Grove City, OH – The three-day Champaign County Fair meet in Urbana, Ohio, opens Monday (Aug. 4) with a card of 11 races in the third leg of the Buckeye Stallion Series for freshman male and filly pacers.
There will be six $20,000 divisions of colt pacers and five $20,000 divisions of filly pacers. First-race post time is 6:30 p.m. (EDT).
Eyes Up (Dan Noble) is the lone horse among all 78 entries who will be looking to go 3-for-3 in the BSS this year. Trained by Deborah Swartz, the Lather Up filly is the early 3-2 favorite in the first division of filly pacers. She won her division in the second leg of the BSS in a lifetime-best 1:54.4 after winning the first leg in 1:56.4. Each of the first two legs were held at MGM Northfield Park. Eyes Up is owned by Harry and Darlene Alltop. Jamie Amanda (Tyler Smith) is the 3-1 second choice and will leave from the rail. She won her division in the opening leg of the BSS and was a runner-up in the second leg.
Mingle In Dingle (Cameron McCown) is the narrow 5-2 morning-line favorite in the second division. The Brian Brown trainee will leave from post seven in the second tier. The Dancin Yankee filly placed third in her lone prior start this season and posted her lifetime best of 1:57.1 in a qualifier. Rhodena Blue (Brett Miller) will leave from the rail as the 3-1 second choice. Trained by Neil MacInnis, the Lather Up filly recorded her first career win in the second leg of the BSS, crossing the line in 1:57.
Seaside Angel (Chris Page) is 2-for-2 this season and will leave from the rail as the early even-money favorite in the fourth division. One of those victories came in the second leg of the BSS in 1:55.1. A Ron Steck trainee, the Downbytheseaside filly has a lifetime best of 1:54.3, which came at Eldorado Scioto Downs on July 11. She’s As Well (Noble) is the 3-1 second choice. The Dustin Pfeifer trainee has hit the board twice in five starts this season with one win. City Of Fear (Chris Lems), who won a division of the second leg of the BSS in 1:57.1, has 10-1 odds.
There are no prior BSS winners in the third or fifth divisions.
The third division is headlined by Angel Secret (Randy Tharps) as the 2-1 morning-line favorite. The Summa Cum Laude filly and Mike Micallef trainee finished third in her lone prior start this season. Wishing For Gold (Ronnie Gillespie) is the 5-2 second choice.
Odds On Dividend (Page) opened as the 5-2 favorite in the fifth division ahead of 3-1 second choice Sabine’s Sapienza (Wyatt Farmer). Trained by Virgil Morgan Jr., Odds On Dividend is looking for her first win after finishing as the runner-up in each of her prior starts this season, both of which came in the BSS. The Downbytheseaside filly has a lifetime best of 1:58.1, which came in a qualifier. Sabine’s Sapienza is trained by Thomas Verne. The Summa Cum Laude filly is 2-for-2 this season.
Two divisions of freshman colt pacers feature pairings of prior BSS winners.
Odds On Ray (Aaron Merriman) is the 9-5 morning-line favorite in the first division, which also includes prior BSS winners Stoke The Fire (Noble) and Barcelona Legend (Miller) at 2-1 and 7-2, respectively. Trained by Morgan Jr., Odds On Ray posted a second-place finish in the second leg of the BSS. The Downbytheseaside colt will leave from post three alongside Stoke The Fire in post two. A Scott Cox trainee, Stoke The Fire recorded a win in the second leg of the BSS in a lifetime-best 1:53.1. Barcelona Legend is trained by Darren Dowler and has four wins in five seasonal starts. His victory in the first leg of the BSS came in a lifetime-best 1:55.3.
The fourth division features first-leg winner Hunka Hunka (Miller) and second-leg winner Odds On Phil (Page), who was a runner-up in the opening leg. The Morgan Jr.-trained Odds On Phil will leave from the second tier as the 2-1 morning-line favorite. The Lather Up colt has hit the board in all three seasonal starts with two victories. His lifetime best of 1:53 came in his BSS win. Ati Kiss My Hocks (Smith) is the 7-2 second choice. The Logan Rowe trainee has a pair of second-place finishes in four seasonal starts. Hunka Hunka is the 9-2 third choice and is trained by Daren Harvey. He is 2-for-3 this season.
Prior-leg winners Odds On Rpj, The Ebony Dragon, and Heerzadiamondstud are the morning line favorites in their respective divisions.
Trained by Morgan Jr., Odds On Rpj (Noble) is the even-money favorite in the second division. The Downbytheseaside gelding won his division in the first leg of the BSS in a lifetime-best 1:55.3 and followed that with a third-place finish in the second leg. Summa Luck (Chris Presley), who finished third in each of his two prior starts this season, is the 4-1 second choice.
The Ebony Dragon (Luke Hanners) will leave from the second tier as the 9-5 favorite in the third division. Trained by Tyler Bates, the Fear The Dragon colt has hit the board in all eight seasonal starts with seven victories. His win in the second leg of the BSS came in a lifetime-best 1:52.3. Ninetynineproblems (Miller) will leave from post six as the 3-1 second choice. The Brian Georges trainee has one win, one second, and one third in five starts this season.
Heerzadiamondstud (McCown) is the 8-5 favorite in the sixth division and will leave from post two alongside 5-2 second choice Myboypank (Gillespie) in post three. A Jessica McCown trainee, Heerzadiamondstud won his division in the opening leg of the BSS in 1:55.4, marking the first career victory for the Summa Cum Laude gelding. Gillespie is the trainer for Myboypank, who has two wins and one third in his three starts.
Wagon Day (Kayne Kauffman), a winner in the second leg of the BSS, is the 9-2 fourth choice in the fifth division. He will leave from the far outside next to 2-1 favorite Prince Of Fire (Austin Hanners). Thunder Nation (Kevin Wulff) will leave from the rail as the 3-1 second choice. Trained by Todd Luther, Prince Of Fire is a Catch The Fire colt with one second and two thirds in four seasonal starts. He was third in the opening leg of the BSS and was the runner-up to Wagon Day in the second leg. Wulff trains Thunder Nation, who will leave from the rail. The Western Vintage gelding has hit the board in all four seasonal starts with one win, one second, and two thirds. He was second in his division in the opening leg of the BSS and third in the second leg.
Heerz Corinthian, the lone horse to record a victory in each of the first two legs of the BSS for 2-year-old male pacers, is not entered in the third leg.