Drink Up Drink Up Scores In Hoosier Features
May 24, 2026
Anderson, IN — A pair of $22,000 Opens headlined the 14-race program on Saturday (May 23) at Harrah’s Hoosier Park, with Hunterton Bred & Born Drink Up Drink Up and Brandon Bates taking the Open Trot to stay hot, and Rollin Rosie scoring her first win of the season in the Mare Pace with Trace Tetrick.
Out from the outside post six, Drink Up Drink Up jumped to an early challenge for the lead with Ponda Jet (Kyle Wilfong). Ponda Jet would win the early battle fending off Drink Up Drink Up to lead at the first quarter turn in :27.1. Drink Up Drink Up settled into the pocket spot while the field grew stagnant in a single file line with Ponda Jet leading the pack. Ponda Jet maintained his lead through the halfway point in :56.1. The post-time favorite Operator (Marcus Miller) was the first to break the ice up along the outside from fifth in the six-horse field. Operator moved into fourth on the outside before Drink Up Drink Up moved from the pocket on the leader Ponda Jet. At the three-quarters in 1:24.2, Ponda Jet remained the leader with Drink Up Drink Up alongside him and Niko Man (Atlee Bender) and Operator fighting for third.
Motoring down the stretch, Ponda Jet and Drink Up Drink Up put on a slug fest scrapping for every inch. Meanwhile, the rest of the entire field closed in on the top two trotters, looking to get in on a piece of the action. Relentlessly trading blows down the stretch, Drink Up Drink Up delivered the knockout blow with a :28.1 last quarter hitting the wire in 1:52.4 a half-length up. Ponda Jet held on for second with Niko Man sneaking into third at 20-1. The entire field of six was separated by 1-3/4 lengths on the wire.
The winning 6-year-old Trixton gelding is trained by Walter Haynes Jr. for owners Adam Friedland and Brian Carsey. Drink Up Drink Up added his sixth win of the season, boosting his lifetime earnings to $434,698. Drink Up Drink Up paid $8.60 to win.
The lone $50,000 KYSS dash for 4-year-old pacing mares also went to Dexter Dunn as he plowed forward past a :26.4 quarter to take the lead with 1-5 favorite Hunterton Bred, Born & Sold Three Times Bettor and roll down the road for a 1:49.4 victory under wraps at Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel on Monday (May 25). She accelerated off middle fractions of :55 and 1:22.2 to easily put away pocket-chaser Aintnothingucando (Yannick Gingras) in second, beaten 2-1/4 lengths, with Rose (Tim Tetrick) motoring wide late for third. Odds On Chesapeake (Todd McCarthy) was shuffled back and gave pursuit for fourth. Three Times Bettor remains unbeaten from four starts this season and collected her eighth victory in a row. Thaddeus Weir owns the daughter of Bettor’s Delight-Three Times A Lady with 13 wins on her card from 21 starts and $288,814 earned. The Brett Pelling trainee paid $2.48 to win.
Hunterton Sold Captain Arturovico won on a day of Kentucky Sire Stakes (KYSS) action at Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel on Monday (May 25). Burke and Wrenn teamed in the race for a solid rebound victory with Captain Arturovico in a 1:50 front-stepping performance. Captain Arturovico cleared control past a :26.3 first quarter and carried his speed to a :54.2 half before stablemate Banderas (Yannick Gingras) angled first up to give pursuit. Banderas only made mild gains against Captain Arturovico to three-quarters in 1:22.1 and finished second best as the 3-5 favorite by three-quarter lengths while Lafitte (Tim Tetrick) saved ground to take third from pocket-sitter Delray Beach (Dexter Dunn), who settled for fourth. Captain Arturovico, a gelding by Captaintreacherous -Tilikum, won his first race from eight starts this season and his 13th race from 38 starts in his career, earning $390,809. He competes for owners Burke Racing Stable LLC, Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Larry Karr and Phillip Collura and he paid $8.02 to win.
Offspring of Perfect Sting proved the best in both New Jersey Sire Stakes Silver Division championships for 3-year-old pacers, with Hunterton Bred, Born & Sold Obliterate and Sting Girl capturing their respective divisions. Obliterate ($12.40), whom Patrick Ryder drove for trainer Chris Ryder, rode the pocket en route to a mild upset over 1-9 favorite Stingman (Dunn), lifting through the final eighth of a lifetime-best 1:51.3 mile to win the $40,000 male pace by a widening 2-length margin. In the $32,000 filly pace, Sting Girl ($12.80), whom Mark Herschberger drove for trainer Joe Holloway, mounted a long first-over climb out of fifth through the far turn before overpowering even-money choice Whoa Black Betty at the eighth pole en route to a 1-3/4-length, 1:54.1 score.
