Dayton, OH – Better Is Nice and Tyler Smith rallied from off the pace and nipped the tiring leaders to score a minor upset in the Saturday night (Nov. 29) $28,000 Open Pace at Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway.
The start of the race had a trio of leavers – Cadillac Bayama (Chris Page), Rose Run Zane (Austin Hanners) and Better Is Nice.
Rose Run Zane cleared to the top and lead the field of six past the opening quarter in :27.2.
The bettor’s choice, Saulsbrook Victor (Brett MacDonald) made a brush and took command before the half in :55.
Page pulled Cadillac Bayama off the rail in fourth and applied pressure on the leader at the three-quarters in 1:23.
Saulsbrook Victor and Cadillac Bayama raced in tandem around the final turn but were soon joined by Rose Run Zane on the outside and Better Is Nice on the inside.
Better Is Nice pulled away with a 1-1/4-length victory in 1:50.3. Saulsbrook Victor was second and a closing Midnight Rocker (Brett Miller) was third.
It was the second win of the season for the 4-year-old Bettor’s Wish gelding.
Better Is Nice is trained by Michael Hitchcock for William A. Hartt and H & H Stable.
He paid $16.60 to win.
In the card’s first race, a $22,000 conditioned pace, Why Not Now (Austin Hanners) came from mid-pack to score a three-quarter-length win in 1:49.4.
Three horses battled for the early lead with Rockabilly Rebel N (Luke Hanners) getting the early call.
Another leaver, Naturally Gifted A (Trevor Smith) pressed on and cleared to the top in :26.3.
Downbythedanceclub (Brett Miller) came first-up and applied pressure on the leader at the half in :55.4 and was two-lengths clear at the three-quarters in 1:22.1.
Austin Hanners sent the eventual winner three-wide around the final turn and reached the line ahead of the pacesetting Naturally Gifted A. Rockabilly Rebel N was third.
The winner is trained by Todd Luther for Greg Luther Racing.
Chris Page, Brett Miller and Trevor Smith all recorded driving triples during the 14-race card.
Racing returns to Dayton Raceway on Tuesday (Dec. 2) with a 14-race card. First post is 4 p.m. (EST). Free past performance pages are available at www.hollywooddaytonraceway.com.