Columbus, MN — The featured event on the Thursday night (May 23) harness racing program at Running Aces was the $15,500 Mares Open Handicap pace which featured a talented field of eight contenders lining up behind the gate.

Graceful Horizon prevailed in the feature race battle to the wire. Nicole Tate photo.

Two Pistol Annie (James Kennedy) was making her first local start and she left alertly from post six to grab the early lead from Ain’t She Special (Luke Plano) and 2-1 public choice Better Double Flip (Todd Warren) as they posted a quick :26.4 opening panel. Nick Roland began a gradual first over bid near the :56.1 half-mile juncture with Graceful Horizon and Illusion Seelster (Jacob Cutting) tipped out and followed the cover down the backside.

Two Pistol Annie still had control around the far turn after posting a :28 third panel and Ain’t She Special was close in the pocket. After dropping back slightly near the three-quarter pole, Graceful Horizon got rolling again as they rounded to the top of the stretch. Once in the lane, Graceful Horizon quickly forged to the lead while Two Pistol Annie waved the white flag and Ain’t She Special dove to the inside with pace, creating a nice battle to the finish and a photo for the win.

The picture showed Graceful Horizon getting home a head in front of Ain’t She Special in 1:53, with Better Double Flip advancing late for third.

Graceful Horizon (Vertical Horizon), despite sporting the best seasonal record in the field, had been dismissed on the board at 9-1 and returned $20 to win. She is owned by Set The Pace Racing and is trained by Roland and she now shows eight wins in 14 starts this year, with earnings of $47,690.

Trainer/driver Brady Jenson registered a double on the program with a pair of big performances from both Twisted Bliss (Its That Time, $13.40), who posted a new career mark of 1:54 in her season’s debut, and Always Choose Chip (Always A Virgin, $6.40) who dominated from gate-to-wire in 1:53.1 in her second start of the year.

Roland also recorded a driving double on the card when he piloted Prom Queen (Little Steven, $19.80) to a sweeping last-to-first victory in 1:57.1 for her third win of the year.

There were no winning favorites in the final five races on the card on Thursday, prompting a myriad of carryover pools for the upcoming Sunday (May 26) racing program. The Pick-5 Jackpot will start at $3,123.89, the Pick-4 in race two will have a carryover of $1,950.72, the Pick-3 has a carryover of $1,180.89 (race three) and the 50-cent Hi-5 in race four will feature a carryover of $4,919.79.

Post time on Sunday is 6 p.m. (CDT) for a Memorial Day Weekend celebration with ten races on tap. There is a tee-shirt giveaway, Pepsi Family Night specials and activities, food trucks, trout fishing, prize drawings, and a live, interactive reptile display (Herp’s Alive) with the “Handicapping Herpetologist” Keith Gisser on hand for both Sunday and Tuesday (May 28).