Columbus, MN – The harness racing season’s opening card has been drawn at Running Aces, with 9 races scheduled for Sunday (May 14).
The featured event will be the $18,500 Open Trot which is carded in Race eight on the program and boasts a full field of 9 talented competitors.
Co-favored on the morning line are Body Armor (Creatine, Nick Roland, post 3) and Chiplosive (Explosive Matter, Mooney Svendsen, post 4) each of whom have been installed at 3-1 on the morning line.
The former has won 3 of his last 4 starts while competing at Cal-Expo in Sacramento for owner/trainer Gerald Longo, while the latter is a new acquisition for owner Terrence Smith and trainer Maria Alvarez. He has won 2 of his last 3 starts out east, including a 1:54.1 score at Harrah’s Phiadelphia in his most recent outing.
Jack Vernon (Muscle Hill, post 1) is a classy 10-year-old veteran with $595,715 in the bank, he will be making his first start of the year in this event for trainer/driver and Aces newcomer Todd Warren and has been listed at 5-1 on the early line. The entire field is loaded with talented trotters and should prove to be a very good contest.
The opening night feature will fall as the third leg of the Late Pick-4 (50 cent minimum) which is guaranteed at $5,000 each Sunday as part of the USTA’s Strategic Wagering Program. Free PP’s will be available on the USTA website each night for the Late Pick-4 races. The guaranteed gross pool amount for Tuesdays and Thursdays will be $3,000. Here is a look at our multi-race wagers for this season.
2023 RUNNING ACES Multi-Race WAGERING MENU:
Place Pick All – begins Race 1 – 20 cent minimum
Early Pick Four – begins Race 2 – 50 cent minimum
Early Pick Three – begins Race 3 – 50 cent minimum
Super High 5 – Races 4 and last – 50 cent minimum
Jackpot Pick Five – Last 5 Races – 20 cent minimum
Late Pick Four – Last 4 Races – 50 cent minimum
Late Pick Three – Last 3 Races – 50 cent minimum
Daily Double – Last 2 Races – 50 cent minimum
The opening night festivities will also include a Sunglasses giveaway, plus Pepsi family Night with kid’s face painting available as well as a kid’s coloring contest. There is also a $5 Leinenkugel’s drink special and there will also be drawings for a “60 second wagering spree”.
Post Time for the first race on Sunday is 7 p.m. (CDT).
For complete Sunday race entries, click here.
by Darin Gagne, for Running Aces