by Darrell Wood, for Shenandoah Downs

Woodstock, VA — Fixed Income cemented her status as “Horse of the Meet” by engineering a fourth straight wire-to-wire effort at Shenandoah Downs Sunday (Oct. 15) as the second pari-mutuel harness meet came to a close in Woodstock, Va.

Photo courtesy of Shenandoah Downs

Corey Kreiser accepts “Horse of The Meet” honors for Fixed Income and also was Co-Leading Trainer with Betsy Brown.

The 6-year-old Yankee Cruiser mare cut fractions of :27.3, :56.1 and 1:25.1 before hitting the wire in 1:54.2, 1-1/2 lengths ahead of Pow Chicka Pow Pow. Remarkably consistent, Cory Kreiser’s pacer authored consecutive week miles of 1:53.4, 1:54 and 1:54.1 in addition to Sunday’s effort. Fixed Income, who is out of the Abercrombie mare, La Daydreamer, has six straight wins overall.

Kreiser, of Myerstown, Pa., accepted honors as Co-Leading Trainer along with hardware for “Top Horse”. In addition to driving, he trains and owns Fixed Income. Betsy Brown, who had three wins last Sunday and another one Saturday, closed the meet strong to equal Kreiser with seven training wins.

Chuck Perry, who pulled away in the race for top driver with four wins closing weekend, took category honors with 16 wins. The 52-year-old Virginia reinsman collected his 1,000th driving victory last weekend. On Sunday, he scored with Friskie Sadie and track record holder John’s Dream.

It may not have been the richest race of the day, but it provided the most drama. Sunday’s fourth featured a rematch that had been a year in the making. Last Chance Harvey and B Blissful, Co-Horses of the Meet in 2016, squared off against each for the first time since closing day a year ago. Each collected their first wins of the 2017 meet last weekend and entered the rematch with momentum.

Summer Deo cut the first two fractions of the $5,000 conditioned race but at the five-eighths mark, Last Chance Harvey unleashed a three-wide move from fourth. The 8-year-old Full -f Fun gelding took immediate control of the field and powered home to beat runner-up B Blissful by 3-1/4 lengths in 1:55.3. The victor is owned and trained by Henry Lewis and was driven by Bill Carter. The runner-up is a 13-year-old Blissful gelding who is trained by Jimmy Viars and was driven by Perry. A year ago in their battle, Harvey prevailed when a tire went flat on B Blissful’s sulky.

The Shenandoah meet featured both attendance and handle increases, exceptional weather and competitive racing. The third season will kick off next Sept. Meet updates will be available throughout the year at shenandoahdowns.com and virginiahorseracing.com.