Columbus, MN — Among the featured events on the Sunday (June 23) program at Running Aces was the $15,500 Open Handicap Trot, which saw a talented field of seven line up behind the gate.

Domovoy (Triumphant Caviar) was making his second local outing and drew the attention of the betting public after a solid third place finish last week at the top level. Luke Plano was tapped for the driving assignment this week and the pair were sent off as the 2-1 choice from post four.

Domovoy became the fastest trotter ever at Running Aces with an eye-opening 1:53 victory in the Open Trot. Nicole Tate photo.

Plano let Iron Sharpens Iron (Brad Irvine) go to the front early before making his move to take the lead just before the :27.4 quarter-mile. Iron Sharpens Iron tracked in the pocket as Domovoy got settled on the lead and Grab Da Moni (Rick Magee) launched a first-over bid near the :56.2 half-mile juncture.

Domovoy kicked into high gear down the backstretch and opened up by 6 lengths before Grab Da Moni took over the second spot near the fast three-quarter clocking in 1:24.1.

Grab Da Moni briefly closed the gap to four lengths, but as they straightened for the finish Domovoy again kicked into high gear and kicked clear to score by an eye-opening 6-3/4 lengths with seemingly more to give while Grab Da Moni was second best and well clear of Majestic J (Elson Miller) who rallied late for third.

Domovoy ($6.40) became the fastest trotter ever at Running Aces when the timer flashed 1:53 for the mile to shatter the previous record for 4-year-old geldings (1:54.4 in 2023) and also smash the previous overall trotting record (1:53.4 in 2018).

The winner is out of the Chip Chip Hooray mare Nessa Rose and is owned by Dave Dobbelmann and Tom Carney and is trained by Edwin Quevedo. The record time was also a new career mark for the winner of 12 races and $155,980.

Also featured on the Sunday card were two elimination heats for the 2024 Ron Banks Memorial FFA Mares Pace, each going for a purse of $17,500.

Better Double Flip (Dean Magee, $38.20) pulled the upset in the first split in 1:52.3.

After getting away fourth early, Magee sent the 5-year-old daughter of Betterthancheddar on a first-over mission that saw them stalk race leader and favorite Majors Miracle (Miller) through the final half-mile and surge past in the lane for a 1-1/4 length victory while Racin For Royalty (Brady Jenson) picked up third money.

The winner is owned by Wilson Racing Stable Inc. and Ann Calvert and is trained by Tim Wilson Jr. along with assistant Jenni De Menge.

Illusion Seelster (Jacob Cutting, $4.20) posted a powerful gate-to-wire performance in the second division in a very fast 1:51.1 mile, checking home one length better than Two Pistol Annie (James Kennedy) with Ain’t She Special (Plano) getting home in third.

The winner is a 4-year-old daughter of State Treasurer owned by Terrence Smith and trained by Williams Hernandez.

The other horses that earned spots in the Banks Memorial final include fourth place finishers Fox Valley Leah and Graceful Horizon as well as the fastest fifth place finisher Premier Delight. The $35,000 event will be the feature race on the Sunday (June 30) program.

Trainer Williams Hernandez led the Sunday night program with four winners, while drivers Luke Plano, Jacob Cutting and Rick Magee all posted doubles.

Live racing returns to Running Aces on Tuesday night (June 25) for a nine-race program that will get underway at 7 p.m. (CDT) and will feature a carryover pool of $2,729.93 for the 20-cent Jackpot Pick-5 wager which starts in race five.