by John Pawlak, the U.S. Trotting Association

Columbus, OH — Melvin Hartman, Herb Liverman and David McDuffee’s prize filly Bee A Magician couldn’t be coming up to what is likely the most important race of her career thus far in better shape; she used July to set a world record and dominate in an elimination for the Hambletonian Oaks. As a result she was voted July’s Horse of the Month by the U.S. Trotting Association.

USTA/Ken Weingartner photo

Bee A Magician has been named July’s Horse of the Month.

The Richard “Nifty” Norman trainee entered the record books on July 13 at the Meadowlands by winning the $265,500 Delvin Miller Memorial in 1:51. The time was a world record for a 3-year-old trotting filly around two turns and was a statement of fitness as she entered the July 27 Hambletonian Oaks eliminations, to be raced over the same racetrack.

The Oaks, traditionally the biggest prize in sophomore filly trotting, carries a $500,000 purse and earns a lot of respect for its winner.

The daughter of Kadabra-Beehive, by Balanced Image, let the speed go early, came out to quickly take command for driver Brian Sears on the backstretch and was never seriously challenged thereafter in a 1:53.3 mile.

“We weren’t trying to set any records or anything like that,” Sears said in a post-elimination interview. “(We wanted to) just get around there safe and out of trouble and that’s what we did. I think she’s bred to be like this and it’s all natural.”

Naturally, following her July wins, Bee A Magician was made the 2-5 favorite for this Saturday’s Oaks.

She is already the number two horse — and top trotter — in the sport’s top-10 poll, and a win on Saturday would likely gather more support in that weekly voting, and perhaps get Horse of the Year voters thinking more about casting ballots for her in the year-end poll that counts the most.