Allnightdance sets turf course record

The 4-year-old filly Allnightdance not only outfought Cat Hop to barely reach the wire first, but earned a course record and her first career stakes victory in the process Monday night at Mountaineer Racetrack.

Making a six-wide move under Oswald Pereira, Allnightdance ($28.40) got up by a head in the co-featured $75,000 Summer Finale Handicap for fillies and mares. Her time of 1:37.94 for a mile and 70 yards erased the turf course record of 1:38.14 set by the 3-year-old filly Beautiful Venue on Aug. 4, 2007.

Coincidentally, Beautiful Venue finished third as the 9-5 favorite in the Summer Finale, three-quarters of a length behind the near dead heat.

Allnightdance, trained by Derek Ryan, began the year running for a $16,000 claiming tag and spent most of the season running in starter handicaps at Tampa Bay Downs and Philadelphia Park. She most recently was a distant fifth, beaten nearly 10 lengths by Cat Hop, the 16-1 upset winner of the Claiming Crown Tiara at Canterbury Park.

One race earlier, Presque Isle Downs shipper Media Play ($8) survived a bumping incident with runner-up Buckeye Buddy to draw clear by 1 1/4 lengths in the $75,000 Labor Day. The winning time of 1:38.19 was also close to Beautiful Venue's old course record.

It was the first win on turf in two tries for Media Play, a 4-year-old gelding ridden by Willie Martinez for trainer Justin Nixon.