61-1 longshot rules in Claim To Fame Series

It was a night for harness racing bombs at Miami Valley Raceway on Tuesday evening (Jan. 31) as both 61-1 and 26-1 longshots captured two of the three $20,000 divisions of the Claim To Fame Series.

It was a fridged 24 degrees and the track was labeled good with a one-second allowance.

The series got underway with a blast in the 5^th race first division for $20,000 claiming pacers as they were three-wide right after the start of the race.

Make A Statement A (Brett Miller) was first on the lead from post one with race favorite Whiskey Wizzard (Sam Widger) parked first-over and then three-wide was Two Oclock Johnny (Kayne Kauffman). By the first quarter in :27.1 they all straighten out with Two Oclock Johnny on the lead and Whiskey Wizzard in the two-hole.

Once around the first turn, Widger came out with Whiskey Wizzard, and they worked their way to the lead at the half mile in :56.2. Also, moving up from fourth place first-over was Bunkndunk (Rock N Roll Heaven) with driver Austin Hanners, the second longest shot on the board at 61-1. Another Daily Copy (Justine Irvine) followed Bunkndunk second-over.

By the three quarters in 1:25.3, Bunkndunk had closed the gap on pacesetter Whisky Wizzard to within a half a length but could not gain any more ground and was now blind switched on the final turn as Another Daily Copy had swept three-wide and got by Bunkndunk.

Coming down the stretch Whiskey Wizzard dug in and was holding on to his lead when all of a sudden Bunkndunk, under a furious line drive by Austin Hanners, found another gear and caught Whiskey Wizzard at the wire to win by a neck in 1:54.2. Two Oclock Johnny was third.

BUNKNDUNK REPLAY

It was the first win in five starts this year for Bunkndunk. The nine-year-old gelding is trained by Greg Forcum and owners Forcum Enterprises, Inc., Peggy Carter and Jacob Beard. Across the board Bunkndunk returned $124.40, $22.60 and $11.20.

Claimed from the 5^th race were Whiskey Wizzard and Another Daily Copy.

The second division of the series was the 7^th race where Mohawk Seelster (Chris Page) worked his way up and to the lead over Rockin Daddy O (Kayne Kauffman) in :27.2 first quarter.

Going to the half mile Always At My Place (Dan Noble) popped out of third place and cleared to the lead by the half in :55.4 leaving Littlebitaswagger (Sam Widger) first-over with 26-1 Bold And Brassy (Rock N Roll Heaven) and driver Trace Tetrick second-over.

By the three-quarters in 1:24.2, Always At My Place was in command with Littlebitaswagger gaining ground in second place on the outside. On the final turn, Tetrick took Bold And Brassy three-wide for the dash down the stretch.

With momentum from the three-wide move, Bold And Brassy had no trouble passing by the race leaders and then held off a late charge by Mohawk Seelster to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:53.3. Rockin Daddy O was third.

BOLD AND BRASSY REPLAY

It was the first start of the new year for Bold And Brassy. The nine-year-old gelding was trained by Ross Leonard for Rachel Leonard, Greg Samples and Terry Leonard and paid $54.00 to win.

Claimed from the race were five horses, including the winner Bold And Brassy along with Littlebitaswagger, Always At My Place, Revenant Blue Chip and Mcfreely.

The third and final division of the Claim To Fame Series was the 9^th race where unlike the first two divisions, the race favorite actually won.

Unloaded N (Mach Three) and driver Josh Sutton were the first on the lead with The Thunder Rolls (Chris Page) getting the two-hole seat to the quarter in :28.3.

Unloaded N would then cut fractions of :57.2 and 1:25 to the three-quarters with only Mustang Beach (Brett Miller) trying to come first-over in vain.

By the wire Unloaded N won by one and three-quarter lengths with Mastery (Austin Hanners) second and Lou’s Delight (Tyler Smith) third.

UNLOADED N REPLAY

It was the third win in four starts this year for Unloaded N. The nine-year-old gelding is trained by Adam Short for owner Herman Hagerman and paid $3.80 to win.

Claimed from the race were Mastery, Major Crocker A and Mustang Beach.

For complete race results, click here.

by Steve Wolf, for Harnesslink