Sloppy track does not deter 2YO fillies

Anderson, IN–It was a soggy, rainy night at Harrah's Hoosier Park Racing & Casino on Wednesday, July 22 but the weather would not deter the two-year-old harness racing pacing fillies who were making their Indiana Sires Stakes debut. Two $41,500 divisions highlighted the evening's 14-race card.

Hot Mess Express looked like anything but a hot mess after she turned in an impressive effort to capture the opening division of the stakes action with Sam Widger in the bike. Scoring in 1:53.4 over a track rated sloppy, Hot Mess Express made her Harrah's Hoosier Park debut a winning one and established a new lifetime mark in the process.

Leaving from the trailing post ten, Hot Mess Express settled off the pace in fourth while Odds On Dead Heat and Peter Wrenn dictated first half fractions of :28.2 and :58.2. As the field approached the three-quarters, Widger gave his filly the green light and she marched to the front and quickly grabbed command.

Reaching the three-quarters in 1:26.4, Hot Mess Express found another gear turning for home and simply paced away from her rivals, finishing three lengths in front of Odds On Dead Heat. Sent off as the 4-5 favorite, Hot Mess Express returned $3.60 to her betting backers.

Jamaica Patton conditions and also co-owns the homebred filly with her breeders Nick, Madeline and Ethan Giberson, Hot Mess Express is now two for two in her young career. With the win, the daughter of Panther Hanover-My Heart Was True has earned $23,250 in purse earnings

The fastest divisional winner of the evening was Somethingbeautiful in the second division of the stakes action. With LeWayne Miller in the bike, Somethingbeautiful utilized a decisive gate to wire effort to score in 1:53.

Sent off at odds of 1-9, Miller put his filly on the front and she strolled through fractions of :28.2, :57.4 and 1:26.2. Turning for home, Somethingbeautiful appeared to save her best for last as she kicked home with a snappy :26.3 closing quarter to get the win by five lengths. Baci Baci and Ricky Macomber Jr. found late racing room to get up for second place honors. As the heavy betting favorite, Somethingbeautiful returned $2.40 at the betting windows.

With the win, the daughter of Always A Virgin-Summer N Sand established a new lifetime best and remains unbeaten in two lifetime starts. Dylan Davis trains the filly for the ownership partnership of H. Taylor, E. Gold, A. Basen, and R. Lomabardo. Somethingbeatiful increased her lifetime bankroll to $24,500.

Indiana Sires Stakes action will continue at Harrah's Hoosier Park on Thursday, July 23 with four divisions for two-year-old pacing colts and geldings. Thursday's 14-race card will also feature a $10,000 Guaranteed Pick-4 in Races 3-6 and a $10,000 Guaranteed Hoosier High-5 in Race 14.

The 2020 live racing season at Harrah's Hoosier Park will feature 111 racing programs and follow a Tuesday through Saturday schedule throughout the season. With a daily post time of 6:30 p.m., live racing will be conducted through Nov. 21. For more information on the live racing schedule, please visit www.harrahshoosierpark.com.

by Emily Rafliff, for Harrah's Hoosier Park