Gordon Waterstone

Lexington, KY — Last year’s inaugural $150,000 The Next Generation races for 2-year-olds — where nominators purchase a slot for an unnamed horse in March for $10,000 — were a big success at Eldorado Scioto Downs, so much so that after the initial contests were only for pacers, trotters were added this year.

Slots for all four races quickly sold out when the March 15 deadline arrived, and trophies will be handed out for the trotters on Friday night (July 2) and for the pacers on Saturday night (July 3).

Last year, Winella Hanover won the race for filly pacers, while Charlie May captured the colt pace, which was the early springboard for a campaign that ultimately resulted in him being named Ohio’s 2-year-old Colt Pacer of the Year.

According to Scioto’s director of racing Jason Roth, 13 slots changed hands in the days leading up to the draw, three in each event except for the filly pace, which saw four slots sold to new connections. The vast majority of the 36 The Next Generation starters — sired by nine Ohio-based trotting stallions and by three Ohio-based pacing stallions — will be making their career debut while racing for a six-digit purse, with only eight having a purse start under their belt.

Lightning Leia was an impressive gate-to-wire, 1:54.2 winner in an $11,700 overnight on June 21 at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. Curtis Salonick photo.

That short list includes pacing filly Lightning Leia, who won her lone 2-year-old qualifying race and then was an impressive gate-to-wire, 1:54.2 winner in an $11,700 overnight on June 21 at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. A daughter of Downbytheseaside-D D Delightful, Lightning Lea is trained by Travis Alexander and she will be driven by Matt Kakaley, lining up in post two on Saturday night in the event that is slated as race six.

Lightning Leia is owned by Mark Wasserman’s Fiddler’s Creek Stables. Alexander said Wasserman had also purchased a slot in the colt pace, but when that freshman developed an abscess in his left front foot, that slot was sold to owner William Hartt, who entered The Mountain, who has a first and second in a pair of qualifiers at MGM Northfield Park on his resume.

“When it came to buying slots, I talked to Mark (Wasserman) about buying one for each (pacing event), and he said sure,” said Alexander, who will be at Scioto Downs for the first time since 2001 when he brought a trotter for the Tompkins-Geers when he worked as an assistant for trainer Joe Holloway. “Unfortunately, my very nice Downbytheseaside colt named Double Double decided it was time to blow an abscess, or we would have had two in.

“He never disappointed me or had a bad day. The filly never did anything flashy but did her work.”

Lightning Leia won her qualifying race on June 9 at Pocono in 1:57, and then came back two weeks later to score her maiden victory in the overnight. Alexander said after Lightning Leia clicked off first-half fractions of :28 and :57.1 in that race, she posted identical :28.3 back-half clockings that he admitted left him a bit surprised.

“I was caught off-guard because she went down the backside more than (Kakaley) wanted,” said Alexander. “She just floated away and had plenty of pace finishing, but Matt never flashes one until the money is up. It was a well-measured win and a nice confidence builder for her going into this race.”

Alexander said Lightning Leia will have a home at Virgil Morgan Jr.’s Winner’s Circle Training Center near Scioto Downs while she campaigns this summer on the Ohio Sires Stakes circuit. The first Sires Stakes stop is scheduled for July 10 at Northfield Park.

Alexander said he expects even bigger things from Lightning Leia as she also has some open stakes on her schedule, including during the Grand Circuit meet at The Red Mile.

“I think our filly is better than just an Ohio-sired filly,” said Alexander. “She has to show it, but I think she has the talent.”

Lightning Leia has the pedigree to justify Alexander’s belief. She is out of the Bettor’s Delight dam D D Delightful, and her second dam is the world champion Thereal Ideal. D D Delightful’s first foal was DD Delicious, who earned $143,910 while competing primarily on the New York Sires Stakes circuit for Alexander and Kakaley.

“They are very similar,” Alexander answered when asked to compare the two fillies. “Matt absolutely loved DD Delicious at three. Matt says this filly is just like her, she’s smart, classy and fast. And that’s all you can hope for.

“Lightning Leia is handy and when she’s on the front end she’s calm and lets Matt drive. In a hole she is just as calm. She can do it either way. She’s ready to go.”

Alexander is a big supporter of the concept of The Next Generation, which allows a nominator to purchase the slot without naming a horse and have the availability to sell and/or buy if need be. It’s the same concept as the Mohawk Million for 2-year-old trotters that was contested last year at Woodbine Mohawk Park (won by Venerate), with those slots going for a heftier price of C$100,000.

“I think this is a fantastic idea and no downside to it,” said Alexander. “It’s a great way to start out the season for these horses.”

For complete entries for the Saturday card at Scioto, click here.