Market Share wins in 1:50.3 in Lexington

In one of the easiest looking 1:50.3 miles ever trotted, Hambletonian winner Market Share cruised to a 3 1/2-length victory in a $10,000 late-closing trot Saturday afternoon at The Red Mile. The 3-year-old colt was not eligible to Sunday's Kentucky Futurity, but his connections decided to not make the supplemental payment and instead race in the late-closer.

 

Leaving from post one as the 1-9 favorite, Market Share and driver Tim Tetrick settled in third as the Corey Callahan-driven Lightning Storm and the Ron Pierce-driven Prayer Session got away in the top two positions, respectively. The eight-horse field raced pretty much single file as Lightning Storm led through a :27.4 quarter and :55.4 half.

 

Heading into the final turn Tetrick finally tipped Market Share to the outside and rushed up first-over as the three-quarters clicked 1:23.3. In cruise contol down the stretch, Market Share closed out his mile with a final quarter of :27 flat to easily defeat Power Session, who also went around Lightning Storm in the stretch for runner-up honors.

 

The mile by Market Share missed by just two-fifths of a second the all-age world record as well as the world mark for 3-year-old colt trotters shared by 3 year olds Donato Hanover and Muscle Hill and older hoses Chapter Seven, Lucky Jim and Giant Diablo. Enough Talk has a mark of 1:49.3, taken at the 1 1/4-mile oval at Colonial Downs.

 

Trained by Linda Toscano, Market Share is owned by Richard Gutnick, Tom and Lou Pontone's TLP Stable and Bill Augustine. The career-best effort was his eighth win in 16 starts this year, increasing his seasonal bankroll to $1,766,705.