This Tactical Landing filly, the first foal out of the tremendous, $3 million-winning mare Jiggy Jog S, arrived on April 18 at Hunterton Farm in Kentucky. Jiggy Jog S, the Dan Patch Older Trotting Mare of the Year in both 2023 and 2024, won the $1 million Yonkers International in 2024 and Breeders Crown finals in 2022 and 2023, among other stakes wins. Jiggy Jog S posted a lifetime record of 24-10-2 in 41 starts and had a mark of 1:49.2. She will be bred next to Captain Corey.
Hunterton Bred, Born and Sold Illicit Behavior (Bettors Delight-Pettycoat Business) was a popular late-closing winner, accelerating from fifth around the final turn and pacing home in :26.3 for a half-length score in a career-best 1:52 mile. Bob McClure drove the colt, who is trained by Shawn Steacy and owned by Landmark 18 Racing Stable of Lansdowne, Ont., Hudson Standardbred Stable of Hudson, Que., and David Reid of Sydenham, Ont.
Hunterton Consigned & Bred Three Times Bettor (Dexter Dunn) persisted through a methodical first-over push in a quick tempo to score a track-record-equalling 1:48.3 win in hand in the KYSS final for pacing mares at Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel. Dunn tipped his charge out of third after following a clip of :25.4 and :53.1 and inched towards pacesetter Odds On Chesapeake (Todd McCarthy) rolling to three-quarters in 1:20. As Odds On Chesapeake began to tire, Three Times Bettor grabbed the lead and scooted away confidently for a length win over pocket-sitter Aintnothingucando (Scott Zeron), who zipped up a seam at the pylons for second. Unreasonable (Jason Bartlett) followed the winner's cover to take third. Brett Pelling trains Three Times Bettor , a mare by Bettors Delight-Three Times A Lady, for owner Thaddeus Wier. The win was her seventh straight in a streak dating back to last season. She took her 12th win from 20 career starts and raised her bankroll to $365,068. The win price was $2.50. Her 1:48.3 clocking matched the track record for aged pacing mares set in 2022 by Blue Diamond Eyes.
Oak Grove, KY — The pair of $30,000 Open events at Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel on Sunday (May 10) had starkly different payoff outcomes, but saw dominant performances from both Burnout and Three Times Bettor , who scored in the Open Pace and Fillies and Mares Open Pace respectively. A few races later, 1-9 favorite Three Times Bettor (Dexter Dunn) tightened the screws for her $100,000 Kentucky Sire Stakes final on Preakness Saturday (May 16) with a 1:50.1 jog in the co-featured $30,000 Fillies and Mares Open Handicap Pace. Dunn, flying into town for only two drives on the day, circled the Brett Pelling trainee to the top after a :26.4 first quarter and gradually quickened while peeling away from the competition. She clocked a :55 half and 1:23.1 three-quarters and widened all the way to a 5-1/4-length win under wraps over Yankee B Something (Geremy Bobbit), who gave pursuit from a pocket ride in second. Bonitas Best Bet (Brandon Bates) saved ground to take third and Lyin’ Eyes (Joey Putnam) folded from a first-over push into the last turn for fourth. Thaddeus Weir owns Three Times Bettor, a 4-year-old daughter of Bettor’s Delight-Three Times A Lady. The mare won her 11th race from 19 starts and has now banked $213,814 in her career. She paid $2.22 to win.
Anderson, IN — Finding another gear late, Hunterton Born, Raised and Sold, Drink Up Drink Up driven by Brandon Bates for trainer Walter Haynes Jr. returned to winning ways downing the $22,000 Open Trot at Hoosier on Saturday (May 9). Starting the race competitively, the field moved four wide as the trotters fought for the lead. Eventually from his assigned post four, Drink Up Drink Up found the rail in third as Ponda Jet (Kyle Wilfong) beat out Cs Flying Co-pilot (Marcus Miller) to lead the field at the first quarter in :26.2. Trotting down the back stretch, the field grew stagnant in a single file line through the halfway mark in :55.3. Content with their position at this point in the race, the six-horse field remained unchanged to the three-quarter pole, led by Ponda Jet in 1:25.1. The first bit of action since the start of the race came from Finite (Trace Tetrick) in fifth, who broke the silence first-over before flushing Drink Up Drink Up. Heading into the stretch, Drink Up Drink Up glided past Cs Flying Co-pilot, leaving only Ponda Jet in his way of a winner’s circle visit. Continuing that momentum, Drink Up Drink Up chugged along the outside to beat out the post time favorite Ponda Jet by a length to the wire in 1:53.1. Ponda Jet settled for second, while Famous Father got up for third. The Trixton gelding, Drink Up Drink Up, is owned by Adam Friedland and Brian Carsey. Drink Up Drink Up added his fourth win of the season to increase his lifetime earnings to $421,058. Drink Up Drink Up paid $11.60 to win.
