Lebanon, OH — Winning Ticket and driver Aaron Merriman never had an anxious moment in Tuesday’s (April 13) $40,000 final of the James K. Hackett Memorial for Ohio-sired 3-year-old trotting colts and geldings at Miami Valley Raceway, crushing the competition in 1:54.

What little competition there was came from the same barn, as trainer Chris Beaver harnessed the top three finishers in the event.

Winning Ticket, driven by Aaron Merriman, led a sweep of the top three positions in the James K. Hackett Memorial for trainer Chris Beaver. Conrad photo.

Merriman sent the heavily favored son of Triumphant Caviar immediately to the lead and never got a serious challenge before pulling away by better than three lengths over stablemates Panzano (Dan Noble) and Tango With Me (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.). Winning Ticket lowered his lifetime record by well over a second with the convincing win and now has six wins in 10 career starts.

Winning Ticket is another in a long list of Triumphant Caviar-sired trotters that have graced the Beaver Stable over the last decade, earning Chris Beaver the nickname “Ohio Trotting Guru.”

“It is true that Triumphant Caviar has been very good to me and my owners,” Beaver acknowledged in a post-race interview. “But,” he exclaimed, “I think the landscape is changing. I’ve been a staunch supporter of Triumphant Caviar for years, but I think the What The Hills (whose oldest foals are now 2-year-olds) may be even better. I’ve got quite a few in training, and I think they are going to shake things up in Ohio.”

A pair of other trots shared the spotlight at Miami Valley on Tuesday afternoon.

Mission Accepted (Chris Page) downed Lane Of Stone (Jeff Nisonger) and It’s A Herbie (LeWayne Miller) in the $20,000 Open Handicap Trot, setting splits of :27.3, :56.2 and 1:24 before stopping the clock in 1:52. The Ohio-sired 6-year-old son of Manofmanymissions has 22 career victories and $914,497 in earnings.

In the $18,000 top-level conditioned trot, Yanks Dugout (Brett Miller) sped to a 1:53.4 score over Mr Charmbro (Tyler Smith) and Sweet Mr Pinetucky (Page), establishing a new track record for 4-year-old trotting geldings. The triumph was the 10th in 20 lifetime starts for the son of Triumphant Caviar, whom trainer Duke Sugg co-owns with his father, Ivan.

Racing at Miami Valley resumes Friday (April 16) and Saturday (April 17) with 4:05 p.m. post times. Top Ohio fillies will contest the $40,000 Hackett Memorial championship on Friday, while colts will round out the 2021 Hackett Memorials when the glamour division squares off on Saturday.