Oak Grove, KY — The pair of $30,000 Open events at Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel on Sunday (May 10) had starkly different payoff outcomes, but saw dominant performances from both Burnout and Three Times Bettor, who scored in the Open Pace and Fillies and Mares Open Pace respectively.
Driver Marcus Miller held no punches with Todd Luther trainee Burnout in the Open Pace for a 1:50 victory at odds of 20-1. Miller hustled out of post 3 and persisted for the lead when pressed by Hazardos (driven by Brandon Bates), forcing that rival into the pocket after a :26.3 first quarter. Burnout cruised to a :55 half as Tip Top Cat (Devon Tharps) angled off the pylons from third with 1-5 favorite Oakwood Heymiki IR (Matt Krueger) in tow, but Tip Top Cat stalled in his grind as Burnout pushed the pedal to three-quarters in 1:22.3. Miller still had a tight hold on Burnout as the field started stacking around the last turn and straightened with poise to hold his ground for a three-quarter length win as Tip Top Cat hit his best stride late in the lane for second. Oakwood Heymiki IR similarly built his best momentum late to just miss in third while Hazardos gave chase stuck in the pocket for fourth.
A 6-year-old gelding by Racing Hill-Sangaal, Burnout won his fourth race from 11 starts this season and his 21st race from 79 starts in his career, earning $468,210 for owner Greg Luther Racing LLC. He paid $42.12 to win.
A few races later, 1-9 favorite Three Times Bettor (Dexter Dunn) tightened the screws for her $100,000 Kentucky Sire Stakes final on Preakness Saturday (May 16) with a 1:50.1 jog in the co-featured $30,000 Fillies and Mares Open Handicap Pace. Dunn, flying into town for only two drives on the day, circled the Brett Pelling trainee to the top after a :26.4 first quarter and gradually quickened while peeling away from the competition. She clocked a :55 half and 1:23.1 three-quarters and widened all the way to a 5-1/4-length win under wraps over Yankee B Something (Geremy Bobbit), who gave pursuit from a pocket ride in second. Bonitas Best Bet (Brandon Bates) saved ground to take third and Lyin’ Eyes (Joey Putnam) folded from a first-over push into the last turn for fourth.
Thaddeus Weir owns Three Times Bettor, a 4-year-old daughter of Bettor’s Delight-Three Times A Lady. The mare won her 11th race from 19 starts and has now banked $213,814 in her career. She paid $2.22 to win.
Erv Miller led all trainers on the special Mother’s Day card with a hat trick on the 13-race program. Miller first connected on the back-half of the card with a pocket-popping win by Public Knowledge (Marcus Miller, $6.46 to win) in a 1:55.2 mile and followed with a pair of chalks in Caillou Hanover (Atlee Bender, $2.70) in the day’s ninth race and with Western Era (Atlee Bender, $2.32) in the nightcap.
Live racing resumes at Oak Grove on Monday (May 11) with a 14-race card headlined by a $30,000 Open Handicap Trot, carded as Race 6. Monday is the penultimate day to the 2026 Festival of Racing at Oak Grove, which comes to a peak on Preakness Saturday (May 16) with a $1.5 million day of stakes racing headlined by the $500,000 Oak Grove Trotting Derby and $300,000 Oak Grove Trotting Oaks followed by a live concert from country music star Jake Owen. The Saturday card, in conjunction with the USTA’s Strategic Wagering Program, will also feature a $20,000 guarantee on the $1 Pick 4 covering the last four races on the day. The Saturday card has a special post time of 12:45 p.m. (CDT).
First-race post time at Oak Grove on Monday is 1:10 p.m. (CDT). For more information, visit oakgrovegaming.com. And to book your VIP experience for Oak Grove Trotting Derby Day, visit oakgrovederby.com.