Running Aces raised its purses to record levels last summer, and horseplayers responded by wagering nearly $12 million — the most ever at the Columbus harness track. Officials are hoping for a repeat during the 55-day racing season that begins Sunday. This summer, the trotters and pacers will be chasing total purses of $6.6 million, the richest in track history.
Running Aces trotters, pacers set sights on record $6.6 million season purse
The schedule opens Sunday and runs through Sept. 16, with racing on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.
May 12, 2023 at 10:43PM
The schedule: Sunday through Sept. 16, with racing on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. First post is 7 p.m. Special race cards will be held July 3 and Sept. 15-16.
Admission: Free
Opening night: Sunday's nine-race card has drawn 73 entries, highlighted by an $18,500 open trot (race eight). A deep field of nine is headed by Chiplosive, who has earned $30,680 at East Coast tracks this year, and Body Armor, who won three of his past four starts in California. Both are 3-1 on the morning line.
Season highlights: The $35,000 Ron Banks Pace (June 25), the $50,000 Dan Patch FFA Pace (July 23) and the $35,000 Steve Wiseman Trot (Aug. 13) offer some of the season's largest purses. The richest event is the Night of Champions for Minnesota-sired horses (Sept. 16), with 12 races worth $65,000 each.
Who's back: Maria Alvarez, who won 50 races last summer for her first career training title, returns with some of the top horses from last season's meet. The Alvarez barn includes All American N, a trotter with nine victories last season, and the highly regarded pacer Caliber. Nick Roland, Mooney Svendsen, Luke Plano and Rick Magee lead the list of drivers.
Iron Sharpens Iron, last year's Minnesota harness horse of the year, returns for his 3-year-old season after earning more than $100,000 with nine wins in 10 starts last summer. Alilthundadownunda, the state's 2021 harness horse of the year, also is back.
On the upswing: Last year's handle number smashed the previous record of $8 million, rising 45%. That helped fuel a 10% increase in purses for this summer. Most of the additional purse money is going to races for Minnesota-sired horses.
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