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OAK GROVE, KY — Erv Miller trainee Im Sir Blake A (Alta Christiano N) survived a persistent first-over grind and won going away as the odds-on harness racing favorite in the $28,000 Open Handicap Pace at Oak Grove Racing, Gamings and Hotel on Sunday afternoon (May 21).
Driver Atlee Bender floated Im Sir Blake A from his inside draw and settled into third while Rock It Out (driven by Devon Tharps) pushed to take the top past a :26.2 first quarter. Dalby Hanover (Tyler Shehan) took back into the pocket for only a second and swung back off the cones to reclaim the lead before the second turn and a :56.1 half. Isitlikeitlooks (Joey Putnam) began a first-over attack out of fifth, which forced Im Sir Blake A to start rolling.
Bender flushed Im Sir Blake A to race first over up the backside and dug into Dalby Hanover through three-quarters in 1:24.1. The pair matched strides through the final turn before Im Sir Blake A bounded clear from Dalby Hanover upon straightening for the finish, and the 2-5 favorite slid clear to a 1-3/4-length victory in 1:51. Rock It Out gave chase to finish third and Isitlikeitlooks took fourth.
Im Sir Blake A, an eight-year-old gelding, won his 28th race from 91 starts and has now banked $372,127. Doug Overhiser owns the gelding who paid $2.92 to win.
A pair of mini-series held finals on the Sunday card. The $16,000 final for non-winners of 2 was snagged by team Avenatti with 11-1 shot Kingofmyheart (1:55.2 winning mile; $24.48 to win), who sat off a contested pace — overtaken by odds-on favorite Era Of Love — before pouncing into action and winning by 1-1/4 lengths. Joey Putnam applied a picture-perfect drive in the $24,000 final for non-winners of 2 fillies and mares behind even-money favorite Mystic Melissa (1:53; $4.28), who led from the quarter pole to the finish pole and won by 3-1/4 lengths.
Racing continues at Oak Grove on Monday (May 22) with a plethora of betting opportunities. The Early Pick 5 again went unclaimed, so a triple carryover goes into Monday’s sequence worth $2,878 and starts in Race 1. The Early Pick 4 again went unsolved, so that sequence features a double carryover totalling $2,258 and starts in Race 3. And then the Late Pick 5 was not hit, so that sequence has a double carryover worth $1,380 and starts in Race 6.
The racing schedule at Oak Grove has also been amended. Oak Grove has cancelled the race card slated for next Tuesday (May 30) and have added race dates for Sunday, July 9 and Monday, July 10, which will serve as the final weekend of racing for the 2023 meet.
First-race post time at Oak Grove is 3 p.m. CDT (4 p.m. EDT).
For complete race results, click here.
