Delaware County Fair: Hot As Hill, Pub Crawl tally in Buckette divisions

Grand Circuit action at the Delaware County Fair began on Wednesday afternoon with two $45,825 Buckette divisions for 3-year-old filly trotters that were won by Hot As Hill and Pub Crawl.

Hot As Hill (Joe Bongiorno) got away in second behind Four Under Par (Brett Miller) but pulled out of the two-hole to take command passing the 29 2/5 opening quarter. From there, it was all Hot As Hill, as she opened up a gap on her foes through middle-half stations of 58 and 1:26 4/5, then cruised home in 30 1/5 over the sloppy going to win by 6 1/4 lengths in 1:57. Guccio's Lady (David Miller) was the runner-up, and Treasure Gems K (Mike Wilder) came in third.

Ron Burke trains Hot As Hill, a daughter of Muscle Hill bred by Stan Klemencic, for owners Burke Racing Stable LLC., Larry Karr, Knox Services Inc., and J&T Silva- Purnel & Libby. Hot As Hill now has nine career victories, and she pushed her bankroll to $247,511. She was the 1-9 favorite and paid $2.10 across the board.

In the other grouping, Pub Crawl (Andy Miller) shot to the top from the pole position and carved out fractions of 28 2/5, 58 3/5, and 1:28 1/5. Coming off the last turn, May Karp (Tim Tetrick) angled out of the two-hole, and while she did gain to the line, it wasn't enough, as Pub Crawl held sway to score by half a length in 1:57 2/5. Dutiful (David Miller) held on to third after stalling out from first-over approaching three-quarters.

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Pub Crawl is a Bar Hopping filly trained by Julie Miller for owners Marvin and Lynn Katz, Al Libfeld, and Sam Goldband. The Fair Winds Farm and Steve Jones-bred Pub Crawl has a record of 8-4-4 from 27 lifetime appearances, and she has now earned $346,671. Sent off as the 4-5 choice, she returned $3.60 to win.