Veteran pacer scores in $30,000 Dailey Memorial

LEBANON, OH – At ages that most harness racing horses are past their prime, a bunch of war horses gathered on Monday (March 20) at Miami Valley Raceway to contest the $30,000 championship leg of the Jim Dailey Memorial Medley.

When the dust cleared after the 1-1/4 mile final in 2:23, Tulhurstsantanna A (Santanna Blue Chip) at age 10 was the winner.  He was followed across the finish line by Grantmeawish (age 8), Nuclear Dragon (11), Big Booty Rudy (7), Velocity Poprocks (8), Beyond Delight (9) and American Dreamer (9).  Oddly, the only two 5-year-olds—widely considered a prime age for horses to peak in form–in the field finished last.

The Dailey Memorial, an annual event to honor the legacy of the late Ohio Hall Of Fame trainer, showcases high condition level pacers at three different distances: 5/8 mile, one mile and the 1-1/4 mile championship.  Dailey meant it when he said…

“You might beat me with a better horse, but not because he’s in better shape.”  His barn was always full of horses that could go the distance.

In the 2023 final driver Trace Tetrick got away fourth with Tulhurstsantanna A, who was third in the opening round dash and won the mile middle leg in 1:52.2.

As the eventual winner raced past the grandstand the first time in the twice around added distance, he was pulled first up on the outside and finally cleared the pacesetter American Dreamer (Dan Noble) on the fourth turn.

After reaching the mile mark in 1:51.4, there was plenty of competition still to fend off.  Defending champion Nuclear Dragon (Brett Miller) put in a serious bid to repeat, falling just three-quarters of a length short.  Grantmeawish (Chris Page) was flying late and nosed out Nuclear Dragon for second.

TULHURSTSANTANNA A REPLAY

Mark Jakubik owns Tulhurstsantanna A and chose trainer Jason Brewer to ready him specifically for the Dailey Memorial.  The Australian bred won for the 34th time and boosted his career earnings to $$323,744.

The opening round of the Robert J. Brown Memorial late closer for non-winners of two trotters was also contested on Monday.  Winners were Bidenurtime (Sandy Beatty) over Walk With Me (Brandon Bates) and Mikel Lou (Noble) in 1:57.1; and Star Flower (Kayne Kauffman) over Long Tom Babe (Hank LeVan) and Blue Lane Express (Tyler Smith) in 1:57.4.

Racing continues at Miami Valley on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week with a 4 p.m. post time.

For complete race results, click here.

From Miami Valley Raceway