Lebanon, OH — Tie The Knot went gate-to-wire to take the featured $17,000 conditioned claiming pace at Miami Valley Raceway on Friday night (April 17).
Starting from post 5, 2-5 favorite Tie The Knot and Austin Hanners sprinted quickly out to the lead, opening up by 3 lengths through a :26.3 quarter. As the headed past the stands for the first time, Tie The Knot continued her speed mission, leading by 2 lengths over Sea Her Rule with Odds On Alexandria pressing first-over. As they passed the half in :55.1, Tie The Knot continued to show the way with Odds On Alexandria moving into second, a neck ahead of Sea Her Rule in the pocket.
With no urging and just a loosening of the lines, Tie The Knot unleashed a :27.3 third quarter to open up again by 2 lengths past the 1:22.4 three-quarters. As they paced the final turn, Tie The Knot’s lead continued to grow, now 4 lengths as they turned for home. She cruised home with a :27.4 final quarter to stop the timer in a new lifetime mark of 1:50.3. Sea Her Rule was easily clear for second while Annaberry rallied from seventh to third.
For the Robert Cleary-trained Tie The Knot, the win was her second of the year and sixth overall win in just 22 lifetime starts, pushing her lifetime earnings to just over $77,000.
David Miller had a grand slam on the card with Chris Page, Luke Hanners and Tyler Smith each picking up a double.
With just two weeks left to go in the Miami Valley season, David Miller continues to lead the drivers’ standings with 147 wins. Chris Page (137) sits second with Brett Miller (104), Luke Hanners (100) and Tyler Smith (78) rounding out the top five.
On the training side, Ron Burke and his 71 wins have all but sewn up the training title. The battle remains for second as Virgil Morgan Jr. (46) has a slim lead over Heather France (45). Steve Carter (38) and Mike Hitchcock (31) round out the top five.
Racing action at Miami Valley returns this Sunday (April 19) with a normal post time of 4 p.m.