Maywood Park

Contact: Tom Kelley
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MISS VICKIE CRUISES IN BG’S ABBIE STAKE

Miss Vickie and driver Brandon Simpson teamed up for an easy victory in Thursday's $15,000 BG's Abbie Stake at Maywood Park.

Looking to once again put a lock on divisional honors, Kevin Dixon and Robert Taylor’s three-year-old trotting filly, Miss Vickie, had no trouble dispatching of five rivals in Thursday’s $15,000 BG’s Abbie Stake at Maywood Park.

In a rare half-mile track appearance, the striking daughter of Valley Victor-Willy Nilly was patiently handled by driver Brandon Simpson who came away last in the six-horse field after drawing the outside post.

“I just wanted to make sure I didn’t rush her out of there and have something stupid happen,” said Simpson. “Bobby (Taylor) brought her over here and trained her over the track last week and he assured me she had no trouble handling the turns, but with the sloppy track and all I just wanted to be sure.”

After watching Money Marker (Marcus Miller) lead the field through an opening quarter in 30.0, Simpson set sail with Miss Vickie.

Blowing by their rivals with the greatest of ease, Miss Vickie went from last to first as the field reached the half-mile mark in 1:01.0.

Quickly opening up a two-length advantage over their rivals as they moved by the three-quarter-mile mark in 1:31.0, the issue was never in doubt the rest of the way as Miss Vickie cruised to a 4 ¾ length triumph in 2:01.3 over the sloppy track. Tropical Caprice (Dave Magee) shook loose late to finish second while Lady Nicole (Tom Insko) was a distant third.

After a slow start to her sophomore campaign Miss Vickie has now won five of her last seven starts and her career bankroll stands at an eye-catching $269,759.

The victory was part of a three-win night for Simpson, who now has 999 career victories.

“It seems like I’ve been in the 990s forever,” he joked after the races. “Hopefully I’ll get one early on Friday night and get it out of the way.”

The stakes action continues on Friday night with a classy field of Illinois conceived and foaled pacers slugging it out in the $40,000 Associates-Lester McKeever Stake. The eight pacers in the field have combined earnings of more than $3.2 million in their illustrious careers. Live racing begins at 7:20 pm on Friday night with a 14-race card on tap.