppy track conditions did not damper the harness racing action at Running Aces on Thursday night (June 12) as fans were treated to some very exciting action.
Four-year-old pacing mare Overthemoonforyou stole the show with a sensational closing effort to register her 14th win of the season and reclaim her spot as the standalone leader in all of horseracing by races won this year.
The daughter of Minnesota-based stallion Karpathian Kid got away sixth in the early stages of her $9,000 conditioned race while Ain’t She Special (Luke Plano) and Townline Vickielou (Rick Magee) traded turns on the lead during the opening fractions of :28 and :56.3.
Driver Aaron Lehman tipped Overthemoonforyou into the outer flow near the half-mile pole, following Better Watch It (Nick Roland) as they rolled down the backside.
Lehman then tipped her three-wide and was even four-wide for a few strides near the 1:25.4 three-quarters checkpoint and she quickly drew alongside the leaders as they rounded for the stretch drive.
Midway through the lane Overthemoonforyou forged to the front and then proceeded to sprint to the wire drawing clear impressively while Better Watch It fought to hold second and Premier Desirey (Lemoyne Svendsen) rallied from the back to edge out Townline Vickielou for third.
Overthemoonforyou ($8.40) stopped the timer in 1:54.1 with three lengths to spare. It was her ninth-straight victory and it pushed her seasonal bankroll to $100,416 for owners QKS Racing and trainer Quentin Schneider.
Twist Little Girl N ($4.60) and driver Rick Magee dominated the $14,750 Mares Open Handicap pace with a 1-1/4 length tally in 1:53.1 over Kele Kele and Crazy Cute.
The winner is a 6-year-old daughter of Vincent, owned by Dave Dobbelmann and Cathy Dessert and is trained by Mike Meza. She now shows two wins this year and 14 career wins with total earnings of $169,585.
Hilarious Hank (Captain Crunch, $6.20) surged at the wire to capture the $12,500 Burning Blaze pacing series final by a neck in 1:55.3 over Glittering Hope and Minnesota Minnie. Brandon Jenson was the winning driver for owner Stephanie O’Connell and trainer Brady Jenson.
In Minnesota-sired action on Thursday night, the winners included Swinging On By (Dean Magee, $9.40) in 1:56.2, Mele Kalikimaka (Rick Magee, $6.80) in 1:56, Miss May Bell (Brady Jenson, $7.20) in 1:59.2 and JK Cache Meoutside (Nick Roland, $2.20) in 2:01.
Driver Rick Magee and trainer Brett Ballinger led the night with three wins each while Brady Jenson and Justin Anfinson each had doubles.
Live racing returns to Running Aces on Sunday night (June 15) for Pepsi Family Night as well as a Father’s Day Celebration. Post time for the 11-race program is 6 p.m. (CDT).