from Miami Valley Raceway

Lebanon, OH — Twilight Bonfire didn’t just capture the $14,500 Open Pace at Miami Valley on Saturday night (Jan. 31), but he tied the all-time all-age track record of 1:51.1 on a wintry night in southwest Ohio.

Twilight Bonfire equaled the Miami Valley track record, capturing the $14,500 Open Pace in 1:51.1.

Driver Dan Noble allowed favorites Ice Scraper (Josh Sutton) and Mykindachip (Kayne Kauffman) to mix it up through brisk opening panels of :25.4 and :54.1. Still sitting seventh at the 1:22.3 third quarter station, Noble began to wind the winner through traffic in the stretch, eventually splitting tiring horses and pulling away by a 1-1/2 length margin. Mykindachip held for second with longshot J’s Six Pak Attack (Jeremy Smith) putting in a strong effort to finish third.

It was just the 13th career win for the 5-year-old son of The Panderosa, but boosted his lifetime earnings to just shy of $1 million — $986,295 to be exact. Owner Robert Key sent Twilight Bonfire to Ohio-based trainer Danny Collins in mid-November and he has responded with five on the board finishes in six tries, including three wins.

The final Claim To Fame series championship was also decided on Saturday night as the nine top $12,500 claiming pacers went postward chasing a $20,000 final purse.

It was anybody’s race at the three-quarter pole, but when the smoke cleared it was Master Stroke (Josh Sutton) with the most late pace, topping Kyron (Chris Page) and Winchester’s Punch (Dan Noble) in 1:53.2.

Conrad photos

Master Stroke captured the $20,000 final of the Claim To Fame series for $12,500 claimers in 1:53.2.

The 9-year-old altered son of Art Major couldn’t find racing room until very late in last week’s final preliminary leg, but closed with a fury to finish second, a half-length back. In the final, Sutton faced the same predicament until finding room to swing four-wide down the homestretch and sprinting past the others in convincing fashion.

Barry Langley trains Master Stroke for owner Keith Pippi. It was the 34th victory in a lengthy and rewarding career and pushed the winner’s lifetime bounty past $450,000.

Miami Valley Raceway will present the only live harness racing in the United States on Super Bowl Sunday with a 3 p.m. post time. The 12-race program should conclude about a half-hour prior to the Patriots-Seahawks kickoff.