Red Mile: Banana Beach peels out in Kentucky Championship Series

Banana Beach rebounded from a runner-up finish in the Kentucky Sire Stakes final at Oak Grove with a narrow win in the back-half sprint of the opening preliminary for the $80,000 Kentucky Championship Series for 2-year-old pacing fillies on Tuesday afternoon (Aug. 4) at The Red Mile.

Leaving from post five, driver Andy McCarthy floated into fourth while Sweet As Silk (driven by Todd McCarthy) pushed from an inside draw to overtake pylon-starter Lindy Believer (Yannick Gingras) to a 28 4/5 first quarter. The tempo remained steady up the backstretch, prompting Andy McCarthy to attack up the rim and clear command just after a 57 2/5 half. Once on the lead, Banana Beach maintained her speed to clock three-quarters in 1:24 2/5 and stayed brave all through the stretch as My Taylors Swift (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) emerged from the backfield late to lunge but miss, settling for second by a neck in a 1:51 1/5 mile. Carly Shay (Scott Zeron) followed the winner's brush and sustained from a first-up grind in the last turn for third, while Seaside Ubeaut (Dexter Dunn) rallied from last for fourth.

A $20,000 yearling at the 2025 Lexington Selected Sale, Banana Beach, a daughter of Pebble Beach-Sweet Anna Banana, won her first race for trainer Carter Pinske while collecting her third win from four starts, earning $110,000 for owners Heather Sparks and Dr. Madonna Morrison. She paid $7.62 to win.

The 15-race card on Tuesday also featured a pair of $30,000 Kentucky Commonwealth divisions for rookie pacing fillies with Goodwalkspoiled (Kyle Husted) posting the fastest mile of the splits and also of the day's state-bred races, stopping the clock in 1:50. The Amy Husted-trained daughter of Pebble Beach-Play Nice sat a pocket trip behind pace-setter Sister Girl Blues (Dexter Dunn) through a quick early clip of 27 3/5 and 54 4/5 and pounced just after three-quarters in 1:23. She lunged to the front and held her ground for a three-quarter length win chased by Baby Puppy (Atlee Bender), who sat third throughout the mile before rallying for second.

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The first division of the Kentucky Commonwealth Series went to Haven (Dexter Dunn, 1:51 1/5 winning mile; $5.26 to win), who was one of three training wins on the day for Brett Pelling. Pelling's other wins from the hat trick came in two of the three $15,000 divisions of the Kentucky Golden Rod Series for 2-year-old pacing fillies. JK Alwaysbpositive (Tim Tetrick, 1:53 3/5; $2.60) and Holy (Tim Tetrick, 1:52 2/5; $2.52) also reached the winner's circle on the day. The other Kentucky Golden Rod split was won by Downtown Blvd (Todd McCarthy, 1:53 1/5; $7.30), who is a full sister to 2026 Meadowlands Pace champion Brandon Blvd.

Tuesday's card also proved special for Peter D. Alagna of Versailles, Ky., as he registered the first pari-mutuel driving win of his career when guiding Isotta Bi to a 1:56 victory in a $6,000 overnight trot late in the card. Alagna looped from a pocket trip moving into the last turn and staved off odds-on favorite Caviart Queen Emma (Andy McCarthy) to win by a half-length for owner-trainer Peter Alagna, who recently acquired the daughter of Gimpanzee from the Marcus Melander barn. Alagna's first win in the bike, returning $39.04 to bettors, came in just his tenth drive for purse money and also in his first drive since competing at the Mayfield Fairgrounds in 2025.

Live harness racing at The Red Mile resumes on Wednesday (Aug. 5) with a 14-race card headlined by an $80,000 Kentucky Championship Series division for 2-year-old trotting fillies, carded as Race 5. First-race post time at The Red Mile is 1 p.m. (EDT).

--press release (Red Mile)--