Northville Open Pace won gate-to-wire

While Mage may have taken the 149th Kentucky Derby, it was Oh K Man (Western Ideal – Armbro Amour) and harness racing driver Marc St. Louis, Jr. who scored in the Saturday (May 6) night $10,800 featured Open Handicap Pace at Northville Downs.

Oh K Man (Marc St. Louis, Jr.) did battle with early leavers Liberal (Justin Irvine), Commander Bob (Jason Merriman) and Lyons Friends to a quarter in :27 seconds.

Oh K Man took over just before the quarter and faced immediate pressure from Lyons Friends and driver Kody Massey. The pair continued to battle to the half in 54.4.

Oh K Man squirted away before passing the three-quarters in 1:23.3 when Commander Bob surged up with Jet’s Sureshot (Kim Pluta) but none could pass the leader and Oh K Man took home his 43rd career victory in 1:53.3 by three-quarters of a length. The win pushed his career earnings to $264,447.

OH K MAN REPLAY

Oh K Man is owned by Julie Neil and trained by Danielle St. Louis.

Drivers Kim Pluta, Marc St.  Louis, Jr., and Jason Merriman all had driving doubles on the night and trainers Kim Pluta and Danielle St. Louis had doubles as well.

In addition to the Derby and the live races, the MHHA and the horsemen and women offered two-seat jog cart rides to fans who won Facebook contests throughout the week on the Northville Downs Facebook page and also a Derby hat selfie contest for which a winner will be declared on Sunday evening.

Racing at The Ville resumes Friday, May 12th at 7pm. Friday night is dollar night with $1 live programs, $1 pop, $1 popcorn, $2 hot dogs and beer, as well as hamburger and cheeseburger specials.

Northville Downs races every Friday and Saturday night from now until September 30th with a 7pm post time. For live racing dining reservations, be sure to call Northville Downs in advance at 248-924-2073.

For complete race results, click here.

by Ken Terpenning, for Northville Downs