Grove City, OH – There have been 15 different winners through three legs of the 2025 Buckeye Stallion Series for freshman filly pacers. The only horse to claim a repeat victory thus far, Eyes Up, will go for her third BSS win on Thursday (Aug. 21) as Eldorado Scioto Downs hosts four $20,000 divisions of the fourth leg as part of an 11-race card.
Eyes Up is one of 11 winners from prior legs of the BSS entered in Thursday’s fourth leg. She won a division in each of the first two legs at Northfield and was a runner-up in the third leg at Urbana.
“She’s a nice little filly and was easy to break,” trainer Deborah Swartz said. “She was a little lazy starting out, but the more we went with her, the more she just started going.”
After leaving from post seven at Urbana, Eyes Up was in fourth place and more than four lengths back of leader and eventual winner Stride For Stride at the halfway mark. She rallied to lead by more than two lengths entering the final stretch before being overtaken en route to finishing second by two lengths.
“She had to come from the back and just had a little trouble, but she raced well,” Swartz said.
Looking to rebound from that second-place finish, Eyes Up will again leave from post seven in Thursday’s fourth leg. She opened as the 3-2 favorite in the second division. Dan Noble returns to the sulky after guiding the Lather Up filly in each of the first three legs. Noble is a Swartz favorite, as he has also driven Ready Russell from her stable to a three-for-three start in the Ohio Sires Stakes for freshman colt trotters.
“Danny teaches them, which is what we like. He’s really good with babies,” Swartz said.
Eyes Up has hit the board in four of five starts this season with two wins and two seconds, and her lifetime best of 1:54.4 came in the second leg of the BSS. While getting a somewhat difficult post draw for Thursday’s race, Swartz believes her filly has a legitimate shot of being the first to cross the finish line yet again.
“She doesn’t have to be on the front end,” she said. “Knowing Danny, he’ll let the dust settle early on and then leave with her. That’s usually what he does. But she’s a pretty game little filly. She’s all heart, and she’s really come a long way for us.”
Seaside Angel (Jeremy Smith), the 2-1 second choice, will leave next to Eyes Up from post six. The Downbytheseaside filly won a division in the second leg of the BSS in 1:55.1 and posted a third-place finish in the third leg. Trained by Ron Steck, she posted a lifetime-best 1:54.3 with Chris Page in a race at Scioto on July 11. Page is set to drive 5-2 third choice Odds On Catherine for trainer Virgil Morgan Jr. Another Downbytheseaside filly, she has three runner-up finishes in six starts this season and will leave from the rail.
Each of the remaining three divisions feature three winners from prior legs.
Mingle In Dingle (Cameron McCown) is the 6-5 morning line favorite in the first division, which also includes Jamie Amanda (Page), City Of Fear (Trevor Smith), and Fire Country (Tyler Smith), each of whom has won a division in a prior leg. Mingle In Dingle has yet to win a BSS race this season, finishing second in the third leg after placing third in the second leg. The Dancin Yankee filly is trained by Brian Brown.
Morgan Jr. trainee Jamie Amanda is the 3-1 second choice. The Downbytheseaside filly took a first-leg victory in a lifetime-best 1:56.4 and has two wins and one second in four seasonal starts. Fire Country, a winner in the third leg, opened with 7-2 odds and will leave from the rail. Second-leg winner City Of Fear has 12-1 money line odds and will leave from the far outside.
Madetorockette (Brett Miller) is the early 8-5 favorite in the third division. Trained by Jim Arledge Jr., the Pet Rock filly posted a victory in the opening leg in 1:57.2 and later recorded a lifetime-best 1:54.3 in winning a division of the Ohio State Fair Stakes as a 32-1 longshot with Miller in the sulky. She has not hit the board in either of her other two seasonal starts, however.
Third-leg winner She’s As Well (Noble) is the 3-1 second choice. The Well Said filly is trained by Dustin Pfeifer. Also a winner in the third leg, Standerosa (Ty. Smith) opened with 9-1 odds. A daughter of The Panderosa, she is trained by Tye Loy.
Second-leg winners Queen Valerie (Page) and Rhodena Blue (Miller) and third-leg winner Atom Heart Mother (Aaron Merriman) are in the fourth division with 2-1 morning line favorite Odds On Dividend (J. Smith).
A Downbytheseaside filly trained by Morgan Jr., Odds On Dividend has three seconds and one third in four seasonal starts. All three of her runner-up finishes have come in the BSS. She will leave from post two next to 3-1 second choice Bad Girl Up (Noble) at the rail. Bad Girl Up is a Lather Up filly trained by Ron Potter with a season-best finish of third in three starts.
Atom Heart Mother opened with 9-2 odds and will leave from the far outside. Queen Valerie and Rhodena Blue will leave side-by-side from posts five and six, respectively, with morning line odds of 6-1 and 8-1.
First-race post time at Eldorado Scioto Downs on Thursday is 5:45 p.m.
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.