Harrah's Philadelphia: Venerate victorious in Maxie Lee Memorial

Venerate, sent off at 13-1, rallied off a cover trip to a 1:50 1/5 victory in the $100,000 Maxie Lee Invitational Trot on Sunday afternoon at Harrah's Philadelphia. That was the fastest mile ever trotted at the five-eighths-mile oval.

Take All Comers (Tim Tetrick) was fastest out of the gate, but Benjamin Hanover (Todd McCarthy) pressed on to his outside and got by him for the top spot after a 26 1/5 opening quarter. Benjamin Hanover would go on to the half in 54 1/5 but then came under attack from a first-over Hillexotic (Yannick Gingras), and Hillexotic became the third leader prior to the 1:21 4/5 three-quarters. When Hillexotic went back to the pylons, that left Amigo Volo (Dexter Dunn) first-up, with Venerate (Scott Zeron) and 1-5 favorite Dover In Motion (David Miller) tracking the cover.

Despite losing cover, Amigo Volo didn't lose interest and moved forward on the last turn, putting Venerate in striking position. Zeron angled Venerate three-wide at the midway point of the bend, and after he had his marching orders, Venerate swept by to the front in the upper part of the stretch. From there, he was able to keep a surging Dover In Motion at bay for the 1 1/2 length victory. Amigo Volo ended up third, followed by Hillexotic and Emerald's Legacy (Matt Kakaley).

► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter

"The Melanders did a good job. They've been prepping him for every race further on this year," remarked Zeron. "Last week (a fourth in the Arthur J. Cutler Memorial at the Meadowlands) he maybe just didn't have his best work, was a little out of position. He finished well, but I think he's building on every start. Today was not a big surprise, he's a very talented horse and the trip worked out.

"I've only had two experiences with him and so far they've both been pretty good. We'll just hope he stays on this track."

Marcus Melander trains the 6-year-old Love You stallion for owners Courant Inc., Holly Lane Stud East Ltd., Kemppi Stables Oy Inc., and Venerate Partners. He has a record of 13-4-7 from 43 lifetime starts, has now put away $1,182,729 and paid $28.60 to win.