Dayton, OH — Sophomore filly pacer Vel Im All Fire was 0-for-27 lifetime. In the last 10 days, she is two-for-two thanks to a front-stepping win in the $9,000 conditioned claiming pace Tuesday evening (Dec. 9) at Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway.
When the field of nine was sent on their way, a three-way battle ensued for early control between Apple Town (Trace Tertick), Vel Im All Fire (Cam McCown) and RKs Captain (Luke Hanners).
RKs Captain from post 8 was parked on the outside at the opening quarter in :27.4.
McCown didn’t want to sit in the pocket and was right back out as the field went past the grandstands for the first time.
Vel Im All Fire went into the strong headwind and tripped the half-mile beam in :58.1.
Tetrick moved the betting favorite to the outside and led four outside challengers at the three-quarters in 1:26.1.
RKs Captain was patient in the pocket and had a clear shot at the leader, but Vel Im All Fire had enough in the tank to score a 1-1/2-length victory in a lifetime best 1:54.4.
Apple Town held on for third.
The winning Straight Shooting filly is conditioned by Nathan Alexander for A I R Stable.
The win was the third of the evening for McCown.
Another driver that had a good evening was Dayton Raceway’s leading reinsman, Chris Page, who returned to the winner’s circle five times during the 14-race card.
Page guided four Ron Burke trainees to victory: Brink Street (1:56), Hilltop Sonar (1:54.1), Bravo Hill (1:57.2) and Banderas (1:52). His other winner was the Steve Carter-trained Beach Master Keene (1:54.4).
The Delaware, Ohio-based pilot has a stranglehold on the drivers’ standings with a 42-win lead over Tyler Smith, who is currently second.
Burke has a 50-38 edge over Carter in the training race.
Racing returns to Dayton Raceway on Wednesday (Dec. 10) with a 4 p.m. post time. Free past performance pages are available at hollywooddaytonraceway.com.