The 2017 Kentucky Sire Stakes finals were held on Sunday night at The Red Mile, with 2-year-olds going for purses of $250,000 in each of their championship and 3-year-olds racing for $175,000 in theirs. The 2-year-old finals were conducted under Kentucky's dual-eligiblity rules that state that the offspring of any mare who is boarded in Kentucky for 180 consecutive days during the year of conception will be eligible to the Kentucky Sire Stakes program regardless of where the sire of her offspring stands. In the final for 2-year-old pacing colts, 7-2 second choice Key Advisor (Joe Bongiorno) would wrestle control away from McThirsty (Greg Grismore) past the 27 3/5 opening quarter, and from there Key Advisor reached the half in 55 3/5 and the three-quarters in 1:24.  3-5 favorite Grand Teton (Mark MacDonald) was first-over and only a length behind Key Advisor at three-quarters, but Key Advisor scooted away in the lane to win by 2 1/2 lengths in 1:51 1/5.  Grand Teton, the half-brother to Pure Country, had to settle for second, and Trajectory (Yannick Gingras) was the third-place finishers. Tony Alagna trains Key Advisor, a colt by Somebeachsomewhere, for owners Brittany Farms LLC. and Key Advisor Racing.  He has a trio of triumphs from seven efforts, and he has now earned $164,350.  Key Advisor, bred by Courant AB, was purchased for $200,000 at the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale and is out of the Western Hanover mare Credit Rating, a half-sister to Artiscape ($1,469,461).  Key Advisor returned $9.20 to win. The final for rookie pacing fillies saw the Bongiorno/Alagna tandem victorious again as Band Stand ran her record to five wins from five starts thanks to a 1:52 4/5 performance.  Newsday (David Miller) was on the point at the 26 3/5 first quarter and the 54 3/5 half, but she would be overtaken by a first-over Hurrikane Empress (Tim Tetrick) before the 1:23 4/5 three-quarters.  After she cleared, it left Pure Paradise (Tyler Smith) slotted first-up, with Band Stand, the 6-5 favorite, positioned second-over. In the stretch Band Stand would surge into the lead, and she was able to fend off a bid by Let's Fall In Love (Gingras), who had been positioned fourth-over in eighth at three-quarters, to prevail by half a length.  Dance Blue (MacDonald) brushed from sixth to third in the final panel. A filly from the first crop of A Rocknroll Dance, Band Stand is trained by Alagna for owner Brad Grant.  Band Stand, who was bred by Steve Stewart and John Carver and brought $40,000 at the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale, is a perfect five-for-five so far to go with $171,550 in earnings.  She is out of the Artsplace mare Al's Girl ($191,525), making Band Stand a half-sister to $800,000+ earner Sandbetweenurtoes (Somebeachsomewhere).  Band Stand paid $4.40 to win. Hat Trick Habit (Dave Palone) returned to the winner's circle after claiming a 1:55 2/5 victory in the 2-year-old colt trot.  Haveitalltogether (Marcus Miller) moved from third to first beyond the 27 4/5 first quarter, and he would click off a half in 57 3/5 and the three-quarters in 1:26 2/5.  Haveitalltogether put away a strong first-up try by U S Marshall (Corey Callahan) into the lane, but Hat Trick Habit moved three-deep off U S Marshall's cover, and he would overhaul Haveitalltogether en route to a one-length score.  Public choice Wolfgang (Jimmy Takter) was up for second from fourth-over, and Dawson Springs (Bongiorno) collected third. The winning Donato Hanover colt is trained by Frank Antonacci for owner Fred Monteleone Stable LLC.  Hat Trick Habit, bred by Fredericka Caldwell and taken out of the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale for $65,000, has won half of his four efforts, and he has put away $151,100.  Hat Trick Habit is out of the Muscles Yankee mare Habit's Best, making him a half-brother to Habitat ($1,262,221).  Sent off at 8-5, Hat Trick Habit returned $5.40 to win. 1-5 favorite Lily Stride (Jeff Gregory) grabbed control at the 56 4/5 half in the 2-year-old filly trot final, and she would go on to hit three-quarters in 1:25 2/5 with first-over challenger Top Expectations (Marcus Miller) dropping into the pocket after Foxy Fantasy (Palone), who had been occupying that spot, broke before that marker.  In the stretch Miller angled Top Expectations back to the outside, and she would battle with Lily Stride to the wire, with Top Expectations up for the win by a neck in 1:54 1/5.  Zoe Bi (Aaron Merriman) took third. Erv Miller trains the victorious Cantab Hall filly for owner Daniel Plouffe.  Bred by Dunroven Stud LLC. and purchased for $120,000 at the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale, Top Expectations picked up her second career victory, and she has now banked $168,378.  She is out of the Kadabra mare Exceed Expectation, making her a full sister to My MVP ($879,804).  Sent off at 10-1, Top Expectations paid $22.20 to win. Nigel SoultTrack announcer Gabe Prewitt got to call his Mt Sterling Mafia home a winnerColt pacers kicked off the $175,000 finals for 3-year-olds, and it would be even-money second choice Mt Sterling Mafia (Corey Callahan) getting up for a 1:51 2/5 victory.  He tracked 3-5 favorite V Power (Palone) from the pocket through fractions of 27, 54 3/5, and 1:24 1/5, then rallied past for the victory by a length and three-quarters.  Best Trick Ever (Bongiorno) finished in the third position. A gelding by Cambest, Mt Sterling Mafia is co-owned by trainer Kevin Thomas along with Gabe Prewitt and James McLaughlin.  This was his fourth career victory, and he has now earned $152,870.  Mt Sterling Mafia returned $4.00 to win. In The Dark (Trace Tetrick) defended her Kentucky Sire Stakes championship from last year by winning the final for sophomore pacing fillies in 1:51 2/5.  Absolutely Best (Marcus Miller) was the leader through panels of 28, 56 1/5, and 1:24, but In The Dark overtook her in the lane from first-over, and after hitting the front, In The Dark kept the bid of favored Al-mar-got A Fever (Chris Page) at bay to win by half a length.  Straightontherocks (Merriman) came in third. The victorious Cambest filly is trained by Jack Gray Jr. for owner Jim Avritt.  In The Dark now sports a record of 9-2-2 from 15 career attempts, and she pushed her bankroll to $199,825.  The 5-2 second choice, In The Dark paid $7.60 to win. The Trace Tetrick/Jack Gray Jr. duo connected again in the 3-year-old colt trot final as Beer Dad front-stepped through fractions of 29 2/5, 58 2/5, and 1:27 3/5 on his way to a 1:55 3/5 victory at odds of 4-1.  He defeated public choice Starlight As (Elliott Deaton) by a length and three-quarters, with He's On A Mission (Tim Tetrick) back in third. Dr. James Sautter bred and owns Beer Dad, a Tequila Spur colt.  Beer Dad, who did not race as a 2-year-old, has a pair of wins in 2017, and he has now put away $91,000.  He returned $10.20 to win. 1-5 choice Cassandra As (Tyler Smith) completed the winners in the finals for the 3-year-olds by taking the filly trot in 1:58 1/5.  She led her six foes at the 29 2/5 opening quarter, the 58 4/5 half, and the 1:28 4/5 three-quarters, and a 29 2/5 last quarter got her home a length and three-quarters to the good over Sadie's Trouble (Tim Tetrick).  Almondy As (Deaton) was the third-place finisher. Anette Lorentzon trains Cassandra As, a daughter of Allstar Hall, for owner/breeder ACL Stuteri AB.  Cassandra As, who paid $2.60 to win, now has a pair of wins from six lifetime starts, and she has earnings of $145,150.