Lebanon, OH – Despite spending the last month in quarantine, due to an equine herpes episode involving a different horse at his training center, Pick Me Upper returned to the track on Wednesday (Jan. 4) at Miami Valley and promptly upset a full field of some of the finest trotters in the Midwest.

Pick Me Upper captures Miami Valley’s first $30,000 Open Trot of the year in 1:54. Conrad photo.

Driver Sam Widger popped the pocket at the head of the lane and wore down pacesetting Angel Nation (Tony Hall), the eventual runner-up, to grab the lion’s share of the $30,000 purse in the Open Trot. Tough Muscle (Chris Page) finished third in the talented field that had amassed $3.8 million in career earnings.

Widger left the gate with alacrity and fell into the pocket behind Angel Nation during the :28 opening quarter. The 6-year-old son of Trixton was content to continue the pocket ride through middle fractions of :57.1 and 1:25.4. Pick Me Upper’s own :28 final panel was just enough to collar Angel Nation in the final strides, stopping the clock in 1:54.
The winning 17-1 shot returned $37.80 to win, the $2 exacta returned $147, the 50-cent trifecta paid $126.80 and a good 10-cent superfecta was worth $657.24.

Walter Haynes Jr. conditions Pick Me Upper for owner Brian Carsey. He now sports 20 lifetime wins and his earnings have eclipsed the $250,000 plateau.

Racing resumes Thursday (Jan. 5) at 4 p.m. at Miami Valley Raceway. The track’s regular schedule calls for live cards on Sunday through Thursday.