Dayton, OH – Lethal Legacy and driver/trainer Hugh Beatty survived an early five-wide battle and held off a late charge from Castro (Brett Miller) to capture the featured $16,500 conditioned trot on Tuesday (Oct. 20) at Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway.
When the gate folded, five horses left aggressively, creating early confusion. Lethal Legacy emerged with the lead and guided the field of eight through a :28.3 opening quarter.
Water Slide (Tyler Smith) was the first to pull and advanced to second before the grandstand, reaching the half in :58.
Lethal Legacy and Water Slide raced stride-for-stride up the backstretch and passed the three-quarter marker in 1:26.
Around the final turn, Lethal Legacy opened a comfortable advantage, but Castro mounted a furious late rally. At the wire, Lethal Legacy held on by a neck in 1:55. An Honest Buck completed the trifecta.
The sophomore gelded son of Muscle Hill is owned by Roger Wallace and Larry Riffe.
Beatty enjoyed a productive evening, recording two driving wins and two training victories on the 14-race program.
Driver Cameron McCown continued his hot streak, winning three races on the card and six over the past two race nights. McCown steered Vel Lets Be Fair to a 1:57 victory in a $10,000 conditioned claiming pace.
Racing from mid-pack at the half, McCown found room up the backstretch and launched a rally that wore down 51-1 long shot Romeo’s Lady (Jeremy Smith) in the final strides to score by a half length. The betting favorite, War Cry and driver Kayne Kauffman, finished third.
Vel Lets Be Fair is owned by trainer Larry King’s King Racing Stable.
McCown’s other victories came aboard Tonic Treasure (1:53.4) and Liberty Biberty (1:53.3).
Not to be outdone, Tyler Smith also registered a driving triple, winning with American Fashion (1:55.2), Huntinformischief (1:53.3) and Galen Erso (1:54).
Racing action at the Dayton oval continues on Wednesday and Thursday (Oct. 21-22). First post is 4 p.m.