Oak Grove, KY – On a day that the United States Harness Driving Club honored the work of Volunteer Equine Advocates for its dedication to providing a safe haven and support for Tennessee’s equines in need, Cassidy Whitton guided her own Anns Marina Delray to a sharp 1:54.4 win in the USHDC feature at Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel on Monday (May 4).
Whitton only found room on the inside less than a 16th from the wire with Anns Marina Delray and the 6-year-old daughter of Big Bad John responded with a burst of speed leaving her three-parts-of-a-length in front over the pacesetting Swing Dancing, driven by Peter Kleinhans.
Mankat was another neck back in third for Gary Campbell while the favorite, April’s Big Guy, was a good closing fourth for Matthew Wilson.
Picksixking, handled by Dein Spriggs, was last in the nine horse field, almost 15 lengths away, for the first half-mile and closed fastest of all to pick up the nickel, just two lengths back at the wire.
At the outset, Anns Marina Delray was away in good order from post 3, quickly joined by Happierdaysrcomin from post 5 and Swing Dancing from the outside post 9, Those three – Swing Dancing, Happierdaysrcomin and Anna Marina Delray – were 1-2-3, with Mankat joining the fray on the outside through opening panels of :26.1 and :55.
On the backside, Whitton was looking for a second-over journey with her charge but was forced to be patient as Mankat wouldn’t give up on the outside past the three-quarters in 1:23.2.
Desperate for room, Whitten squeezed through a sliver on the inside to forge to the front in the final yards, rewarding her faithful with a mutuel two cents shy of $8.
After the race, Whitton reflected, “I was forced to be patient as I was looking for a second-over trip, but Campbell’s horse kept digging on the outside, too, so I was forced to stay inside and just pray for some room somewhere in the stretch.
“I found some late and it all worked out for the best!”
As for the winner’s circle following, a large contingency attended the festivities and donation ceremonies honoring Volunteer Equine Advocates for its tireless work with law enforcement in cases of animal cruelty, providing professional care for abused, neglected and abandoned equines, a mission that began in 2003.
Kelsey Rast, spokesperson for Volunteer Equine Advocates, summed up the day saying, “We appreciate this donation beyond words because we rely on these outside donations to survive and continue our ‘volunteer’ work.
“We also appreciate the hospitality of the Oak Grove Racing group and the amateur harness driving club as we got to be in the starting gate and announcer’s booth along with a barn tour and it was truly a memorable day for us!”
Future donations are on tap for Redemption Ranch, Safe Harbor Sanctuary and the Christian County 4-H Club as Oak Grove Racing and Gaming and the USHDC team together in their quest to put harness racing in a positive light in their surrounding communities and counties.