Crisler, Jerrell, Lorentzon grab Corbin titles

 LEXINGTON, KY- Harness racing driver Randy Crisler captured the Corbin at The Red Mile meet driving title with 16 victories while Randy Jerrell tied with Anette Lorentzon for leading trainer at eight wins apiece.

Crisler finished three victories in front of Tyler Shehan, who drew into contention with a four-win day Sunday. Crisler had 85 starters, trailing only Shehan’s 86 to lead all drivers at the 12-date meet that ended Tuesday.

It was the Mississippi native’s first title coming over The Red Mile’s clay surface. He previously won driving crowns at Bluegrass Downs and Thunder Ridge, both now defunct.

“My first one here, so I’m pretty excited,” Crisler said. “The top drivers are here. You have drivers who come from all over. They like racing here. So you win a title here driving against top drivers from other states, it means a lot.”

Crisler, who padded his lead by taking Tuesday’s fourth race with 6-1 shot Scarlett Grey, said he had no expectations that he’d win the driving title at the meet’s start.

“No idea,” he said. “When I secured the top, I thought, ‘OK, I might have a chance then.’ That was like the second week.”

Lorentzon, who has a strong stable of about 50 horses at her ACL Farm in Paris, was surprised to hear she won a piece of the training title. She sent out a meet-high 39 horses, with a meet-high nine seconds and five thirds to go with her eight victories.

“I was very surprised because I didn’t think we’d been doing that good,” she said. “… It’s a tough meet. It’s kind of lower-class horses, racing in conditions (featuring race eligibility restrictions) here. But they are literally flying in many of the miles out here. It was tough competition.”

Jerrell won four of the $25,000 Kentucky Proud Series county-fair finals as a driver and three as a trainer. He had a slim edge over Lorentzon for the most purse earnings for a trainer at the meet, $75,865-$75,375. He pulled into the tie for the win title when he drove Timo Kemp to victory in Tuesday’s seventh race for the 3-year-old trotter’s third score of the meet.

The resident of Kevil, Ky., also won a trio of races as trainer-driver with Single Girl. Overall, Jerrell went 8-4-2 out of 25 starts as a trainer. He tied Elliott Deaton and James Stiltner II for third for driving victories at nine apiece while accruing a meet-best $92,086 in driver purse earnings.

“We were very pleased with the way Single Girl raced, obviously,” Jerrell said of the 3-year-old pacing filly who is 9 for 9 in 2021. “You know things are bound to change but hope they don’t. Timo Kemp, just surprised –pleased — the way he raced.”

Crisler and Jackie Gray of Lebanon, Ky., were next in the training standings with seven wins each. Crisler, with a pool of only eight horses to draw on from his stable, was delighted with his training production.

“Every horse but one won once or twice,” Crisler said. “I’m probably labeled more as a driver than a trainer because I catch-drive other horses. Me winning a training title would be a big accomplishment because I don’t have 30 or 40 head. Doing well with seven or eight horses is a big accomplishment.”

Horsemen were appreciative of the extra 12 dates that the Corbin at Red Mile meet provided to the Kentucky harness-racing calendar.

“Everybody was glad to see more racing,” Jerrell said. “We’d race at Paducah (Bluegrass Downs) the middle of June to the middle of July. But the purses were a third of what we were racing for here. Anybody who was racing in overnights (non-stakes races) around here had to be pleased with the meet.”