Lebanon, OH — Dojea Gizmo, who won the final two Opens at Hollywood Dayton Raceway in December, got his initial triumph of the 2022 season in Thursday’s (Feb. 10) $30,000 Open Handicap Pace at Miami Valley Raceway.

Dojea Gizmo held off GD Western Joe in Thursday’s $30,000 Open Handicap at Miami Valley. Conrad photo.

Driver Trevor Smith took full advantage of an inside post draw to benefit from a two-hole trip behind pacesetter He’zzz A Wise Sky (John DeLong), who shipped in from Hawthorne riding a four-race win streak. GD Western Joe (Chris Page) rallied for second; favorite Sectionline Bigry (Brett Miller) finished third in the talented field with combined earnings of almost $4 million. He’zzz A Wise Sky faded to ninth after being engulfed in upper stretch.

Todd Luther trains Dojea Gizmo for Black Magic Racing of Blacklick, Ohio. The 5-year-old gelded son of Tellitlikeitis now possesses 18 wins and $324,544 in earnings with a lifetime best of 1:49 at The Meadowlands.

Americanprimetime (Page) notched his 50th career victory in a high conditioned pace on the undercard. The 10-year-old by American Ideal, owned by the Rock & Roll Stable and trained by Ken Rucker, has $865,913 in lifetime bounty and also owns a 1:49 speed badge taken at The Meadowlands.

Two first-leg divisions of the $30,000 Claim To Fame series were also contested. In the first split, Ubuntu (Dan Noble) just held off Bell I No (Sam Widger) with Fox Valley Hustler (Mitch Cushing) finishing third. Although three horses claimed were from the race, the winner — owned by Norma Rae Racing of Xenia, Ohio — was not one of them.

Levi (Widger) bested Voracity (Noble) and Threeofthebest A (Trace Tetrick) in the second division. There were 10 claims entered on the runner-up, with the successful claimant being trainer Mike Peterson.

There will be an abbreviated make-up program on Friday (Feb. 11) with an earlier first race post time at 2:00 p.m.