Harrington, DE – Bryan Truitt’s Almost Persuaded ($21.80, Russell Foster) was a 1:53.2 winner in the $22,500 Mares Open Tuesdayy (July 7) at Harrington Raceway.
A full field of eight went post ward in the overnight feature, as Almost Persuaded took the field to an opening quarter mile of :27.1 seconds. The field marched to the half-mile in :56.1 seconds while race favorite Stevie Hanover, who has won three straight, applied pressure first over to three-quarters in 1:24.3.
In the stretch, Almost Persuaded dug in and held off all comers, including a late surge from Stevie Hanover and Jett Propelled, who rounded out the top three in that order. Trained by her owner, Almost Persuaded surpassed $100,000 in seasonal earnings with the win, as the 4-year-old Captaintreacherous mare notched her 12th career victory.
On the undercard, Calcutta Stable’s Earth Angel (Troy Beyer, $86.80) sprung an upset with a 1:54.2 triumph in a $18,000 Mares Open II for trainer Jason Johnson.
Live racing will go on a hiatus after the July 8 program (post time 4:30 p.m.).
The biggest night of the year for Delaware harness racing is July 23 for the Delaware State Fair racing program (7 p.m. post time) featuring the $110,000 Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund (DSBF) finals and longstanding races for older horses like the $50,000 Governor’s Cup.
The meet will then resume on August 17.