CHESTER PA – The veteran Explosive Matter gelding Rich And Miserable went directly to command and never looked back, winning Sunday’s afternoon’s $20,000 Open trot at Harrah’s Philadelphia in 1:54.1.
Driver David Miller used his favored horse to put second choice Warrior One in behind him in the :27.1 opening quarter, and then in a short field Rich And Miserable was able to get a big breather to a :57 half and a 1:26 three-quarters, with Focus Pocus moving outside to challenge nearing the latter station. But Rich And Miserable had more than enough in reserve to trot out in 28.1 for his 47th career victory; Focus Pocus was able to photo Warrior One, 1¼ lengths behind the winner of $769,619, who is trained by Todd Buter for Buter Farm Inc. and Lynette Buter.
Once In A Lifetime, a Father Patrick colt who set a divisional track record of 1:54.2 in winning his Pennsylvania Sire Stakes Championship at two, lowered his lifetime best to 1:53.4 while making a successful sophomore seasonal debut in a $14,400 co-featured trot. Once In A Lifetime gained from the pocket into a :28 last quarter to defeat pacesetter The American Eagle by a half-length for driver Tim Tetrick, trainer Jim Campbell, and Sad Frog Farms.
The twelve-year-old Crazed gelding JL Cruze showed he still knows the way to the winners circle, catching pacesetting favorite Mystical Wynn by three-quarters of a length while winning a $13,000 fast-class co-featured trot in 1:54.4. Tim Tetrick also handled this winner, with Eric Ell training the 57-time winner with a bankroll of $1,829,816 for owners Ken Wood, William Dittmar Jr., and Stephen Iaquinta.
In all, Tim Tetrick had six winners on the day, upping his lead in the 2023 drivers derby to 42-30 over fellow Hall Of Famer David Miller.
Racing resumes at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Thursday at 12:25. The current schedule includes Thursday and Friday racing at 12:25 and Sunday action at 12:40; Wednesdays at 12:25 will be added to the mix on May 17. Program pages for all Philly cards are or will be available at https://www.phha.org/harrahspps.html.