Oak Grove: Kentucky-Bred Series prelims conclude

Kentucky-Bred Series events for 4-year-olds were the highlight of Tuesday afternoon's program at Oak Grove Gaming and Raceway. Yannick Gingras had a big day, winning three of the four $50,000 contests.

In the male trot, which was held as a non-bettor before the pari-mutuel program, Gingras and Kildare King led through panels of 28 2/5, 56 4/5, and 1:24 4/5 on the way to a 4 3/4 length victory in 1:52. Jula Muscle Pack (Andrew McCarthy) finished second, followed by Flemsteen (Joey Putnam).

A gelding by Trixton, Kildare King is owned by breeder Robert Goodman and trained by Chris Beaver. This was Kildare King's ninth lifetime tally, and he has now earned $187,725.

The mare pace was the opening race on the betting card, and Blue Diamond Eyes and Gingras pressed on two-wide to take over the lead from High Minded (Kevin Wallis) nearing the 26 3/5 opening quarter. From there, Blue Diamond Eyes rolled through a 56 2/5 half and a 1:24 1/5 three-quarters, then sprinted home in 26 3/5 to score by four lengths in 1:50 4/5. High Minded wound up second and Classicist (McCarthy) was third.

Blue Diamond Eyes, a daughter of Captaintreacherous, is trained by Ron Burke and owned by Thomas and Scott Dillon. She made her 15th appearance in the winner's circle, has now pocketed $1,252,714, and returned $2.10 to win as the 1-9 favorite.

In the horse and gelding pace, Mad Man Hill (Todd Warren) chopped out the opening quarter in 26 4/5, but Gingras brought Goldie's Legacy out of the pocket on the way to that station and cleared to the point racing to the 55 1/5 half. Goldie's Legacy would go on to reach three-quarters in 1:22 1/5, and a 27 4/5 last quarter got him to the wire 2 1/4 lengths ahead of Komodo Beach (McCarthy) in a 1:50 mile. Caviart Lotus (Tony Hall) grabbed third.

Jeff Cullipher trains and co-owns Goldie's Legacy, a gelding by Always A Virgin, with Pollack Racing LLC. Goldie's Legacy is now a 16-time winner, and he pushed his bankroll to $464,910. He paid $3.40 to win as the 3-5 choice.

Beltassima (McCarthy) delivered in the mare trot, clicking off fractions of 28 3/5, 57, and 1:26 1/5 before trotting a 29 second last quarter to prevail by four lengths in 1:55 1/5. Awesome Trix (Hall) was next, followed by Jazzy Jules (Christian Lind).

A Trixton mare trained by Tony Alagna, Beltassima is owned by Crawford Farms LLC. This was her 11th career victory, and she has now earned $422,947. She was 1-9 and returned $2.20 to win.

The Kentucky-Bred Series will conclude next Tuesday with four $150,000 finals.