Columbus, MN – The Sunday night (June 30) harness racing program at Running Aces was highlighted by the $42,750 Ron Banks Memorial FFA mares pace and the 2025 edition delivered plenty of action and excitement.
Lloyd’s Loves (Rick Magee) was the 3-2 public choice while Kele Kele (Brady Jenson) was a close second in the wagering at 9-5 and Scorecard Dandy (Dean Magee) was the 5-1 third pick.
There was plenty of action as soon as the gate folded as Twist Little Girl N (Mooney Svendsen) powered away from post seven and Lloyd’s Loves charged out from post three to duel early for the front while Kele Kele also chimed into the battle from post four to contest the top with Ideal Skies (Luke Plano) settling away in fourth.
Twist Little Girl N had the call at the fast :26.2 quarter-mile point before Kele Kele pressed by for a brief lead and then relinquished the top to a post quarter-pole move by Lloyd’s Loves before the swift :54.4 half-mile clocking.
Lloyd’s Loves held court down the backside as Majors Miracle (Josiah Miller) attacked from first-over and Scorecard Dandy picked up the cover to travel in a close striking position while Ideal Skies was locked and shuffled as they headed for the far turn.
Lloyd’s Loves still had command at the three-quarters in 1:23.2 and Majors Miracle was still trying hard on the outside of the leader as the rest of the field began to stack up.
As they swung for home Lloyd’s Loves was under siege as Scorecard Dandy and Kele Kele were both surging strong and Ideal Skies was able to shake free and angle out for clearance to unleash a breathtaking late rally between horses while Graceful Horizon closed wide from the back of the pack.
The final sixteenth of a mile was a thrilling dash to the wire as Scorecard Dandy took a short lead with Kele Kele surging inside but Ideal Skies was flying home and swept by that pair in the final two strides to get the victory at 23-1 on the board in the 1:52.1 mile. The winning margin was a half-length over Scorecard Dandy while Kele Kele was a further neck back in third and Graceful Horizon checked home in fourth.
The winner is a 4-year-old daughter of American Ideal, owned by Friendship Stables and trained by Maria Alvarez for the Williams Hernandez stable. She now shows six wins this year and 14 career wins with total earnings of $180,053.
Attraente (Gimpanzee) delivered an eye popping performance in a $9,000 conditioned trot event, going gate-to-wire as the favorite from post five with Josiah Miller at the controls and lowering her own track record for sophomore fillies to 1:54.4 in the process. She is now a perfect 4-for-4 in 2025 for owners Jana Rucker and CJ Christianson and trainer Elson Miller. The win mutuel was $4.60.
BP’s Lucky Star (For You Almostfree, $10.20) rallied late to pick up his second-straight Open Handicap trot victory with Lemoyne Svendsen at the controls, stopping the timer in 1:56.1 while 1-3/4 lengths in front of his rivals in the $14,750 event. It was the 15th career win for the 5-year-old gelding for owner/trainer Rick Huffman and additional owner Brenda Lovetinsky.
Peanutbutterfalcon (Quality Kemp) converted a perfect pocket trip into a 2-3/4 length score as the heavy favorite in the $21,000 Minnesota-sired sophomore ‘A’ trot in 2:00 for his third win of the season for owner Jeralene Roland and trainer Dan Roland. Rick Magee was the winning pilot and the win mutuel was $2.60.
Quality Kid (Quality Kemp, $4.80) posted a big closing effort to capture the $14,000 sophomore ‘B’ trot with a career-best 2:00 effort over Flora Cash and SV Captain Ridge. Nick Roland was the winning driver for owners Jay DeLong, Ken Stauffer and Stephanie Anfinson and trainer Justin Anfinson.
Sunday’s leaders included Maria Alvarez with three training wins, Nick Roland, Mooney Svendsen, Josiah Miller and Billy Mann with driving doubles, and Elson Miller with a training double.
Live racing returns to Running Aces for a nine-race program Tuesday night (July 1) with first post at 7 p.m. (CDT).