Grove City, OH – The second leg of the 2025 Buckeye Stallion Series for freshmen concludes this week with four $20,000 divisions of colt trotters on Thursday (July 24) and six $20,000 divisions of colt pacers on Friday (July 25), which will be held at Eldorado Scioto Downs.
Each day features a 16-race card starting at 5:45 p.m.
All four first-leg winners at Bucyrus — Long To B Withu, Hidden Brook Monty, Eckert Hill Brady, and Ready Made — are entered in Thursday’s second leg for 2-year-old colt trotters and will highlight the first and third divisions.
Looking to repeat, Eckert Hill Brady (Justin Irvine) and Long To B Withu (Justin Hall) will leave from posts four and six, respectively, in the first division. Thus far this season, Eckert Hill Brady is three-for-three while Long To B Withu has hit the board in his three starts with two wins and one second. But neither one is the money line favorite in the division. That status belongs to Bug On (Dan Noble), who will leave from the far outside at 2-1. Leaving from the rail, Lt Will B Awesome (Peter Wrenn) is the 3-1 second choice. Eckert Hill Brady and Long To B Withu opened at 6-1 and 8-1, respectively.
Hidden Brook Monty (Noble) and Ready Made (Sandy Beatty) share 6-1 morning line odds as co-third choices in the third division behind 2-1 favorite Rudedude L (Hank LeVan) and 4-1 second choice Ready For Sunshine (Ronnie Gillespie).
In the opening leg, Ready For Sunshine was the runner-up to Long To B Withu, and Rudedude L finished third in the third division. Rudedude L will leave from the rail next to Ready For Sunshine in post two and Ready Made in post three. Hidden Brook Monty will leave from the far outside.
Daniel My Brother (Crist Hershberger), who was the runner-up to Eckert Hill Brady in the third division of the opening leg, is the early 2-1 favorite in the second division despite leaving from the far outside. Perfect Range (Luke Hanners) leaves from the rail as the 5-2 second choice.
Jackie Jann (Wilbur Yoder) is the 6-5 money line favorite in the fourth division and will leave from the rail alongside 2-1 second choice Okay One More (Aaron Merriman).
On Friday, the first division of 2-year-old colt pacers is the only one to feature multiple winners from the opening leg of the BSS at MGM Northfield Park with Barcelona Legend (Chris Lems) and Heerzadiamondstud (Cameron McCown). Odds On Sugar (Chris Page) will leave from the far outside as the 8-5 morning line favorite. Barcelona Legend, who is a perfect three-for-three this season, is the 7-2 second choice and leaves from post two. Heerzadiamondstud is the 9-2 third choice and will leave from post five.
First-leg winner Hunka Hunka (Kurt Sugg) is the early 7-5 favorite in the second division with 3-1 second choice The Ebony Dragon (Hanners). Hunka Hunka is two-for-two on the season while The Ebony Dragon has hit the board in all seven seasonal starts with six victories. The Ebony Dragon placed third in the opening leg.
Another first-leg winner, Heerz Corinthian (McCown), is the 8-5 morning line favorite in the third division. Fired Up Henry L (LeVan) has three wins in eight starts this season and is the 5-2 second choice leaving from the rail.
First-leg winners Odds On Rpj and Cipher are the morning line favorites in their respective divisions. Odds On Rpj (Noble) is the even money favorite in the fifth division ahead of 3-1 second choice Touchedbythesea (Page). Cipher (Brett Miller) opened with 2-1 odds in the sixth division with 5-2 second choice Captain’s Dance (Irvine). Both horses are two-for-two this season.
There are no first-leg winners in the fourth division, which features 9-5 favorite Caillou Hanover (Noble) leaving from post two alongside 5-2 second choice Odds On Phil (Sam Widger) on the rail. Odds On Phil was the runner-up to Heerz Corinthian in the opening leg.
First-leg winner Catch My Dragon is not entered in the second leg of the BSS and is instead entered in the second leg of the Ohio Sires Stakes on Saturday (July 26) at Eldorado Scioto Downs.
For more information:
Wes Mayberry
wmayberry@ohha.com
614-221-3650
The Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association (OHHA) is a non-profit organization serving Standardbred horse owners, breeders, trainers, drivers, and fans who participate in the sport of harness racing in the Buckeye State.
OHHA was founded in 1953. The mission of the Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association is to preserve, protect, promote, and serve the entire Standardbred industry in Ohio and beyond.