by Kimberly Rinker, Administrator, Ohio Standardbred Development Fund

Columbus, OH — Eight $250,000 Ohio Sires Stakes championships for Buckeye-bred 2- and 3-year-old trotters and pacers of both genders will line up behind the Northfield Park starting gate for Super Night on Saturday (Sept. 3) at Northfield Park.

A total of 64 of the highest point earners in the OSS four-leg series will partake in the grand finale for some of Ohio’s finest colts and fillies. Four divisions of trotters and an equal number of pacing divisions are set to compete over the half-mile “Home of the Flying Turns,” with a post time of 6 p.m. (EDT). The OSS events will be raced consecutively, from races four through 11.

Ohio trotting stallions represented include Triumphant Caviar, with 10 youngsters vying for first prize. Dejarmbro has five progeny competing, while Chip Chip Hooray has three. Break The Bank K, Full Count, And Away We Go and Lion Hunter all have two foals racing in the championships, with Iron Duke, Victory Sam, Rompaway Wally, Pigrim’s Taj and Lou’s Legacy with one each.

In the pacing ranks, Ohio-based stallion and Little Brown Jug winner Big Bad John has six foals competing, with Art Official and McArdle both represented by four each. Charley Barley and Feelin Friskie both have three youngsters racing in an OSS championship, while Foreclosure N, Mr Wiggles and I’m Gorgeous have two each. Canyon Wind, Manhardt, Woodstock, The Panderosa and World Of Rocknroll each have one progeny going postward in an OSS championship.

A solid number of trainers have multiple OSS youngsters racing Saturday, but Chris Beaver tops the list with nine going for the $250,000 pot, including Chim Swift, Bamaslastchance, Always A Good Time, Fraser Ridge, Buckeye Boss, Kestrel, Kerfuffle Cookie, Chips So Fast and Kanthaka. Beaver also is the top owner in regards to number of horses competing in OSS championships, with a total of seven that he owns in partnership.

Conditioner Brian Brown has eight vying for first prize, including Type A Grey, Bye Bye Felicia, Corner Con Artist, Official Creek, Barnabas, She Gone, Whataboy and Friskie Cruiser.

Trainer Bill Dailey sends out six youngsters, including Maavelous, Rose Run Spanky, Drunk On Your Love, Scotch McEwan, My Tweed Heart and Gotmoneyinmypocket.

A total of 134 owners have invested in these 64 youngsters, either as sole proprietors or in partnerships. Ohio residents have the highest number of investors, with 94, followed by Pennsylvania with 14, New York with five and Indiana, Florida, Delaware and Ontario with three each. Michigan, New Jersey and Kentucky all have two residents who have invested in the Ohio program, while one person each from Arizona, Quebec and Sweden own a piece or all of an Ohio-bred.

As the Ohio Sires Stakes program has expanded, so has the number of outside breeders who have begun to invest in Ohio-breds. Besides Ohio-based breeders, this season the OSS program has seen folks from Florida, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, New Jersey, Missouri, Iowa, Michigan, Delaware, Indiana and Ontario become involved. Ohio’s Rose Run Farm and Midland Acres, as well as owner/breeder Wilbur Stoll Lang of Jamestown, have three youngsters each racing in championship events Saturday.

Conrad photo

Let’s Get Started will be trying for a clean sweep of the Ohio Sires Stakes as she goes behind the starting gate in the $250,000 championship for 2-year-old trotting fillies.

The field of 2-year-old trotting fillies in the first OSS championship (race four) features total earnings of $479,749 among the eight starters. Joyce and Richard McClelland’s Let’s Get Started is the richest and fastest of the freshman distaffs, with $90,300 in earnings and is a track record holder at both Scioto (1:56.3) and Northfield (1:57).

In the field of 2-year-old pacing fillies (race five), the total earnings stand at $475,446. Emerald Highland Farm’s Type A Grey is the richest in the field with $97,900 amassed this year, while Sandra Burnett’s Big Bad Jane is the fastest, with a mark of 1:53.2 at Scioto Downs on Aug. 23.

The Chris Beaver-conditioned Buckeye Boss is the richest and fastest youngster in the 2-year-old colt trotting Championship (race six), as he’s racked up $104,750 with a 1:56.2 record taken at Scioto. This field of eight standouts has $444,721 in combined freshman earnings.

In the field of 2-year-old pacing colts (race seven), Barnabas, who hails from the Brian Brown stable, is the richest among his peers with $79,200 in his coffers. Combined, this group of eight has $464,733 in total foal earnings. Carl Atley’s Scotch McEwan is the fastest youngster of the group, with a mark of 1:52.3 scored at Scioto on Aug. 16.

Trish Soulsby and Rich Schaut’s A TC Queenie is the richest of all the 3-year-old trotting fillies in her division (race eight), with $102,550 earned this season. Lang and Beaver’s Kestrel is the richest in terms of lifetime earnings with $254,025. A TC Queenie and the Jim Arledge-trained Consolidator are both tied for being the fastest 3-year-old OSS contestant, with each having been clocked in 1:55.1 at Scioto Downs. This group of eight diagonally-gaited lasses has combined earnings of $485,227 in 2016 and $915,888 lifetime.

The field of 3-year-old pacing fillies (race nine) has combined 2016 earnings of $541,128 and lifetime earnings of $1,070,566. My Tweed Heart is both the richest in seasonal ($248,134) and lifetime ($115,882) and is also the fastest of any of the sophomore fillies, with a 1:52.2 record established on July 29 at Scioto Downs.

Breana Carsey’s MJB Got Faith tops all his 3-year-old trotting rivals (race 10) in terms of seasonal ($87,100) and lifetime ($279,600) earnings, while Lang and Beaver’s Kanthaka is the fastest, with a 1:53.4 record scored at The Meadows on June 14. This field has seasonal earnings of $555,066 and lifetime earnings of $1,143,268.

Trainer Ron Burke’s Winwood Mac is the fastest among the 3-year-old OSS pacing colts, with a 1:50.2 Scioto Downs score from July 30, while the Jim Mulinix-conditioned Mr Wiggle Pants is the richest, both in seasonal ($123,800) and lifetime ($214,793). These eight sophomore side-wheelers have amassed $683,692 this year and $1,189,387 lifetime.