East Rutherford, NJ – Frattina Diablo S and Create Escape emerged victorious in the Friday night (May 8) co-features at The Meadowlands in a pair of $20,000 high-end conditioned trotting events for 3-year-olds with Hambletonian and Hambletonian Oaks dreams. In the split for fillies, the Tony Alagna-trained Frattina Diablo S, sent to the gate as the 4-5 favorite, sat a three-hole down the backside before making her way towards leader Caviart Queen Emma, who set the pace at the quarter and half in :28.3 and :57.3, respectively. “Frattina” was surging on the outside in second as the “Queen” clicked three-quarters in 1:25.4, but through the stretch, Frattina Diablo S, a daughter of Captain Corey -Lindy Strong, trotted away from her foes, hitting the wire 3-1/4-lengths clear of second-place finisher Che Bella in a lifetime-best 1:53.2. Chant was third. “We were very high on her last year and (owner) Steve Stewart and I decided to stop after Lexington to give her extra time to grow up since she was such a big filly last year at 2 and she came in Jan. 1 a different animal,” said winning trainer Alagna. “We have high hopes for her.” Driven by Johnathan Ahle, Frattina Diablo S returned $3.80 after winning for the second time in seven lifetime tries. Ahle completed a driving sweep of the marquee events after guiding Create Escape to victory lane for trainer Ake Svanstedt in the division for colts and geldings. The colt by Gimpanzee -Final Countdown completed the mile in 1:55. Practical Man, the 7-5 favorite, was gunning for a second straight score, but after going parked for the first seven-sixteenths-of-a-mile before clearing the lead, he didn’t have it in the stretch, failing to hit the board, finishing fourth. Create Escape vacated the pocket with an eighth-of-a-mile to trot and eased his way to a confident score, holding off the late-charging Sevenato by a half-length. Read The Room was third. “He qualified well last week and felt good the whole way,” said Ahle. After going off as the 3-1 third choice, Create Escape paid $8.80 to win.
Yonkers, NY – Hunterton Sold Tarapasta looked hopelessly boxed in coming into the homestretch, but Matt Kakaley was able to find a seam at the head of the stretch, and the 6-year-old Downbytheseaside mare kicked into overdrive to capture Friday’s (May 8) $456,000 Grade 2 MGM Ursula McIntyre Series final at MGM Yonkers Raceway at a stunning 25-1. Tarapasta, trained by Travis Alexander for owner Greg Luther Racing LLC., completed the mile and a quarter distance in 2:23, winning by a length over Coastal Babe N, with 1-10 favorite Louies Girl N settling for third. Kakaley had Tarapasta energized early, leaving strongly ahead of Louies Girl N on the opening bend. Coastal Babe N, with Yannick Gingras, left hard and needed nearly the first quarter before supplanting Tarapasta in a :28.2 opening fraction. Jason Bartlett wanted no part of a three-hole, and he moved Louies Girl N on the second turn, assuming control at the half in :56.4. After Louies Girl N had the top, she cut three-quarters in 1:25.2 and was put to some pressure when Millwood Bliss N moved without cover on the backstretch for the final time. Still, Louies Girl N looked to have control of the race past the mile marker in 1:54 and entering the final turn with Coastal Babe N locked along the pylons and Tarapasta sitting third without room. When Seaside Diva, with Scott Zeron, struggled to keep with Millwood Bliss N coming into the stretch, Kakaley seized the opportunity and quickly angled Tarapasta wide. The rest was history as Tarapasta overpowered a struggling Louies Girl N and won going away. Tick A Loch A rallied wide for the fourth spot. Tarapasta returned $52.72 to win and keyed a $169.94 exacta and a $340.78 trifecta. “Travis has done a superb job with her,” said Kakaley. “She’s been super. I’ve been along for the ride.” In the $100,000 McIntyre consolation, favored Walkin On Sunshine and driver Scott Zeron were up in the final strides for the victory in 2:23.3 for the added distance. A 6-year-old by Always A Virgin, Walkin On Sunshine just nailed second choice Bath Bomb with Andrew McCarthy driving. Zeron had Walkin On Sunshine away quickly from post five and out-sprinted Bath Bomb into the opening turn. Following a soft :29.1 opening quarter, McCarthy moved Bath Bomb to the front. Once in control Bath Bomb stayed in front through a half in :58.1 and three-quarters in 1:27.3. With Turn The Page N and Ron Cushing beginning an outer flow at that point, followed by Rocket Deo, Bath Bomb picked up the pace noticeably with a 28 second fourth quarter, reaching the mile in 1:55.3 and making it a virtual two-mare race. Zeron tipped Walkin On Sunshine from the pocket late on the final turn and needed a solid drive to narrow the gap and eventually overtake a determined Bath Bomb. Rocket Deo and Todd McCarthy rallied late for the third spot, with Fearless Ginger fourth across the wire. Walkin On Sunshine is owned by Maynard Miller, Daniel Lehman and Michael Yoder and is trained by Brett Pelling. As the favorite, Walkin On Sunshine returned $3.86 to win and keyed a $7.36 exacta and a $41 trifecta. Walkin On Sunshine won for the 30th time in her racing career and pushed her lifetime earnings above $705,000.
