Dayton, OH – North American dash champion Aaron Merriman made the most of his two victories at Hollywood Dayton Raceway on Friday night (Nov. 16) by winning both co-features—the $18,500 Open Trot and the $18,000 Mares Open Pace.

Pine Dream (#8) held off the late charge of Party At The Banks (#9) to win Open Handicap at Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway. Conrad Photo

In the trot, Merriman and Pine Dream turned the tables on Party At The Banks (Chris Page) by emerging from a cavalry charge to the finish line to get the nod by a scant head margin.  Optimist Blue Chip (Jeremy Smith), who cut the mile, was only beaten a neck in third, while the remainder of the 10-horse field all finished within seven lengths of the winner.

Merriman left enough from the eight-hole behind the gate to drop in fifth along the pylons in the early going.  After reaching the quarter in :28 and the half in :56.3, Pine Dream was guided to the outer flow in second-over position.  Merriman moved his mount to the third lane around the final bend and began his impressive assault on the leaders.

With Party At The Banks, seeking her second straight open triumph and sixth overall, on his bumper the pair gradually passed Monopoly Blue Chip (Kayne Kauffman), Primed N Powerful (Tyler Smith) and Anna’s Lucky Star (Mike Oosting) before emerging on the front end in the shadow of the wire.

It was the 24th career win for Pine Dream in 101 starts and pushed the 6-year-old son of Pinetucky’s lifetime bounty to $177,867.  As the upset winner, Pine Dream paid $23.80 to win.  Combined with Party At The Banks, the exacta returned a healthy $113.80.  Kelly Chupp currently trains him for Chupp Racing Stable Inc.

American Girl prevailed in the Open Pace for distaffers as a lukewarm 2-1 favorite, topping fast-closing favorite Rosemary Rose (Chris Page).  Longshot E R Hilary (Lewayne Miller) went a game trip to garner the show money.

Merriman made all the pace with American Girl, fronting the field through fractions of :26.4, :56.1 and 1:23.2 before sealing the deal in 1:51.3, the quickest of five winning miles this year for American Girl.  The 9-year-old daughter of Art’s Chip is narrowing in on the $1 million earnings plateau and lists 51 victories on her impressive resume.  Tyler George has been training American Girl in recent years for the partnership of Darla Gaskin and Stanley Rosenblatt.

Racing resumes Saturday night (Nov. 17) at Hollywood Dayton with a strong card starting at 6:15 p.m.