Lexington, KY — Funky Buddha motored for the lead and held the upper edge of a cutthroat stretch battle against 6-5 favorite Sea Bistro Hanover to win the lone $80,000 Kentucky Championship Series opening preliminary for 3-year-old pacing colts and geldings on Sunday night (Aug. 9) at The Red Mile.
Leaving from post 5, Funky Buddha (driven by Tim Tetrick) brushed for the lead through a :26.4 first quarter to clear Sea Bistro Hanover (Todd McCarthy), and he maintained his speed to a :53.3 half and 1:20.3 three-quarters. Sea Bistro Hanover tipped from the pocket rounding for home to inch forward and lock eyes with Funky Buddha in a battle that persisted all through the long stretch.
Funky Buddha remained resolute to hold his ground by a scant nostril at the end of a 1:47.2 mile with Sneaky Squeaky (Joe Bongiorno) gaining on the top pair from a stalking trip for third and Bookie J (Dexter Dunn) rallying from second-over for fourth.
Tony Dinges trains Funky Buddha, a colt by Sweet Lou-The Double Deuce, for owner Rick Berks. The colt collected his third win from seven starts this season and his sixth win from 17 starts in his career, earning $250,240. He paid $18.86 to win.
Victorianas Secret (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) capitalized from a stalking trip against hard-strung favorite Jailbird Jog (Anthony MacDonald) to win the first of two $80,000 Kentucky Championship Series opening preliminaries for 3-year-old trotting fillies on the Sunday card. Wrenn swept up the rim through a :27.3 first quarter to take a brief lead until Jailbird Jog looped around to the top into a :54.1 half. Jailbird Jog remained on the muscle to three-quarters in 1:21.4 but trotted evenly for home. Victorianas Secret lifted from the covered trip to spurt by the weary favorite and reached the line in time for a three-quarter length win in a 1:50 mile – one-fifth of a second off the track record – over closing Ygritte (Dexter Dunn). She’s Moni (Tim Tetrick) also pushed from mid-pack for third and Jailbird Jog tired to fourth.
Vernon Beachy trains Victorianas Secret, a filly by Tactical Landing-Victoriana, for owner Ryan Smith. The filly won her sixth race from eight starts this season and her seventh race from 16 starts in her career, banking $285,531. She paid $8.28 to win.
Heart For Two (Yannick Gingras) also converted a pocket trip into a victory when posting a 1:51.1 win in the other $80,000 Kentucky Championship Series dash for 3-year-old trotting fillies. Gingras stalked tempo-setter Godusa (David Miller) through a clip of :28, :56 and 1:23.3 before gathering steam for the long stretch. Heart For Two built momentum and surged forward to collar Godusa late for a length win with odds-on favorite Days Away (Dexter Dunn) pushing late from second-over for third. Kngtstlkrs Games (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) finished fourth.
Andrew Harris trains Heart For Two, a daughter of Gimpanzee-House Music FR, for owner Punisher 11 Stable. The filly won her third race from seven starts this season and her fifth race from 18 starts in her career, accruing $235,064 in earnings. She paid $36.90 to win.
Sunday’s marathon 17-race card also featured $30,000 divisions of the Kentucky Commonwealth Series for 3-year-old trotting fillies and 3-year-old pacing colts and geldings. Serenity As (Dexter Dunn, 1:53 winning mile) soared from last with a :26.1 final quarter in the lone non-betting division to take top honors among the two dashes for 3-year-old trotting fillies while Thiago Hanover (Yannick Gingras, 1:48.1; $32.76 to win) took the lead past the quarter and held firmly for the fastest win of the three splits for pacing glamour boys.
Live harness racing at the Red Mile resumes on Monday (Aug. 10) with a 15-race card headlined by an $80,000 Kentucky Championship Series division for 3-year-old trotting males and an $80,000 Kentucky Championship Series division for 3-year-old pacing fillies. First-race post time is 1 p.m. (EDT).
For more information on the 2026 live harness racing season, visit the Red Mile website.