Dayton, OH — A trio of exceptional open pacers squared off in the initial Open Pace of Hollywood Dayton Raceway’s two-week-old 2022 season on Saturday night (Oct. 8). When the dust settled it was Chase H Hanover narrowly defeating Later Dudes and Primary Colors in 1:51 on a brisk evening over the five-eighths-mile oval.

Chase H Hanover posted a narrow triumph over Later Dudes in Dayton Raceway’s $23,000 Open Pace. Conrad photo.

Driver Mitchell Cushing, who is approaching his 1,000th career win, fired the winner to the front of the seven horse field when the wings opened, but relented to favored Later Dudes (Tony Hall) as the timer flashed :27.1 for the opening panel. Longshot Grantmeawish (Josh Sutton) defended his inside post position start to travel in third past the :55.3 halfway point and 1:23 third quarter station. At that point Primary Colors (Austin Hanners) ranged up outside to challenge the leaders.

Chase H Hanover, a 4-year-old gelded son of Captaintreacherous, vacated the pocket at the head of the stretch and eventually wore down Later Dudes by a half-length in the final strides. Primary Colors rallied for third with Grantmeawish completing the superfecta.

Virgil Morgan Jr. trains the winner for Bottom Line Racing LLC and Carl Howard. It was the 12th win in 50 lifetime starts for Chase H Hanover, increasing his purse earnings to $722,857. It was 24-year-old Cushing’s 974th victory.

Live racing takes place every Tuesday through Saturday at Hollywood Dayton with a 4 p.m. post time each day. On Tuesday, the 50-cent Pick-5 in races five through nine will feature a $2,593 carryover. The track also offers a daily $1 Pick-8 with a guaranteed pool of $25,000, beginning in race two.