Unbeaten May Baby take another

ANDERSON, IN — May Baby continued her winnin Insert Special Characterg ways at Harrah's Hoosier Park Racing & Casino after capturing the co-featured event of the evening, a split of the $32,000 Indiana Sires Stakes ​for three-year-old trotting fillies, on Wednesday, July 15. Stopping the timer in 1:53.4, May Baby coasted to her third straight stakes win and remains undefeated this season for driver, trainer James Yoder.

Using her customary front-stepping tactics, May Baby followed the wings of the gate and went straight to the front while Hotel Whiskey and John DeLong benefitted from a pocket trip. May Baby was able to stroll through pedestrian fractions of :28.3 and :58 while the rest of the field followed in single file line.

When May Baby hit the three-quarters in 1:26.2, she began to put her talent on display and simply trot away from the rest of the field. Turning for home, May Baby was on top with a six length lead. Using a :27.2 final quarter, May Baby finished nearly ten lengths in front of La Nancio and Jared Finn. Hotel Whiskey and John DeLong rounded out the trifecta. As the heavy 1-9 favorite, May Baby returned $2.10 across the board.

"This year she seems to be a lot healthier and even more sound," noted Yoder after the victory. "We had some foot issues with her last year. This year, she has really impressed me in carrying her speed a lot longer."

"If all goes well, her next start will be in the Hambletonian Oaks elimination," he continued. "She will need to be healthy but it's looking like we're going to take a shot at it."

Owned by Cheyenne Yoder, the daughter of Guccio-Free Wheeling improved her lifetime record to 13-9-1-1 while pushing her lifetime bankroll to $274,240. May Baby, who finished fourth in her Breeders Crown elimination as a freshman, was bred by Oakwood Farms.

After playing the bridesmaid to May Baby in her first two starts of the season, Rock Swan stepped out of that role and back into the spotlight as she was able to draw away from her rival and trot to a decisive victory in the opening division of the stakes action. Sent off at odds of 1-9, Rock Swan went gate to wire to score her first win of the season in 1:54.2 and establish a new lifetime best in the process.

Leaving from post six, Tetrick wasted no time and sent Rock Swan straight to the front through the opening quarter in :27.2. J-S Miss Carly and Ricky Macomber Jr. grabbed a pocket seat while Pretzel Party and Sam Widger were third. Rock Swan looked flawless on the front as she continued to lead the field through fractions of :56.2 and 1:25.1. Turning for home, Rock Swan separated herself from the rest of the field and coasted to the wire to finish nearly two lengths in front of J-S Miss Carly. Pretzel Party held on for third.

For Rock Swan, a daughter of Swan For All-Jolly Jessica trained by Erv Miller, it was the first win of the season in three starts. Owned in partnership by S&R Racing and Anthony Lombardi, Rock Swan pushed her lifetime bankroll to $425, 356. The win was also one of seven wins on the program for Harrah's Hoosier Park's leading driver Trace Tetrick. Tetrick, who currently leads all drivers for the season with 56 wins, scored seven wins on the evening's 14-race card.

Indiana Sires Stakes action will continue at Harrah's Hoosier Park Racing & Casino on Thursday, July 16 with one $60,500 division for three-year-old trotting colts and geldings. With a daily post time of 6:30 pm, live racing at Harrah's Hoosier Park will continue to follow a Tuesday through Saturday schedule and be conducted through November 21. For more information on the live racing schedule, please visit www.harrahshoosierpark.com.