Never a dull moment in Open Pace

LEBANON, OH – If you like harness racing excitement, you loved the $28,000 Open I Handicap Pace at Miami Valley on Thursday (March 24).

Before the race even started, viewers were on the edge of their seats as Rock Diamonds N (Mitchell Cushing) suffered a broken bit as the field was gaining speed behind the gate. Due to some heads up thinking by starter Mike Woebkenberg, fellow driver Chris Page and outrider Kristina Smith, the situation was resolved safely and quickly.

Woebkenberg, after signaling for a recall, gradually slowed the gate to a crawl as the drivers peeled off the wings one by one–with the exception of Page who paced side by side with the endangered horse and driver thus keeping them pinned between himself and the pylons until Smith could move into position to catch the ‘loose’ horse.

Once a new bit was installed to Rock Diamond N’s bridle he returned to the track and the feature race was soon underway. If that wasn’t enough excitement, the stretch drive produced a lot more.

With 50 yards to go, the contending horses–all six of them–were fanned out across the track and noses apart.

When they hit the wire in 1:50 flat there were still four of them lapped on to each other including a trio all timed in 1:50.

The winner was Sectionline Bigry (Brett Miller) who made his customary closing charge down the outside of the track to his third straight victory, a nose better than Blank Stare (Tony Hall) and a half-length over E Mode’s Desire (Mike Peterson).

Oakwoodnitowinit IR (Trace Tetrick) was lapped on in fourth and YS Mathis (Dan Noble) finished fifth.

Steve Bauder trains Sectionline Bigry for owner Harold Lee Bauder.

The 7-year-old son of Pet Rock kept his 2022 100% on-the-board finishes record intact. It now stands at 9 starts with five wins, two seconds and two thirds–good for $91,460 in seasonal earnings.

Miami Valley is dark on Friday and Saturday, but will resume the normal Sunday through Thursday live racing schedule on March 27 at 4:05 p.m.