Talk about a sweetheart of a night on St.
Valentine’s Day! Nichole Harness (yes that is her last name), a third generation horsewoman from Beaver, Ohio, got to fly for the first time on a jet plane, got to swim for the first time in an ocean and also scored her first pari-mutuel harness racing victory Saturday at the Isle Pompano Park. Harness won the fourth race second division of the Mildred Williams Driving Series for woman. The $7,000 pace saw Kelly Case with Casey’s Bonanza go right to the early lead from post four with Cash In Your Chips (Gro Gormia) grabbing the pocket trip while Peter Mills (Megan Fortna) was parked out first-over and Nichole Harness was sitting four on the rail with Rif Raf Star. Casey’s Bonanza led the field through fractions of :28.4 :58.4 and 1:27.2 before Peter Mills began to fade on the final turn. It was then that Harness made her move with Rif Raf Star, pulling to the outside, collaring Casey’s Bonanza in the stretch and blowing by them to win by three and one-quarter lengths in 1:56.2. Casey’s Bonanza was second with Cash In Your Chips third. Sent off at odds of 14-1, Rif Raf Star paid $31.00 to win. “This has been quite a weekend.” Said Harness, age 22. “How exciting to be able to win in my first race ever here.” Rif Raf Star, a nine-year-old gelding by Stubby B, is trained by Jimmy Salerno and is owned by Don Locricchio of Warren, Michigan. It was Rif Raf Star’s second win this year. The Mildred Williams Driving Series, in its fourth year of competition, competes at more than thirty tracks across North America. All of the women competing donate their winnings to the tracks local charity. The Isle Pompano Park raised more than $2,500 from the event that went to the Gilda’s House of South Florida, a free community center for cancer victims. In the second race first division, a $7,000 trot, Muscle For Hire ($4.60) and driver Kelly Case made a three-wide move on the final turn from sixth place and then pulled away from the field to win in 1:59.3 by two and one-half length. Southern Beauty (Megan Fortna) was second with pacesetter CSI Mrs Lavec (Gro Formia) third.
It was the second win this year for Muscle For Hire, a nine-year-old gelding by Muscles Yankee, trained by Jamie Paquet and owned by Wayne Lockwood and Jamie Paquet.