Anderson, IN — Golden Bay N, driven by Trace Tetrick for trainer Tyler George, was in strong command to conquer the $22,000 Open Pace at Harrah’s Hoosier Park on Friday (May 29) in wire-to-wire fashion.
Shooting out of the gate in post 3, Golden Bay N spearheaded to the rail, beating out the rest of the six-horse field to the opening turn. The pacers soon found their spots as Sanday A (Brandon Bates) settled in behind Ardens Ace N (LeWayne Miller), who sat in behind the leader Golden Bay N meeting the quarter in :26.4.
Racing as a loose leader on the backstretch, Golden Bay N started to build some breathing room from the single-file field. Grabbing the halfway point in :54.4, Golden Bay N remained in cruise control as the field remained unchanged before the post time favorite, Crooked Smile (Jordan Ross), bounced to the outside from fifth while Golden Bay N opened up by three 3 at three-quarters in 1:22.4. Crooked Smile continued to gain ground with M-M-S Bud (John DeLong) tagging along from behind.
M-M-S Bud attempted a late charge at the leader; however, Golden Bay N had the door shut since the start of the race, nailing the wire in 1:49.4 to win by an easy length.
M-M-S Bud accelerated into second with Fox Valley Kodiak (Kyle Wilfong) rallying for third.
The 7-year-old Downbytheseaside gelding is owned by Castaldo Racing Stable and T G Stable LLC. Golden Bay N improved his lifetime earnings to $244,203 for his second win of the season. Golden Bay N paid $8.20.
Capitalizing on a fast track at Hoosier, Rip Wheeler, driven by Brandon Bates for trainer Walter Haynes Jr., set the fastest mile of the meet thus far at 1:48.1 in the $18,000 Open 2-3.
Rip Wheeler started out of post 4, zooming to the lead meeting the first quarter in :26.1. Rip Wheeler remained the leader at the halfway point in 53.4 despite pressure from Naturally Gifted A (Atlee Bender). Rip Wheeler lost the lead briefly before regaining the lead at the three-quarters in 1:21. Building steam down the stretch despite drifting out, Rip Wheeler cruised by 3-1/4 lengths on the wire over Shooting In Place (Jordan Ross) and Yourwishisgranted (Kevin Lambright).
The winning 7-year-old Rockin Image gelding is owned by Jeff Fought Racing, Brain Carsey, David Fought and Lili Haynes. Matching his career mark, Rip Wheeler boosted his lifetime earnings to $612,364 to claim his fifth win of the season. Rip Wheeler paid $12.60 to win.
Racing for the week at Harrah’s Hoosier Park concludes on Saturday (May 30) with a 12-race program set to get underway at 5:30 p.m. The $22,000 Open Trot in race 8 serves as the headliner on Saturday, with On To Norway in search of his 26th consecutive victory from the outside post 8.