by Kimberly Rinker, managing editor, Hoof Beats

Columbus, OH — MJG Racing Stables Inc. and Louis Willinger’s Lis Mara qualified in 1:49.1 this morning at The Meadowlands with Brian Sears in the bike.

The fractions of the qualifier were :28.1, :55.3 and 1:23.

Lis Mara, the 2006 Dan Patch Award winner as the sport’s leading older pacer, was second at the quarter, first by two at the half, first by three at the three-quarters, and he won by 10-3/4 lengths with a final quarter in :26.1. Last year’s Pacer of the Year and 3-year-old Colt Pacer of the Year, Total Truth, was second for driver Ron Pierce.