Hastings, MI — Rankin and driver David Lake lowered their own track record for aged gelding trotters Tuesday afternoon (Sept. 29), stopping the timer in 1:58 to capture the featured $30,000 Open Trot at Northville Downs at Barry Expo Center.
The performance shaved two-fifths of a second off Rankin’s previous record of 1:58.2, which the 5-year-old gelding established just last week.
Rankin and Lake left sharply from post position 6, grabbing the early lead and never looking back. The pair cruised to a 3-length victory in 1:58, giving Rankin another impressive accomplishment to add to his resume.
Rankin (Enterprise-Luvyaformiles) is bred, owned and trained by Judy Roegner, who continues to lead all trainers in wins at the current meet.
The victory was the 32nd of Rankin’s career and pushed his lifetime earnings to $179,092.
Joe Casagranda led all trainers on the program with two victories, while Casagranda and Lake each recorded a pair of driving wins.
Live racing returns to the Hastings oval for the final time this year on Wednesday (Sept. 30) with a 1 p.m. (EDT) first-race post time.