No Monkeys Allowed captures Open Pace; Plano wins 6

No Monkeys Allowed was all business in winning the featured $11,000 Open pace, while Rick Plano posted victories in half of Saturday night's 12 races at Vernon Downs.

Rallying from fourth in the early going, No Monkeys Allowed ($13.40) advanced to third entering the payoff patch, and then pounced on the leaders Western Tsunami (Jonathan Roberts driving) and Pacinello (Plano) in the final-sixteenth to earn a 1-1/4 length triumph in a career-best 1:50.3 performance.

No Monkeys Allowed wins 4th race in 2012 at Vernon

Brian Connor drove for trainer Edgar Clarke in the evening's first race as the 5-year-old son of Rocknroll Hanover-Weeping Wanabe earned his fourth tally at the 85-program meeting, his eighth win of 2012 and his 16 lifetime score.  Robert J. Orr and Garry Jonas own the swift-footed gelding, who raised his lifetime earnings to $200,956.

Plano, the current leader in driving wins with 153 and training tallies with 77, procured first-place finishes in the third, fifth, ninth, 10^th, 11^th and 12^th events to lift his victory count for the three-night weekend to 11.  Saturday's six scores ties (Tim Tetrick and Jim Morrill, Jr.) for the most tallies by a teamster during the track's 59^th season.

Trainer Clarke completed a double in the Early Double when the trotter Scarlet Spurs (Roman Lopez steering) secured a lifetime-best 1:58 victory in Saturday's second race for the Jamie Marra Racing contingent. 

DOWNS DOINGS—Two of Plano's Saturday scores were training tallies, giving the 60-year-old horseman a 77-71 advantage over Tracy Brainard, the defending training champ, with five programs remaining in the track's 59^th season, that continues at 6:55 p.m. Thursday –Saturday next week and on Nov. 2 and 3…Jim Morrill, Jr. leads in six-win outings at the meet with four, while Plano has done it twice and Tetrick once…The Vernon record for most wins on a single program is seven, shared by Morrill, Jr. (2008) and Josh Marks (2010)…Additional information regarding Vernon Downs, its casino, hotel, racing and promotional events can be obtained at www.vernondowns.com.