Grove City, OH — The first of the Eldorado Scioto Downs mini-series finals, the Jerry Knappenberger, was held Thursday (May 23). Heerz Popeye and Cameron McCown took the $30,000 non-winners of one pari-mutuel event in 1:53.1.

Heerz Popeye was a winner in 1:53.1. Conrad photo.

Race favorite Magic By The Sea, with Jeremy Smith up, set opening fractions of :26.1 and :54.3. Cruiser With Class (Brady Galliers) pulled first up as the field was going under the line for the first time. By the 1:23.2 third-quarter, Cruiser With Class was challenging pocket sitter Ball Of Terror (Austin Hanners) with Heerz Popeye coming three-wide from the back of the pack.

By the top of the stretch, Magic By The Sea, Cruiser With Class and Heerz Popeye were three-wide across the track. Heerz Popeye prevailed, winning by a length over Cruiser With Class. Ball Of Terror came up the passing lane to finish third.

Jessica McCown trains Heerz Popeye, a gelded son of Bit Of A Legend N-Elm Grove Inarush, for owners Heerzthestock Inc. and Annie Wilfer-Kaehr.

Last year at two, Heerz Popeye had two wins in 15 starts, mostly on the Ohio fair circuit. With the win on Thursday, Heerz Popeye boosted his lifetime earnings to $41,098.

Jerry Knappenberger was the longtime general manager of the Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association and was elected into the Ohio Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 2015. Knappenberger passed away in 2019 at the age of 76.

Cam McCown ended up winning three races on the night, as did leading driver Jeremy Smith.

Racing continues Friday and Saturday at Scioto Downs with a special Memorial Day card on Monday (May 27). All scheduled post times are 5:45 p.m. Free program pages are available on the Scioto Downs website for all live race cards, including qualifiers.

More information about racing at Scioto can be found on the Eldorado Scioto Downs website.