Multi-distance series is great — Part 1

Racing Secretary Gregg Keidel definitely thinks outside the box when it comes to harness racing.

Keidel, the racing secretary at Miami Valley Gaming & Raceway in Lebanon, Ohio created the Bill Dailey Memorial Medley—a three event series that features pacers racing in five-eighth’s mile, one mile, and one and one-quarter mile races over a three-week span.

This particular series, which began on March 6, and continued on March 13, with the championship final set for March 20, honors the memory of Ohio horseman Bill Dailey, who was stabled at the Urbana Fairgrounds throughout his training tenure.

Dailey, a well-like fixture on the Buckeye scene, died suddenly in 2018 at age 57. Dailey conditioned 1,287 winners of $12,355,885 during his career, including six Ohio Triple Crown winners, and was named Ohio Trainer of the Year four times.

“I started this series years ago at Northfield Park as the John Phillips Memorial Medley,” Keidel offered. “It went great for years and then died out for lack of horsemen’s support. This is the fourth year that we’ve had it here at Miami Valley (renamed for Dailey). It got 16 horses for the first leg and 14 for the second. It’s my favorite series each year as it rewards horses, trainers, and drivers who show diversity and competitiveness at different distances. Last year Nuclear Dragon set a world record of 1:07 for the five-eighths mile dash and he returned to win the championship at one and a quarter mile.”

In the first two splits on March 6, as pacers traveled just five eighths for a purse of $15,000 each, American Dreamer (American Ideal-Good Stuff-Artiscape) took the first division handily in 1:07.1 in wire-to-wire fashion for driver Danny Noble and trainer Tim Wilson. The 9-year-old gelding is owned by the Illinois-based partnership of Wilson Racing, Ann Calvert, and Mark Eichberger.

Bred by Brittany Farms LLC, American Dreamer has earned $360,215 thus far in his career, with 27 wins, 26 seconds and 19 thirds in 170 career starts. He won that Dailey first leg at Miami Valley by four and a quarter lengths.

AMERICAN DREAMER REPLAY

Velocity Poprocks (Pet Rock-Sugar Nips-Cambest) took the second division in 1:08.1, winning by a neck for driver Jordon Ross and trainer Steve Carter.

This 8-year-old gelding picked up career triumph 15 for owner Richard Mamie of Bellaire, Ohio. Velocity Poprocks was bred by Velocity Standardbreds and has $168,832 in career earnings. After sitting fourth throughout the sprint, he unleashed a strong late brush to nip rival Beyond Delight at the wire.

VELOCITY POPROCKS REPLAY

The second leg, contested on March 13 at Miami Valley, saw two $20,000 divisions of pacers vying at a distance of one mile. Winning the first division was Tulhurstsantanna A (Santanna Blue Chip), a 10-year-old gelding owned by Mark Jakubik of West Seneca, NY. Trained by Jason Brewer (who also trained second place finisher Nassau Desire), Tulhurstsantanna A was steered by Trace Tetrick to a 1:52.3 clocking, drawing off by two lengths at the wire.

This 10-year-old gelding is out of the Presidential Ball mare Ballroom Belle, and has $298,744 in career earnings, and took a 9-year-old record of 1:49.3s. This was his second start of 2023, as he had finished third to American Dreamer in leg one for these connections.

TULHURSTSANTANNA A REPLAY

Nuclear Dragon (Nuclear Breeze-Ms Dragon Flys-Dragon Again), who won this series last year, finished fourth to American Dreamer in leg one, but notched the victory in leg two for driver Brett Miller and trainer Jason Brewer. Grabbing the lead at the start, the 11-year-old gelding stopped the timer in 1:52 as the even-money choice in front-stepping fashion.

Owned by Tonya Nicholas of London, OH, Nuclear Dragon has amassed $695,139 in his career from 53 wins, 30 seconds, and 16 thirds in 219 starts. He took his career record of 1:48.2f as a 6-year-old.

NUCLEAR DRAGON REPLAY

The final leg of this series, the $25,000 championship is set to be contested next Monday, March 20, and based on the winners thus far, looks to be an exciting showdown. What is most impressive, is that the winners are all aged horses–war horses, indefatigable campaigners who show no signs of slowing down. Harness racing needs more events like these; more events that showcase the grittiest and toughest of equine athletes.

Racing secretaries like Keidel are to be applauded for their efforts to bring more attention to the sport through these kinds of innovative series that bring out not only the wizened older gamblers to the track, but also the curious neophyte who just might be looking for a new kind of entertainment. A series such as the Bill Dailey Memorial keeps them coming back, and also helps to develop the new fans that harness racing so desperately needs.

WATCH FOR PART 2 COMING SOON!

by Kimberly Rinker, for Harnesslink