Lebanon, OH — No Foolin April went coast to coast to win the featured $36,000 Filly and Mare Open on Thursday night (April 30) at Miami Valley Raceway.
Leaving from post 6, No Foolin April cleared to the front before the opening turn. Dragon By The Sea protected rail position and got away second with Foxy Hill away third. The field was in straight alignment past the opening quarter in :26.4. As they passed the stands for the first time, High Flyin’ Filly led the charge first-up with Beautiful Seaside on her tail and Golden Magic third-over past the half in :55.2.
As they rolled up the backside, the order remained the same with No Foolin April leading first-over High Flyin’ Filly with Dragon By The Sea and Beautiful Seaside right behind. As they passed three-quarters in 1:23.2, High Flyin’ Filly used a quick burst of speed around the final turn to take the lead by a length, but she wasn’t able to clear No Foolin April, who dug back in and drew even at the top of the stretch. Into the stretch, No Foolin April inched away again to lead by three-quarters of a length as High Flyin’ Filly succumbed to the overland trip. Beautiful Seaside flipped off her cover and closed on the outside while Dragon By The Sea attacked up the rail, but they couldn’t catch No Foolin April, who won by a neck over Beautiful Seaside and Dragon By The Sea in 1:52. The entire field was covered by just 2 lengths.
No Foolin April won the first Filly and Mare Open of the meet back in January and then the last Filly and Mare Open of the meet, also taking three more in between to lead all mares with five wins in the Open. She also led all pacers at the 2026 meet with $111,600 in earnings. It was the 22nd lifetime win in just 65 starts for No Foolin April, who competes as a homebred for owner/trainer Adam Short.
Brett Miller led all drivers with three wins on the card. Chris Page, Luke and Austin Hanners and Trevor Smith each had a double while Mark Winters had a training double.
Closing day for the 2026 harness racing season at Miami Valley is Saturday (May 2) with a special post time of 1 p.m. The card will feature the Grade 3 $100,000 Pacey Mindlin Invitational and eight divisions of the Ohio Sires Stakes.