Vernon, NY —Jimmy Whittemore scored his second straight driving grand slam on Friday (April 23) at Vernon Downs.

Major Leaguer was the highlight of driver Jimmy Whittemore’s Friday grand slam at Vernon Downs. Fotowon photo.

Major Leaguer ($2.10) breezed to a 1:53.1 win in the $5,000 featured pace, giving Whittemore his biggest win of the night. Major Leaguer charged right to the front and led to the first quarter in :27.4 and the half in :56.2. Twin B Impressive (John MacDonald) followed the whole way and watched Major Leaguer hit three-quarters in 1:24.3. Turning for home, Twin B Impressive went all out, but had to settle for second as Major Leaguer was too strong. Junior’s Dew (Leon Bailey) finished third.

Major Leaguer is a 7-year-old gelding by Art Major owned by Whittemore and trained by Marissa Chadbourne. It was his first win of the season and 34th of his career.

Whittemore’s other driving wins came with Frisky Joe ($8.20), Ladyyouaregorgeous ($9.30) and Love Yourself ($21.20).

Long shot Unusual Clarity (Ron Harp) shocked the field to win the co-featured $5,000 fillies and mares pace, returning an astounding $243.50 to her backers in her victorious seasonal debut.

Peggy J (Chris Long) carved out early fractions of :27, :55.2 and 1:24.2, and Unusual Clarity found herself in fifth after three-quarters. Peggy J looked like she was going to breeze home in the stretch, but Unusual Clarity came flying late to narrowly win in 1:53.4. Peggy J had to settle for second; P L Notorious (Justin Huckabone) finished third.

Unusual Clarity is a 6-year-old mare by Betterthancheddar whom Harp trains for owner Nicholas Gibides. She has won 19 times in her career.

Live racing returns to Vernon Downs on Saturday (April 24) with an eight-race card starting at 6:10 p.m.

For more information, go to www.vernondowns.com.