Lebanon, OH — The betting public got it right on Tuesday (Feb. 2) at Miami Valley Raceway, as It’s A Herbie lived up to 4-5 odds-on billing in the $22,000 Open Handicap Trot.

It’s A Herbie knocked on the door with a runner-up finish in last week’s Open Trot at Miami Valley, then burst through it on Tuesday with a convincing 1:55.1 victory in the $22,000 feature race. Conrad photo.

Following a second-place finish in last week’s Open, the 5-year-old son of Here Comes Herbie turned in a relatively easy 1:55.1 victory for driver-trainer LeWayne Miller, besting Workinitonbroadway (Chris Page) and long shot Milford’s Z Tam (Mitchell Cushing). It was the 15th career triumph for the winner, boosting his lifetime bounty to $465,242 for owner Verlin Yoder.

The Tuesday matinee also featured first-round action in the Survivor Series for $5,000 claiming pacing mares, divided into three divisions. The winners over the sloppy track were Princess Oshie (Trace Tetrick, 1:57.4, $4.20), Dilly Dali (Dan Noble, 1:58, $3.20) and Mary Catherine A (Tetrick, 1:58.4, $3.20).

The top six finishers in each of the three divisions advanced to round two, which will be contested in a pair of $7,500 splits, and determine the 10 finalists for the $15,000 series final on Feb. 15.

The R. J. Brown Memorial trotting series for non-winners of two races or $20,000 also got underway with four full fields. Howyadoinbub (Noble, 1:59.3, $3.80), Ti Punch (Josh Sutton, 2:02.2, $10.80), Pick Me Upper (Brandon Bates, 1:58.2, $4.40) and Circle Of Life As (Tyler Smith, 2:01.1, $51.00) won their respective $10,000 divisions. Many of the same green trotters will compete in $12,000 second-round divisions next week before the top money winners gather for a $20,000 final on Feb. 16.

Racing at Miami Valley will next take place on Friday (Feb. 5) with a 4:05 p.m. post time. Following another 4:05 p.m. start on Saturday (Feb. 6), Miami Valley will start at 12:05 p.m. on Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 7).