Smith had the four-year-old Bettor’s wish gelding on his toes at the start and providing early daylight during the opening quarter of :27.3.
I Did It Myway (Luke Hanners) was in the pocket and Naturally Gifted A (Brett Miller) was on the rail in third.
The beautiful Big Guy (Chris Page) was pushed off the rail in fourth, providing cover for Downbytheocean (Josh Sutton) at the half mile station is a pedestrian: 57.1
Bettor Is Nice was able to pull away from his challengers with a :54 back half to seal the deal.
The beautiful Big Guy unleashed an incredible final quarter of 26.3 to close the final gap to 1 ¼ lengths.
Naturally Gifted A finished third and Alta Revelry N (Trevor Smith) completed the superfecta.
Better Is Nice is a $1.1 million earner trained by Michael Hitchcock for the William A. Hartt and H&H Stable partnership.
BETTER IS A NICE REPETITION
Joelsyy Hanover (Sam Widger) went gate to wire but had to hold off a two-pronged attack at the $22,000 conditioned pace.
Joelsyy Hanover was the better of the four early departures, controlling the pace and fractions of :26.4 and :55.3.
Skipper N (Trace Tetrick) was the first to move out, providing cover for Hello Sweetie Boy (Tyler Smith) and Henry The Horse (Luke Hanners).
Driver Chris Page opted to keep the betting favorite, Racing Rebel, in the pocket and wait for the passing track. Joelsyy Hanover crossed three-quarters in 1:24.1. When the leader returned home, he found a challenge from within with Racing Rebel and from without with Skipper N.
Joelsyy Hanover was a neck ahead of Racing Rebel and half a length better than Skipper N in 1:51.4.
His company is co-owned by trainer Jessica Millner and Andrew Coblentz.
Joelsyy Hanover ends his seven-year season with 8 wins in 34 season starts and almost $170,000 in earnings.
Page ended the night with a triple and five other runners had doubles.
Racing returns to Dayton Raceway Monday (Dec. 29) with just two cards left on the 2025 schedule. Free past performance pages are available at hollywooddaytonraceway.com.
For full race results, click here: American trotting results.
By means of Jay Wolf for Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway
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