With an 11-dash card of harness racing contested on Saturday (Aug. 6) at Miami Fair, the first and second stars of the day would certainly be the trainer and driver that won more than half the card; ie. Travis Ellis and Blake Piwniuk.
On the heels of a dominant performance one week ago, the tandem of Piwniuk and Ellis connected for six wins on Saturday. They managed a sweep of the $9,684 Manitoba Standardbred Sires & Breeders Association (MSSBA) Futurity eliminations, winning with Irish Melvin ($6.40) and Jay Dees Scooter ($5.50) for owner / breeder David Mooney of Wawanesa, Man.
Irish Melvin (Mystery Chase - Shes All That) won for the third time in four tries, pulling away to a 3-1/2 length victory in a career best 2:01.2 over Major Spin (Dean Rey) and Beyond The Budget (Kirk Rogers), while Jay Dees Scooter also picked up his third win this season by getting a head out in front of Sassy Libby (Don Howlett) to trip the timer in 2:03 in his MSSBA elim. Emmetts Buddy (Michel Rey) finished third.
Piwniuk and Ellis also found themselves in the winner's circle thanks to Texasdrifter ($4.10), Two To Ten ($14.70) and Lil Screamer ($3.40). One win was a bit unique, as it was shared with another stable. In the $4,200 Open, Mystic Dragon ($4.50) hit the wire in 1:58.2 for Piwniuk & Ellis at the same time as Team Howlett's Woodmere Alvin ($2.10).
With Woodmere Alvin's win, trainer Mathew Howlett also fashioned himself a training triple on the day as he and father Don were also victorious courtesy Ima Momas Boy ($5.60) and AK Nite Lady ($2.60) in the sixth and seventh races.
To view the results from the Saturday card of harness racing at Miami, click the following link: Saturday Results - Miami Fair.