Top level pacers were in the spotlight on the Tuesday night (July 6) harness racing program at Running Aces and Caliber shined brightest of all, turning in the fastest mile of the meet to date in the top event of the night.
Caliber was sent off as the heavy public choice in the $16,500 Open Handicap and he blasted off the gate from post five for driver Luke Plano to establish immediate control of the affair. He posted an opening panel in :28 while Zanetti (Rick Magee) got away in the pocket and ELs Disco Johnny (Dean Magee) dropped in third.
Caliber posted a middle half in :54.3, which left his rivals scrambling to keep up and the race was clearly for second-place.
In the lane, Caliber continued to pace strong and he checked in 5-1/2 lengths ahead at the wire and stopped the timer in 1:50.4 with Alilthundadownunda (Nick Roland) rallying for second over Zanetti.
Caliber ($2.80) is a five-year-old son of Sweet Lou who now has five wins in 15 starts this season. He is owned by Terrence Smith and Tony Beltrami, and is trained by Maria Alvarez, who had three wins on the Tuesday program.
Numbered Account (Dean Magee, $3.80) posted a sharp gate-to-wire win in the $13,000 Open II Handicap for his third win of the season.
He was fastest of all from the gate from post five and maintained firm control throughout the affair while Ragged But Right (Roland) followed in the pocket and Watchmeneighneigh (Gerald Longo) challenged from first-up.
Numbered Account posted an opening half in :57.1 and turned up the speed from there to keep his rivals in chase mode, coming home in :55.1 to post a solid two-length tally in 1:52.3 while Watchmeneighneigh was able to out-kick Ragged But Right for the place money.
Numbered Account is a six-year-old gelding by Roddys Bags Again and is owned by Cathy Dessert and trained by Justin Anfinson.
The $11,000 Open III Handicap went to 13-year-old Pancetta (Dean Magee, $4.40), who posted his sixth win of the season and 47th career tally with an impressive rally from off the pace in 1:52.4 for a seasonal mark. What Ya Thinkin (Brady Jenson) was heavily involved in the action-packed affair and checked in second and early leader Major Offense (Mooney Svendsen) was home in third.
Pancetta, sired by No Pan Intended, now has $543,994 in career earnings. He is owned by Richard Morita and David Yamada, and is trained by Liberio Pacheco.
Live racing returns to Running Aces on Thursday, July 7 with first post at 7 p.m. (CDT) and the card will feature a pair of carryovers, including $3,768.50 in the 20-cent Pick-5 Jackpot wager and $1,542.74 in the 50-cent Hi-5 wager. The 50-cent Late Pick-4 also offers a $5,000 guaranteed pool.
(Running Aces)