Columbus, OH – Blazin Lou made it look easy as he captured the first of two $25,000 eliminations for the Grade 1 Breeders Crown for 2-year-old colt and gelding pacers at Eldorado Scioto Downs on Friday night (Oct. 16), with Starstruck Dreamer rallying in the stretch to win the second.
Blazin Lou, a son Sweet Lou-Beautiful Lady, endured a first-over trip in easy fashion to prevail in 1:50.4. Dexter Dunn drove the youngster, giving him his fourth victory on the night’s card.
Despite starting from post 8, the victory came as no surprise to the colt’s trainer Tony Dinges, who conditions Blazin Lou for owner Rick Berks.
“I was expecting him to race good, and I didn’t think the post would matter to him,” Dinges said of the colt’s outside post position. “I expected a good effort from him no matter how the race went. He showed talent all along — from the beginning of his training — and he’s gone even more forward since racing at The Red Mile.”
Rival Eastie Boy (driven by Ronnie Wrenn Jr.), the 6-5 choice, led the field to an easy :27 opening panel, and positions remained unchanged to the :56.3 half, as Blazin Lou steadily moved up on the outside to the 1:24.4 three-quarter marker. Around the final turn, Blazin Lou turned up his speed a notch and easily collared the leader with a :25.3 final panel.
Eastie Boy held on for second, while 5-2 choice Mr Bear (Marcus Miller) held on for third over 21-1 L A Captain (Bob McClure).
Ocean Party (Chris Page ) was fifth, with Billly Hill (Austin Hanners) sixth, followed by Night Agent (Andrew McCarthy) seventh, and Mascarpone (Scott Zeron) eighth.
Blazin Lou scored previous victories in Kentucky Commonwealth stakes, and more recently in the $89,300 Bluegrass Stakes and $104,000 International Stallion Stakes, both Grade 3 events, at The Red Mile. He now has a 5-1-2 record in 11 career starts and pushed his career earnings to $169,550.
Bred by Cornerstone Stock Farm, Blazin Lou was a $110,000 yearling at the 2025 Lexington Select Sale.
Starstruck Dreamer and driver Todd McCarthy took the second division in 1:50.2 as the 9-5 choice with a prolonged first-over trip that saw him nip 2-1 Night Surfer (Dexter Dunn) by a whisker in a blanket photo, with 6-5 Shalom Hanover (Louis Roy) third and 87-1 Stonebridge Blitz (Yannick Gingras) fourth.
Seine, a 24-1 choice, and driver Joe Bongiorno took the early lead out of the gate before yielding to Night Surfer (Dunn) in a :27.1 first quarter. Shalom Hanover (Louis Roy) went to the front from there and led the eight-horse field to the :55 half and 1:23.2 three-quarter marker.
Meanwhile, the eventual winner had steadily been making up ground on the backside and through the final turn, where he paced nose-to-nose with the leader, before getting up to win by a quarter length over a rallying Night Surfer. Shalom Hanover was third and Stonebridge Blitz finished fourth.
“He was really strong,” McCarthy said. “Shalom raced great too; they’re two horses that haven’t raced in a little while, so they probably needed the start under their belt. But he finished up really strong there.”
Starstruck Dreamer, a son of Captaintreacherous, is trained by Noel Daley for the partnership of Steve Wienick Racing, Pryde Stables, Jfoderatritchiecanamerica, and Hyatt Holdings. The victory, the sixth of his career in seven starts, upped Starstruck Dreamer’s career earnings to $230,500.
Bred by the Sergent Stables, Starstruck Dreamer was an impressive force in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes, taking a career mark of 1:48.4 with a world-record performance on Aug. 14 during a preliminary round of the series at Harrah’s Philadelphia. He was a $105,000 yearling purchase at the 2025 Lexington Sale.
Following the eliminations, the draw was conducted for the $700,000 final, to be held Oct. 23 at Scioto Downs. Elimination winners Blazin Lou and Starstruck Dreamer earned draw protection between posts 1 through 6.
$700,000 Breeders Crown 2-Year-Old Filly Trot Final (G1)
PP-Horse Name-Driver-Trainer
1-Blazin Lou-Dexter Dunn-Tony Dinges
2-Mr Bear-Marcus Miller-Erv Miller
3-Ocean Party-Chris Page-Ron Burke
4-Starstruck Dreamer-Todd McCarthy-Noel Daley
5-Shalom Hanover-Louis Roy-Ian Moore
6-Eastie Boy-Ronnie Wrenn Jr.-Ron Burke
7-Night Surfer-Dexter Dunn-Virgil Morgan Jr.
8-Stonebridge Blitz-Yannick Gingras-Ron Burke
9-L A Captain-Bob McClure-Luc Blais