Lebanon, OH – I Did It Myway had his way with the field, going wire to wire to win the $36,000 Miami Valley Open pace on Sunday evening (Feb. 1)
Leaving from post four, Jeremy Smith and I Did It Myway fired off the gate and quickly assumed command as the field settled in file past an opening quarter of :27. As the field rolled past the line for the first time, I Did It Myway continued to show the way while Joelsyy Hanover popped out from third to lead the first up charge. Better Is Nice tagged that first over cover while Humble A followed out third over.
As they passed the half in :55.4, I Did It Myway maintained his lead by a length and a half while first over Joelsyy Hanover stalled and started sliding backwards, forcing Better Is Nice to go three wide earlier than anticipated. As they passed the three-quarter pole in 1:22.4, I Did It Myway finally got a little pressure from Better Is Nice, but that pressure was short lived as the leader rebuffed that effort and started to ease away around the final turn.
As they turned for home, the question was no longer if I Did It Myway will win, but by how many, and the answer to that was by a comfortable two and quarter lengths under a hand drive in 1:51. Better Is Nice grinded it out for second while a late hard charging Little Rocket Man rounded out the trifecta.
For I Did It Myway, the win his first of the year and first his new barn under trainer Virgil Morgan, Jr. It was career win number 38 for the 7-year-old, with lifetime earnings now at $1.46 million.
Jeremy Smith led all drivers with four wins on the night’s card. David Miller followed closely with three while Chris Page made two trips to the winner’s circle. Trainer Elson Miller had double.
Racing action returns Monday (Feb. 2) night at Miami Valley with a post of 4 p.m.
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