from Running Aces Harness Park

Columbus, MN — Restless Yankee, a 5-year-old Minnesota-sired gelding owned by Ron Emerson and Mark Holtan, sat a pocket trip behind favored Chewy Baca in the $8,000 Open Handicap Pace at Running Aces Saturday night (JUne 30) before exploding through the stretch to establish a new all-time overall 1:51.2 track record. The old record of 1:52 was set by ML Jackhammer in 2010.

“That is an awfully nice horse,” exclaimed winning driver Nick Roland who was teamed with Restless Yankee for the very first time.

Pensive Photography

Restless Yankee and driver Nick Roland cruised to a 1:51.2 all-time, all-age track record at Running Aces.

It was the 28th win in just 84 lifetime starts for the Robert Lems trainee who has now amassed $156,131 in career earnings. At Last (Lemoyne Svendsen), the second place finisher, was timed in 1:52, which would have equaled the old track standard, with Chewy Baca (Rick Magee) just one-fifth of a second back in third.

A co-featured $7,500 event for state-bred sophomore fillies was won by Fiftyonefifty in 1:54.3. Roland was the sulky-sitter on this one also and used a similar pocket-sitting strategy before passing pacesetting Iheartquestionmark (Joey Mapes) in mid-stretch. Feedbag Fillie (Magee) garnered the show dough.

A pair of third and final preliminary leg divisions went postward in the Future Stars trotting series. In the quickest split, The Painted Doll (Mapes) brushed strong in the lane to just edge Al Mar Racing Reno (Magee) and DD’s Tiger (Brandon Jenson) in 2:01.4. The slower division was captured in 2:04.3 by River Of Power (Magee) in a thrilling stretch duel over Libby’s Lock (Svendsen) and Andover Mass (Roland). The top nine money earners from the series will now meet in a $7,500 (est.) championship final on July 14.

Racing resumes Sunday night with an expanded 11-race program beginning at 6 p.m. (CDT). A week ago, Running Aces set an all-time track record handle on its Sunday card.