Oak Grove, KY — Perched in the pocket behind his tempo-setting stablemate, Swan Flyer found a seam to the inside and powered through to a 1:53 victory in the $33,000 Open Trot at Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel on Tuesday (May 7).

Leaving from post five, driver Brandon Bates managed to tuck Swan Flyer into the pocket behind even-money choice Oh Look Magic (driven by Devon Tharps) as Sweet Mr Pinetucky (Marvin Luna) yielded in third through a :26.2 burner to the stands for the first time. Oh Look Magic then snatched a breather to a :55.2 half and accelerated for the backside with Pioneer As (Tony Hall) looming first over on the rim. Past three-quarters in 1:23.2, Oh Look Magic stayed strong through the turn but grew tired and drifted on the spin for home, opening a lane for Swan Flyer to fire through in the lane. Swan Flyer then surged past Pioneer As in the straightaway to snag the win by 1-1/4 lengths while Usosweet Blue Chip (Atlee Bender) closed for third and Oh Look Magic settled for fourth.

Swan Flyer takes the open trot at Oak Grove on Tuesday for Brandon Bates. Herron photo.

Swan Flyer has now won 16 races from 58 starts and earned $276,092. Ron Burke trains the 5-year-old gelding by Swan For All for owners FAC Racing LLC, Joseph Di Scala Jr. and Yannick Gingras. He paid $17.40 to win.

Live racing resumes at Oak Grove on Monday (May 13) at 3 p.m. (CDT) and features the $100,000 finals of the Kentucky Sires Stakes for 4-year-olds of each gait and sex. Free program pages for every race day, courtesy of TrackMaster, are available on the Oak Grove Racing website (https://www.oakgrovegaming.com/racing/handicapping-resources/).