Longshot triggers record MVRC payouts

Staff report

Austintown

R B Wild Promise, a 206-to-1 longshot, triggered several record payoffs on Monday at Mahoning Valley Race Course.

Payouts included $415.20 for a $2 win ticket in the seventh race, a $5,000 conditional claiming event.

The win also was notable in that it provided owner/trainer Gwendolyn Crosser with her first training victory on a day that also produced an all-time record single program handle of $1,182,223.

Ridden by Luciano Hernandez, the 4-year-old Florida bred son of D’Wildcat rallied outside entering the stretch and prevailed late in a charge to the finish in which the top six finishers were separated by just one length.

Second- and third-place finishers Valiente Corazon and Indy Cruz rounded out a trifecta that paid a record $7,049.05 for a 50-cent wager. The winning margin was a half length.

Crosser, 23, is from Gainesville, Fla., and recently passed her trainer’s test after working at Mountaineer Racetrack in Chester, W. Va. She was an assistant to John Baird.

“I am on cloud nine. I can’t believe he won,” Crosser said. “It was so exciting, I was yelling, ‘C’mon boy, get up,’ and he did.

“I love him so much,” Crosser said. “I have had R B Wild Promise for more than four months and he is just a cool horse with a great personality. You can be sure he will be getting extra carrots and apples tonight.”

The total handle of $1.182 million on the nine-race program bettered the previous mark of $1,104 million set last Dec. 30 and is the third million-dollar handle during the past week. The win was the second of the year and third overall for R B Wild Promise. With the $5,160 winner’s share of the purse, the horse has earned more than $22,790 from 16 starts.