by Timothy M. Jones, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Springfield, IL — Pink Ribbon Day at the Illinois State Fair Wednesday bundled Colt Stake consolations and two championship events, all the while encouraging cancer awareness benefitting the Susan G. Komen Cancer Foundation, and Relay For Life.

Maxter was a 1:55.3 winner in his Illinois State Fair Final.

The Maxter juggernaut rolled on in the 3-year-old colt and gelding trot final. The Valley Victor-Oprah gelding bred by Turndorf Racing LLC of Encino, California remained undefeated. Brent Holland reined the dominant trotter to his seventh win in a row, and tenth of 13 starts.

Maxter was throttled down in fifth as the field headed up the backstretch, but brushed to the front just past the half and was never seriously challenged from there. Stopping the timer in 1:55.3, the Roger Welch trainee has 2008 earnings pushing the $150,000 mark.

Mucho Sleazy had plenty left in the tank off his 1:48 elimination effort on Saturday with a nearly effortless 1:48.4 streak around the Springfield mile oval.

Timothy M. Jones photos

Mucho Sleazy rolled to a 1:48.4 score for Mike Oosting.

King Of Kings (Andy Miller) made a late rush just to make things interesting, but to no avail. The latter blistered a :25.2 front panel from post ten as Mucho Sleazy settled for third on the rail. The Sportsmaster-Something Sleazy 3-year-old pacing machine made the lead through a :53.2 half-mile station, reached three-quarters in 1:22.3, then scalded a :26.1 final quarter for driver Mike Oosting.

Owned by the Engel Stable of Buffalo Grove, Illinois and trained by Ken Rucker, the colt stakes pace final pushed his season earnings over the $300,000 plateau.

The Fair’s grandstand was bathed in pink in honor of the Pink Ribbon campaign labeled “Harness Race for a Cure” in the day’s program, which was printed in pink.

Andy Miller and nephew Marcus donated portions of their purse earnings for the day to the Komen foundation while seated in the Miller Stable’s pink race bike.