Drama Act walks the walk

There is no need for theatrics with Drama Act. She simply knows how to give a winning performance.

A 5-year-old female harness racing pacer, Drama Act has won 23 of 42 career races for owner The OK Corral, which also bred the horse. She currently is competing in the Blue Chip Matchmaker Series for pacing mares at Yonkers Raceway, where she will enter Friday’s third round in a tie for fourth place in the point standings.

The top-eight horses at the completion of the series’ five preliminary legs are eligible to advance to the Blue Chip Matchmaker final on April 25 at Yonkers.

“She’s our lottery ticket,” said Joe Vander Heyden, who with his wife Nancy breed and race as The OK Corral and have watched Drama Act earn $452,612 in her career. “She’s a moneymaker. What’s not to like about her? I might be a little prejudiced, but she’s got it all together. She’s a terrific looking mare. She’s very slick gaited and she likes to race. She’s just a natural.”

Most of all, Vander Heyden added, “She has a big heart, and she likes to win.”

The Vander Heydens typically sell the horses they breed, which was the plan originally for Drama Act. But she threw a shoe prior to the yearling auctions in 2018 and stressed a hoof, leading to her remaining at home.

“It was meant to be,” Vander Heyden said.

Drama Act, by Well Said, was the first foal out of Lounge Act, who Vander Heyden brought as a broodmare in 2016. As a 2-year-old, Drama Act raced five times, winning four, including a division of the Keystone Classic. Her only loss was a second-place finish to future two-time Dan Patch Award-winner Lyons Sentinel on the Grand Circuit.

At 3, her victories included the Courageous Lady as well as two state-bred stakes in Pennsylvania. Last year, she won 14 times and set a world record for a 4-year-old female pacer on a half-mile track when she scored in 1:50.1 at Northfield Park in December.

“She only had five starts as a 2-year-old, which was a good thing,” Vander Heyden said. “We brought her along absolutely perfect. First was Bobby Williams, he’s the one who took care of her hoof. Then Donnie Harmon and Krista Harmon did a marvelous job with her bringing her along at 2. I saw the potential in her, and I talked to Ron Burke (during the following year) to see if he wanted to train her, and he said he would love to.

“I also kept the third sister out of the family, (2-year-old) Party Lounge, and Ron Burke has her now too. She’s staked to the roof.”

This year, Drama Act has a win, second, and third in three starts.

In the first week of the Blue Chip Matchmaker series, which featured four divisions, Drama Act posted a 1:52.2 win for driver George Brennan and trainer Ron Burke. Last week, when another four divisions were on the card, she finished third by a length despite coming home in :27.2, the fastest final quarter-mile of the race.

On Friday, Drama Act is the 5-2 morning-line second choice in the first of three divisions. Miss You N, who is the mare tied with Drama Act in the standings, is the 2-1 favorite. The field also includes sixth-place Dragon Roll, eighth-place Bolt Of Beauty, and the event’s defending champion, Machnhope.

“She’s something,” Vander Heyden said about Drama Act, who is staked to numerous Grand Circuit events following the Matchmaker. “I still expect big things out of her.”

The top-two horses in the Matchmaker, Easy To Please and Mystical Carrie, will sit out this week after wins in each of the first two legs.

Third-place Racine Bell is the 2-1 morning-line favorite in the third of Friday’s three divisions, which also includes seventh-place Best Head West (5-1). Racine Bell will start from post seven while Best Head West leaves from post six. The field also includes Scarlett Hanover (5-2), who is tied for ninth in points and starts from post three.

Karma Seelster, also tied for ninth, is the 9-5 morning-line favorite in the second division.

Racing begins at 6:55 p.m. EDT at Yonkers. For full Friday entries, click here.

For the complete standings for the Blue Chip Matchmaker, click here.

by Ken Weingartner for the U.S. Trotting Association