Lebanon, OH — Angel Nation sped to the quickest trotting mile of the year at Miami Valley on Monday (Feb. 15), winning the $30,000 Open Trot in 1:52.4.

With leading driver Trace Tetrick in the bike, the 6-year-old son of Archangel led from start to finish, posting fractions of :27.1, :56.2 and 1:24.1 before capping his mile with a :28.3 closing quarter. A strong front-end bias seemed evident long before the featured event, carded as race 10, making Tetrick’s quick move off the gate seem like the obvious move with the 6-5 favorite. Runner-up Rose Run Valor (Kayne Kauffman) tried valiantly to catch Angel Nation in the stretch while Bentley Blu (Brett Miller) garnered third.

Trace Tetrick guided Angel Nation to the fastest trotting mile of the year at Miami Valley. Conrad photo.

Mike Hitchcock trains Angel Nation for owner William Hartt, who enjoyed watching his outstanding trotter win his second Open in seven tries this season at Miami Valley, to go with three second-place finishes and a third-place effort. A 9-time winner in 2022, the gelding banked $133,570 in Ohio as one of the Buckeye State’s top trotters.

Racing at Miami Valley resumes Thursday afternoon (Feb. 16) with a 4 p.m. post time. Programs can be downloaded from the Miami Valley Gaming website by clicking “Racing” and scrolling to the bottom of the page.