Three Times Bettor, Gimpanzee Dancer repeat in Kentucky Sire Stakes finals
Three Times Bettor and Gimpanzee Dancer defended Kentucky Sire Stakes crowns at Oak Grove, showing how much harder the division has become to dominate.
Three Times Bettor and Gimpanzee Dancer won Oak Grove’s Kentucky Sire Stakes finals on June 22, each beating back pressure on a card that offered nearly $1 million in purses.
Three Times Bettor had to work for her title in the final for 4-year-old pacing mares. Dexter Dunn kept the Brett Pelling trainee close while Rose surged forward after Aintnothingucando carved out a quick opening quarter in 26 3/5. Three Times Bettor moved to the front near the half in 54 3/5, then held off late bids from Champagne Room and Unreasonable to win by a neck in 1:49 4/5. Owned by Thaddeus Wier, the daughter of Bettor’s Delight out of Three Times A Lady paid $2.96 to win and kept a strong season moving forward, improving to 6 wins from 7 starts in 2026, 15 for 24 lifetime, with earnings of $392,814.
Gimpanzee Dancer made his defense look cleaner, but no less valuable, in the final for 4-year-old trotting horses and geldings. Andy McCarthy sent the Chris Beaver trainee straight to the lead, and the stallion controlled every stage, hitting the first quarter in 26 2/5 and the half in 55 4/5 before drawing clear to win by four lengths in 1:52. Gimpanzee Dancer, a son of Gimpanzee out of Weslynn Dancer co-owned by Chris Beaver, Carolina Acosta and Derek Ivany, has now won 7 of 10 starts this year and 13 of 39 overall, with his bankroll rising to $579,167.
Harrisburg Heist came into the pacing final as the spring series final winner in 1:48.4 and riding a five-race winning streak, while Whiskey Wow had already flashed the fastest clocking in the male trotting final field with a preliminary win in 1:50.3.
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The June 22 card also opened Kentucky Sire Stakes action for 2-year-old pacers that day, followed by 16 trotting events on June 23 under Tuesday at the Trots and the first round for 3-year-old pacers on June 24. First-race post time for the week was 1:10 p.m. CDT, and the 2026 series for 2- and 3-year-olds now uses a three-event tiered format with purses of $40,000, $60,000 and $80,000 instead of the old two-legs-and-a-final setup.
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