Miki And Minnie, Louprint superb in $300,000 PASS Championships

Washington, PA — Miki And Minnie (Always B Miki) and Louprint (Sweet Lou), the top two 3-year-old pacers in harness racing’s Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll at Nos. 1 and 4, respectively, delivered victorious performances as the odds-on favorites in their $300,000 Pennsylvania Sire Stakes championships on Saturday (Sept. 6) at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows. Fashion Green and Highlandstarburst took the finals for sophomore trotters.

Miki And Minnie stretches streak to seven in filly pace

Craig Henderson, Robert Mondillo and Lawrence Minowitz’s homebred Miki And Minnie used a :26.3 backside blitz to overpower Rodeo Drive Deo en route to a two-length, 1:49.4 win in the PASS championship for 3-year-old pacing fillies, eclipsing $1.5 million in career earnings and scoring her seventh straight win in the act.

Last year’s Dan Patch Award-winning freshman pacing filly, Miki And Minnie came away an unhurried third in line to Dexter Dunn while Ron Burke stablemates Rodeo Drive Deo (driven by David Miller) and Always Ana Hanover (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) lined up one-two through a :26.4 first quarter. After continuing to track from third behind a :55 half, Dunn pulled the right line on Miki And Minnie up the backstretch, and the Always B Miki-That’s The Ticket filly ground forward through the far turn to overtake Rodeo Drive Deo at the eighth pole and defeat her by a widening two lengths.

Time Of The Season (Andy McCarthy) rallied mildly to save third from a weakening Always Ana Hanover.

MIKI AND MINNIE REPLAY

Hall of Famer Chris Ryder trains Miki And Minnie, who improved to 10-for-11 this season and 16-of-22 in her career and paid $2.20 to win.

Louprint rides Lightning Lane to male pace championship

Simply put, he’s back.

After missing many of the summer’s major dances on account of an emergency surgery in July, 2024 Dan Patch Award winner and 2025 Pepsi North America Cup champion Louprint asserted his dominance in the sophomore male pacing division with a two-move, 1:48.4 win over Adios champion Prince Hal Hanover, extending his seasonal unbeaten record to seven-for-seven.

Louprint and driver Ronnie Wrenn Jr. won a three-horse skirmish for the lead through a :26.2 first split before yielding to Prince Hal Hanover (Todd McCarthy) with a circuit to go. Louprint drafted closely from the pocket through middle splits of :54.3 and 1:21.4 before angling to the open stretch and lunging to reclaim the lead in deep stretch and beat Prince Hal Hanover by a neck. Twisted Destiny (Dunn), who launched a first-over bid up the backstretch, sustained his progress to finish third, beaten just three-quarters of a length.

LOUPRINT REPLAY

Now 14-for-17 in his career, Ron Burke trainee Louprint has banked over $1.3 million for Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi, Phil Collura and Larry Karr. He paid $2.80.

Fashion Green, Highlandstarburst tops in PASS trot championships

Fashion Green called all the shots en route to a decisive 1:52.2 victory in the male trot, while Highlandstarburst pulled the pocket on Hangover to post a 1:53.3 triumph in the filly trot.

In line to Tim Tetrick, Fashion Green vaulted from post eight to clear Hey Porter (Dunn) through a :27.4 quarter and traveled unopposed on the lead through middle fractions of :56.2 and 1:24.1. The Greenshoe-Fashion Athena gelding widened his lead steadily through the far turn, and he evaded a stand-side rally from 2-1 favorite Meshuggah (Scott Zeron) to win by 3-1/2 lengths. Big Shoes (Yannick Gingras) finished third over the failing Hey Porter.

FASHION GREEN REPLAY

Jim Campbell trains nine-time winner Fashion Green, who competes as a homebred for Fashion Farms and paid $6.40 to win.

In the filly trot, Yannick Gingras opted for a pocket trip with Highlandstarburst after a :27.3 first-quarter duel with 3-5 favorite Hangover (Dave Palone), initially pushing clear off the first turn before immediately yielding for the two-hole ride through a :56.2 half and 1:24.3 three-quarters. Highlandstarburst vacated the pocket midway around the final turn, and the Father Patrick-Highland Top Hill filly struck the front at the sixteenth pole before opening up to win by 2-1/4 lengths. Ms Prada (Wrenn) saved show.

Nancy Takter trains three-time winner Highlandstarburst, a Highland Thoroughbred Farm homebred who paid $6.00 to win.

For complete race results, click here: US Trotting results.

From the USTA Communications Department