Northfield Park: Spirit Bell romps to new track record

Spirit Bell etched herself into the MGM Northfield Park history books on Tuesday (Nov. 3) with a dominant 1:54 1/5 track-record setting performance.

Spirit Bell (Aaron Merriman), who last raced against some of the top Open mares in Ohio on October 16, made short work of her foes, leaving alertly from post three.

Merriman was able to get a comfortable lead from the get-go, as much of the field was gapped throughout the mile. Warrior Way (Kurt Sugg) was the favorite's closest aggressor, but was no match for the heavy favorite, who drew off to win by five lengths.

Trained by Kent Sherman, Spirit Bell put up fractions of 27 4/5, 57, and 1:25 1/5 en route to her record-setting performance. The previous record for 4-year-old trotting mares of 1:54 2/5 was put up by Joyfulntriumphant in 2018.

With her second victory of 2020, Spirit Bell has amassed $25,513 in seasonal earnings for owners Melissa Patterson and Daryl Sherman.

Live racing continues at MGM Northfield Park on a five day-a-week schedule, racing Saturday through Wednesday, with a first post of 6 p.m.

-edited release (MGM Northfield Park)