Columbus, ON – Odds on favorite Scrappys Love took the $32,000 final of the Dr. Al Gabel Trot Tuesday (July 15) at Eldorado Scioto Downs, while longshot of the night Seaside Star took the Daryl Sherman Pace.
Scrappys Love, who won the two legs of the Gabel Trot for Ohio-sired non-winners of two races was sent off as the 1-9 favorite and convincingly took the final in 1:53.1.
Leaving from post five, Dan Noble took Scrappys Love straight to the front and never looked back, winning by six lengths after posting fractions of :27.1, :56 and 1:24.2. Illegally Funded (Kayne Kauffman) was second with Stud Muffin T (Trevor Smith) third.
Scrappys Love, trained by Chris Beaver for Gil Short LLC and Jeffrey Bankey, is by Long Tom. The 3-year-old colt now has five wins in 17 lifetime starts and $250,730 in lifetime earnings.
Seaside Star took a completely different route to the winner’s circle winning the $32,000 Sherman Pace final, also for Ohio-sired non-winners of two.
Leaving from post nine, Seaside Star got away seventh, never seeing a pylon as Go Accordingly (Kauffman) set early fractions of :27.1 and :56.3. Shortly after the 1:23.4 third quarter, Brett Miller pulled Seaside Star three-wide and was five-wide coming off the turn to sling-shot to the front. A winner by three-quarters of a length in 1:52.2, Seaside Star bested Twice As Much (Tyler Smith) and Fond Of Dancin (Noble).
Sent off at 22-1, Seaside Star paid $46.40 to win. Trained by Dean Glispie for owner Always Finish Second Stable, Seaside Star now has three wins in 20 lifetime starts and $67,120 in earnings.
Another longshot, Xenia, took the last race of the evening at 20-1, with What’s Your Beef at 22-1 finishing second. No one had a winning ticket for the top five finishers, causing a carryover of $4,932 for the fourth race $.20 Super High-5 on Wednesday’s card (July 16).
The 90-day 2025 Eldorado Scioto Downs race meet runs through Saturday, September 13. Races are held Tuesday-Saturday with a 5:45 p.m. first post. A special late first post of 6:45 p.m. on Friday, September 12 will help accommodate horsemen attending the Ohio Selected Yearling Sale. More information about racing at Scioto can be found on the Eldorado Scioto Downs website.