Grove City, OH – Eldorado Scioto Downs hosted 11 $20,000 divisions of the Buckeye Stallion Series — five of the second leg for freshman male trotters and six of the first leg for freshman filly pacers — on Thursday (July 23).
Little Dirt Cowboy (driven by Chris Lems) highlighted the male trot winners, taking the first division in 1:57.3 for a second straight BSS victory. The In Range gelding scored a victory in the opening leg at Scioto in 1:59.2 on July 14 and now has $20,000 in earnings. Trained by Kara Miller for owner Callam Racing, Little Dirt Cowboy led gate to wire on Thursday, recording fractions of :28.2, :59, and 1:27.4 en route to winning by three and three-quarters lengths. Jackson (Ronnie Gilliespie) and All About Tom (Brett Miller) rounded out the top three.
Obsessed With Me (Miller) recorded the fastest mile of the five male trot divisions, winning the second division in 1:56.1 for his first career victory in his second start. The Matthew Burkholder trainee edged Camsflashyaction (Luke Hanners) by a nose at the line while Range Espress (Sandy Beatty) finished more than five lengths back in third. Obsessed With Me is a Ready For Moni gelding owned by Dark Horse Farm.
Me Ready won the third division by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:57.4 with Beatty serving as driver and trainer. It was the first career victory for the Ready For Moni gelding as he increased his seasonal earnings to $15,000. He is owned by Frank Cautela and John Sugar. Dollar Guard (Chris Page) was second followed by Inrange Anytime (Kevin Detweiler) in third.
Believe In Dreams (Sam Widger) took the fourth division in 1:59.2 for his first career win in three starts, increasing his earnings to $12,250. The Global Republic S gelding won by three-quarters of a length with Leigh Wynn (Tyler Smith) in second and Sergeant Chino (Miller) in third. Believe In Dreams is trained by owner Rosy Weaver.
Going off at 20-1, Senor Julio (Trevor Smith) scored an upset win in the fifth division, edging Smoking Mars (Detweiler) by a head in 1:58.3. It was the first career win in two starts for the Cuatro De Julio gelding trained by Jeff Smith for owner Tdtrot LLC. I’m Fromthecountry (Justin Irvine) finished third.
Freshman Filly Pacers
The driver-trainer duos of Marvin Luna and Erv Miller as well as Irvine and Garry Martin both teamed to win a pair of BSS freshman filly paces on Thursday.
Luna and Miller won with Lyons Cartier and Rose Run Charlie.
Lyons Cartier won the second division by three-quarters of a length in 1:55.1. Tina Fire (Austin Hanners) was second followed by Atta Girl Miki (Detweiler) in third. Lyons Cartier now has one win and one second in two seasonal starts, banking $17,500. The Downbytheseaside filly is owned by Threelyonsracing.
Making her debut start, Rose Run Charlie won the third division in 1:54.3. The Catch The Fire filly was in fourth place and trailed the leader by four lengths at the halfway mark before taking the victory by two lengths. Ds Ava (Lems) and Say Hey Miki (Page) rounded out the top three. Rose Run Charlie is owned by Ervin Miller Stable, Shim Racing, and Stepbystep Racing.
The victories for Irvine and Martin came courtesy of Poseformiki and Well Intentioned.
Poseformiki scored her first career win, taking the fourth division by 2-1/4 lengths in 1:55.1. Pa Lexi (Miller) was second followed by Sky Miki (Luke Ebersole) in third. Poseformiki has a 1-1-1 record in three seasonal starts with earnings of $13,330. The Monte Miki filly is owned by Irvine and Jessica Otten.
Well Intentioned notched her first career victory, edging Bit Of L (Ty. Smith) by a nose at the line to win the fifth division in 1:54.3 and increase her seasonal earnings to $12,500. The Well Said filly is owned by Martin, B Kleinberg Racing, Dave Tredente Sr., and Lee Unkefer. Strawberry Splash (Luna) finished more than three lengths back in third.
Tyler Smith was the winning driver in the first and sixth divisions, scoring victories with Our Grey Heart and Blue Collar Boujee, respectively.
Trained by Jeff Nisonger, Our Grey Heart tripped the wire in 1:55.3. The Heart Of Chewbacca filly won by 1-1/4 lengths with Fiamma (Lems) and If It Was Easy (Page) rounding out the top three. Our Grey Heart has four wins and one second in five seasonal starts, banking $16,019 for owner Cis Racing.
Blue Collar Boujee is 2-for-2 this season with earnings of $12,022 after winning Thursday’s sixth division. The Monte Miki filly trained by Pierce Henry won by one and a half lengths. Apple By The Sea (L. Hanners) and A Shore Thing Miki (Luna) rounded out the top three. Blue Collar Boujee is owned by Cool Winds Farm.
The Buckeye Stallion Series continues Friday (July 24) with four $20,000 divisions of the second leg for freshman colt pacers at Eldorado Scioto Downs starting at 5:25 p.m. (EDT).