Records set at Chester

Trotters and track records were in the spotlight Thursday at Harrah’s Chester Casino & Racetrack as Sir Perseverance and Party Lad took first leg divisions of the Richie Prospect, and Solveig and Stonetag captured second leg divisions of the Shep’s Pride late-closer series.

Libfeld, Katz, and Goldband’s Sir Perseverance zipped to a new track mark for trotters when he went in 1:53.2 in winning his Richie Prospect leg. The 4-year-old Richard Norman trainee moved strongly into the lead after the first quarter mile (:27.4) and reeled off subsequent fractions of :57 and 1:25.2 en route to his record clocking. Beach Nut Brand was second and Spellyuptothebar was third.

Winning driver George Brennan was jubilant following the victory.

“I can’t say enough about this horse," said Brennan. "He races against the best trotters in the country–like Sand Vic and Vivid Photo–and he wins his share of them. He just showed his class today.”

William Mulligan’s Party Lad snagged the other division of the Richie Prospect, traversing the one mile in 1:55.4 for driver David Miller and trainer William Popfinger. Wildwood Days was next, with Kosmopoliton third.

Solveig, send off at 4-5 for trainer-driver Jimmy Takter in her Shep’s Pride division, trotted the mile to score by a head over Godess Of Chaos and Calchips Muscle. Solveig’s winning time of 1:55.2 established a new track record for 4-year-old trotting mares, and the winner’s share of $10,000 advanced her career bankroll to $766,791.

“She’s a real nice mare and has been racing real tough and a lot more often than I like to race her,” said Takter, “but we had a good trip today and everything worked for us.”

An hour or so later, Matthew Bailey’s Stonetag annexed the other Shep’s Pride division in 155.2, with Carie’s Credit second and Classical Man third. Stonetag is a 5-year-old son of Tagliabue out of the pacing mare Keystone Elsa. He is trained by George Simmons and was driven by Jack Baggitt, Jr. (Harrah's Chester)

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