Grace Hill didn’t disappoint her backers at the 1-5 favorite in the $25,000 Fillies and Mares Open Pace on Friday (Oct. 7) at Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway.
Despite being assigned post eight, Grace Hill was put into play off the gate and quickly settled into a pocket trip. The daughter of Always B Miki sat patiently through an opening quarter in :26.4 and half in :55.3. The mare and driver Tony Hall made their winning move headed into the final turn. After reaching the three-quarters marker in 1:23.2, Grace Hill demanded control. With a :27. closing quarter, Grace Hill pulled away from the field and stopped the clock in 1:50.4. Velocity Lady (Jeremy Smith) was second while Penpaperpaige (Tyler Smith) completed the trifecta.
Conditioned by Virgil Morgan Jr., Grace Hill earned her fifth of the season from 17 starts. In 42 lifetime starts, the four-year-old mare has hit the board a total of 27 times and banked more than $885,000 for owner Tom Hill.
Hall ended the evening by winning six of 14 races. Five of those victories came in back-to-back fashion. Trevor Smith also scored a driving double while Todd Luther won two on the training side.
Live harness racing will resume Saturday (Oct. 8) at Dayton Raceway. First post of the 14-race card is 4 p.m.
(With files from Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association)