Red Mile: Command Center scores in Kentucky Championship Series

Regally-bred Command Center rebounded from a lapped-on break disqualification in his debut for a 1:54 1/5 victory in the $80,000 second preliminary of the Kentucky Championship Series for 2-year-old trotting colts and geldings on Wednesday (Aug. 12) at The Red Mile.

Leaving from post two, driver Dexter Dunn eased Command Center to the middle of the pack while Captain Kenny J (driven by Todd McCarthy) surged forward through a 29 second first quarter to seize the lead from 169-1 shot Celebrini (Joe Bongiorno). Nights In Miami (Marvin Luna) soon angled off the cones from third to brush for the lead but greenly hesitated to clear approaching a 57 4/5 half and then broke stride, forcing incoming pursuer Top Reacher (Mattias Melander) three-wide with Dunn following his stablemate's charge. Command Center looped by Top Reacher to take the lead to three-quarters in 1:25 4/5 and maintained his advantage through the stretch as Captain Kenny J popped from a stalking trip to take second with Top Reacher trotting evenly for third and Whateverittakes As (Tony Hall) rallying from near last for fourth.

Marcus Melander trains Command Center, a colt by Gimpanzee and out of world champion mare Mission Brief, for owners S R F Stable, Holly Lane Stud East Ltd. and Steve Stewart. The colt, who sold for $500,000 as a yearling at the 2025 Harrisburg Sale, won his first race in his second start and has now earned $49,600. He paid $4.54 to win.

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Wednesday's card also featured a pair of $30,000 divisions of the Kentucky Commonwealth Series for 2-year-old trotting males. Marino (Tim Tetrick, 1:54 2/5 winning mile; $35.58 to win), a Walner-Bene Bene gelding, braved a first-over trip to pull a narrow upset over 8-5 favorite Kountry Win (Yannick Gingras) to take top honors of the two dashes. Point Blank (David Miller, 1:56 3/5; $6.62) scored from a stalking trip to win the other division by three-quarters of a length.

Trainer Marcus Melander won five races on the day. Aside from his victory in the Kentucky Championship Series division, he sent Opposition (Dexter Dunn, 1:57 3/5; $3.92), a colt out of Hambletonian Oaks winner Danae, to victory in a Kentucky Wildcat Series division and later sweeped the remaining Wildcat splits with Gagosian (Dexter Dunn, 1:56 3/5; $2.46) and Huk Hanover (Mattias Melander, 1:58 2/5; $10.96). Melander also sent Kaws (Dexter Dunn, 1:56 1/5; $3.24) to victory in the fastest of the three $15,000 Kentucky Golden Rod divisions on the day.

Inclement weather again forced The Red Mile to cancel the last two races on the card due to unsafe track conditions. Live harness racing at The Red Mile resumes on Sunday night (Aug. 16) with a 15-race card headlined by the $80,000 second preliminary of the Kentucky Championship Series for 2-year-old pacing fillies. First-race post time on Sunday is 5:05 p.m. (EDT).

--press release (Red Mile)--