by Darrin Gagne, for Running Aces

Columbus, MN –– The first session of qualifiers went to post on Saturday night (May 12) at Running Aces, signaling the start of the Minnesota harness racing season.
A total of 10 dashes went to post starting at 6 p.m. Central, featuring four trotting contests and six races on the pace.

Track record holder Banker Volo (Nick Roland) turned in the fastest time on the trot, with his victory in 1:59.2, while the 5-year-old trotting mare Whatevershesgot (Jenni King) turned in a good effort of 2:00.3 to best her qualifying field.

On the pacing side, the 7-year-old stallion Stevensville (Rick Magee) was a sharp gate-to-wire winner in 1:57.1 (:27.3 final quarter) for the fastest mile of the night.

Firedrake, last season’s Dan Patch Free-For-All champion, and a track record holder as well, took his qualifying assignment with ease, in a 2-1/4 length romp in 1:57.3 with Nick Roland in the bike.

The other qualifying winners were: Margin Call (Rick Magee) 2:04.2, SVF Cash Deposit (Elvin Zimmerman) 2:05.2 on the trot, and on the pace we saw Friskie’s Angel (Mooney Svendsen) in 1:58.3, Exsqueezeme (Mooney Svendsen) in 1:59.4, Lakota Law (Nick Roland) in 2:00.1, and an impressive win in 1:58.1 by Elusive Image (Tony Huffman)

Running Aces will offer qualifying races again on Tuesday night (May 14) with a 6 p.m. post, and the live racing season opener is on Saturday night (May 19) at 6 p.m. Live racing will be conducted three nights a week through Sept. 15, on Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday nights.