Columbus, OH – Virgil Morgan, Jr. got lifetime training win 8,000 Saturday night (June 6) at Eldorado Scioto Downs, but it was a bit of a nail biter to see if he’d get the victory at his home track.
Morgan has been the leading trainer at Scioto for 31 years, but with horses racing at both Northfield and Scioto Saturday night, he could have gotten the victory at either track – and in the span of an hour, Morgan won four races between the two.
Win 7,998 came at an 8:43 p.m. off time when Carbine and Jeremy Smith took the Open III at Scioto in 1:50.3. The very next race, win 7,999 came at 9:01 p.m. when Bright Bet and Cam McCown won the Open II in 1:50. Win 8,000 came at 9:19 p.m. when Justin Irvine guided I Did It Myway to victory in 1:50 in a NW8501L4 event. Morgan then got win #8,001 taking the Buckeye Distaff at Northfield with Odds On Chesapeake.
I Did It Myway did not do it the easy way to get Morgan the milestone victory. Parked three-wide into the first turn, the Captaintreacherous stud took the long way around through a 26 opening quarter and 53.3 half. Heading down the backstretch, Irvine ducked I Did It MyWay to the rail as Rock The Hill (Devon Tharps) continued to lead the field to the 1:20.4 third quarter. Going deep into the passing lane, I Did It Myway squeezed through to win by a length and a half over Kage Daniel (Marvin Luna); Rock The Hill finished third.
I Did It Myway is owned by David Hamm, EVM racing and Glenn Phillips. The 7-year-old now has 41 wins in 125 lifetime starts and $1.51 million in earnings.
Morgan hit win 7,000 four years ago and has averaged 229 wins each year over the last eight years. He currently sits second by career training wins behind Ron Burke and nearly 1,000 wins ahead of Erv Miller who sits in third. Morgan also currently sits fifth in career training earnings with over $83.3 million, behind Burke, Jimmy Takter, Erv Miller and Robert McIntosh.
Morgan looks to secure his 32 leading trainer accolades for the 2026 racing season at Scioto and has a good lead after Saturday’s program with 44 wins, which has him 25 ahead of Ron Burke who sits second and Heather France who sits third with 17.
The 91-day 2026 Eldorado Scioto Downs regular season runs through Saturday, September 19. Races are held Tuesday-Saturday, with a special holiday card on Labor Day instead of the Tuesday card that week. The track will then re-open for the Breeders Crown, with eliminations held October 16-17 and the finals October 23-24. More information about all the racing action at Scioto can be found on the Eldorado Scioto Downs website.