Mid-Atlantic Three Stars: August 11

 Her World was impressive in victory at Monmouth on Saturday. Photo By Taylor Ejdys/EQUI-PHOTO

Plenty of racing action took place throughout the Mid-Atlantic this past week.

Here’s a look at the “three stars” of each track:

PIMLICO

• FIRST STAR: BAND ON TOUR. This Maryland-bred gelding defeated an open n/w2x allowance field in Saturday’s feature race by a length. It was a hard-fought victory, as he dueled with Cry No More almost all the way around the track. In the last sixteenth, under vigorous urging from Angel Cruz, Band on Tour got by and won by a length, for his second victory of the Pimlico meet, and his third of the year. He’s owned by Non Stop Stable and Paul Fowler Jr and trained by Gary Capuano. 
• SECOND STAR: MCELMORE AVENUE. A Maryland-bred beat open company again on Sunday, as McElmore Avenue went gate-to-wire in a n/w2x allowance going long. With one half of a dominant Jamie Ness entry scratched, McElmore Avenue was the odds-on choice in the four-horse field. Alex Crispin sent him right to the lead, and he drew clear as they moved up the backstretch. Turning for home, no one was able to catch him, and he won by 1 3/4 lengths. He won four races in a row at Laurel Park between last fall and winter, and has finished in the top two in five of six races this year. Mary Eppler trains and co-owns with RAM Racing Stable. 
•  THIRD STAR: J.D. ACOSTA. Acosta won three races on Friday’s card, and came within a nose of a grand slam. He won race 1 on Imperial Moon, for trainer Alexander Martinez, the 3rd race on John Salzman Jr trainee Six O’Clock Sarah, and race 7 aboard Ran Char, for Charles Frock. He lost race 6 by a nose on Uhwarrie Sky, who got nailed on the wire by King Bubble. With two weeks left in the meet, Acosta has a good chance to win the riding title. His 37 wins have him in a tie for second place. Charlie Marquez leads the way with 41 victories. 

CHARLES TOWN RACES

  MONMOUTH PARK

• FIRST STAR: HER WORLD. Wesley Ward is often very sharp with debuting 2-year-olds, and he further proved that point on Saturday, when Her World made her first start a winning one in the Tyro Stakes. Despite being the only first-timer in the field, bettors were enthusiastic, sending her off as the 4-5 favorite. She won in dominant gate-to-wire fashion, cruising home a six-length winner under Paco Lopez. She covered five furlongs in a sharp 56.62 seconds. It would not be surprising to see her in graded stakes company later this year. The winning owners are Andrew Farm, Susan Molton, For the People Racing Stable LLC, and Windmill Manor Farm.
• SECOND STAR: CARLOS HERNANDEZ. Hernandez won four races from six mounts on Sunday’s splashtastic card. He won twice for trainer Alan Bedard, scoring in race 1 with Tic Tic Boom and race 6 on Special Risk. He also won race 5 on Paddy’s Princess, trained by Jose Sanchez, and race 8 on Claudio Gonzalez-trained Misty Taste. Hernandez has 17 wins on the meet from 127 mounts, placing him sixth in the current standings. 
• THIRD STAR: RAASED. Sunday’s card also featured the Oceanport Stakes, which was washed off the grass thanks to the heavy rain. That worked perfectly for Raased, who previously won an off-the-grass race on opening weekend. As the odds-on favorite, he won by 19 1/4 lengths, dominating his three overmatched rivals. He’s owned by Candido Esquivel, trained by Alison Escobar, and ridden by Heriberto Figueroa. 

DELAWARE PARK

• FIRST STAR: CHARLIE MARQUEZ. Marquez had a great day last Thursday, with four wins and one second from five mounts. He won two for Cal Lynch, taking race 2 with Defund and race 5 aboard Mahkato. He also won race 4 with Lawn Boy, trained by Mark Reid, and race 9 with Stormy Bonnie, trained by James Lawrence II. In between, he got second in race 8 with Singlino. Going into this Wednesday’s card, Marquez has 19 wins from 97 mounts.
• SECOND STARS: JUSTALITTLEVIOLENT. This 5-year-old mare improved to 3-for-4 on the year last Monday, winning a washed-off n/w2x allowance by a nose. She set the pace throughout in the five-furlong race, despite encountering pressure throughout. She had enough left in the stretch to hold off Baci for the narrow victory. Angel Suarez had the winning mount for Joseph Besecker and Hugh McMahon.
• THIRD STAR: DEFUND. This aforementioned Cal Lynch trainee was one of the most impressive 2-year-olds of the meet so far. He cruised to a gate-to-wire win, crushing a maiden special weight field by eight lengths. He stopped the clock for 5 1/2 furlongs in an impressive 1:04.27, more than two seconds faster than another field of maidens a few races later. The winner is owned by Nick Sanna Stables LLC. 

PARX RACING

• FIRST STAR: SHEER FLATTERY. Last Monday, Sheer Flattery won a starter allowance by 3 1/2 lengths for his fifth win of the year from seven starts. He seized firm control of the lead as they rounded the second turn, and cruised under the line as much the best. All five of his wins this year at Parx, as he’s been dominating starter allowance races here. He’s owned by Over the Moon Racing LLC, trained by Louis Linder Jr, and ridden by Frankie Pennington.
• SECOND STAR: SEVIER. Pennington guided home another impressive starter allowance type last Wednesday, this one for trainer Jamie Ness. Sevier improved to 6-for-7 on the season with a 3 3/4-length win in a starter optional claiming contest. He pressed the pace under Frankie Pennington, then moved to the front entering the stretch and maintained his advantage. He’s a neck defeat at Oaklawn Park away from a perfect record on the season. He’s owned by Morris Kernan Jr, Yo Berbs, and Jagger Inc. 
• THIRD STAR: JAMIE NESS. On Wednesday, the final card before Parx’s August break, Ness won five races on the 11-race program. He swept the early double with Long May You Run and Dennard, both ridden by Ruben Silvera, then won race 6 with Colonel Juan and Silvera. Ness then won two with Pennington. In addition to the aforementioned Sevier, they also won race 8 with Factor It In. Heading into the break, Ness has a tremendous edge in the trainer standings.

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