Columbus, OH — The fourth annual Next Generation events at Eldorado Scioto Downs will be held Saturday (July 1). First post is 5:50 p.m. with the 2-year-old filly pace going off as race three and the 2-year-old filly trot going behind the gate for race seven.
Each pacing filly in the field has qualified two times, with half of them also making one pari-mutuel start prior to Saturday’s race. Three are by the dominant Ohio sire Downbytheseaside, while two are from the first crop of Lather Up. Another two are by Racing Hill, who is competing in Saturday’s fourth race. The lone Big Bad John in the field is a homebred of the stallion’s racing connections, Winchester Baye Acres.
The 5-2 morning line favorite for the filly pacers is Majestic Seas, from the Brian Brown stable. The Downbytheseaside filly was a $110,000 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale purchase by County Club Acres, Krik Nichols and Scott Dillon from Andray Farm and Sergent Stables. She will be driven by Ronnie Wrenn Jr. from post five in the eight-horse field. She qualified at Delaware in 1:58.1, and came back on June 24 at Hoosier Park and was timed in 1:56 with a :26.3 last quarter.
The fastest filly in the race is the Tye Loy trainee Beautiful Lather. She qualified June 1 in 1:58.3, and after another qualifying start raced at Northfield on June 21, timed in 1:55.2. Aaron Merriman will drive the Lather Up filly from post seven for owners by David Wills, Richard Coad, Tye Loy and Douglas Gregory. She was a $21,000 Ohio Selected Yearling Sale purchase from breeder Galliers Racing.
Not a single 2-year-old trotting filly entered in The Next Generation has made a pari-mutuel start yet. Sires Long Tom (2), What The Hill (2), freshman sire Volstead (2), Enterprise and Triumphant Caviar are all represented in the eight-horse field, with Sugar Instead (Volstead) being the slight morning line favorite at 4-1.
The Ronnie Gillespie-driven Sugar Instead recently switched barns after her two qualifying starts, where she was timed in 2:01.3 and came back on June 19 to win in 1:57. Susan Sickle purchased Sugar Instead out of the August Blooded Horse Sale for $11,000, but she was purchased on draw day (June 27) by Joyce McClelland and Larry Wills. Virgil Morgan Jr. now trains the filly.
Possibly the most interestingly bred horse in the field is Sedona Hill (What The Hill). She was purchased out of the Ohio Select sale for $24,000 by Thestable Sedona Hall Group and Hutchison Harness. Her dam, Sonalona Hanover, is a sister to Spellbound Hanover, the dam of Hambletonian winner Marion Marauder. Sedona Hill has two wins in her qualifying starts, both at Northfield, in 2:01 and 2:00.3. Anthony MacDonald drives the What The Hill filly for Jason McGinnis. The pair won the 2022 Next Generation for trotting fillies with Swinging Senorita, another What The Hill filly the fractional ownership entity headed by MacDonald owns in partnership with Hutchison Harness.
Saturday’s race card marks the return of the Pick-8. There will be a $25,000 guarantee on the wager, a 14 percent takeout, and a 50 percent consolation payout with a 50 percent carryover if no one picks all eight winners. The wager will begin with race five on Saturday and includes the Next Generation for 2-year-old trotting fillies.
Racing is held at Scioto Downs each Tuesday and Wednesday with a 3:15 p.m. first post and Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays with a 5:50 p.m. first post through Sept. 16. Follow @SciotoRacing on Twitter for all the details of the 2023 racing season at Eldorado Scioto Downs.
More information about the entire Scioto Downs racing season, including race schedule, wagering menu, VIP room reservations and more can be found at www.SciotoDowns.com.