by Evan Pattak, for the Meadows

Washington, PA — Denver grabbed the lead with a lightning-quick backside burst that propelled him to victory in a stakes-fastest 1:55.2 in Wednesday’s (May 22) $100,000 Pennsylvania Stallion Series at The Meadows.

The event for 3-year-old colt and gelding trotters was conducted over five divisions, with Marat, Born To Fight, Markup Hanover and Rossini also taking $20,000 splits.

Denver was a 1:55.2 winner for driver Brett Miller.

Denver was sitting third for Brett Miller when he gobbled up the leader, Spiro De Vie, in what seemed like an instant and downed that rival by two lengths, shaving 1-4/5th seconds from his lifetime mark. Ruddy Rusty was third.

“The connections were borderline putting him in the stallion series or the big sires stakes,” Miller said. “He definitely can go with the big boys because he’s very handy and very quick. He felt like a million dollars. When I moved him he was as quick as a pacer.”

Anette Lorentzon trains the son of Andover Hall-Bahama It, who has won four of seven career starts, for ACL Stuteri.

Marat, a 10-1 outsider, also used an uncovered move as a springboard to victory, drawing off to score by six lengths over Panamanian Hanover in 1:56.2. Candid Photo earned show. Doug Snyder drove the Cantab Hall-Bedswerver gelding for trainer Clarence Martin, Jr. and owners Roger Dirlam and Mary Martin.

“I raced him a few times last year,” Snyder said. “He grew up a little bit, and I thought he would be okay in the stallion series, that’s for sure. There was a lot of stuff going on around us, but he kept right on going. He had a little racing luck, and he can go a little.”

Gary Saul, who owns Born To Fight, said he considered dropping the Cantab Hall-China Tea Party gelding in the PA Sires Stakes before opting for the stallion series — at least for now.

“Some of those horses in the sires stakes will be going under 1:54,” Saul said of his $42,000 yearling acquisition. “He didn’t race last year, so we just wanted to bring him along. He’s eligible to the Currier & Ives, so we’ll probably point him to that.”

Born To Fight made short work of the field following a quarter-pole move to the lead, prevailing in a career-best 1:57.1. The Traveler was second, two lengths back, while Frac rallied for show. Brian Zendt drove for trainer Bill Zendt.

Chris Gooden photos

Kevin Decker, director of racing for The Meadows Racetrack & Casino, presented the USHWA-Keystone Chapter award for Best Horse of 2012 to Steven Brown and Rich Gillock.

Stakes racing resumes Friday at The Meadows with the Super Bowl, a $243,495 PaSS for sophomore colt and gelding trotters. First post is 6:55 p.m.

Prior to Wednesday’s card, the Keystone Chapter of the United States Harness Writers Association presented trophies to four winners of “Best of 2012” awards.

Honored were Dave Palone, Mary Lib Miller Award; Ron Burke, Trainer of the Year; Foiled Again, PA-sired Horse of the Year and Winning Mister, PA Horse of the Year.

Rich Gillock, Winning Mister’s trainer, and Steven Brown, grandson of Bob Key, Winning Mister’s owner/breeder, accepted the award.