Oak Grove, KY – Grade 1 William Wellwood Memorial winner Ocean Storm secured his spot in the eliminations to the 2027 $500,000 Oak Grove Trotting Derby with a stakes record equaling performance of 1:52.4 in Saturday night (Aug. 29) at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Driver Yannick Gingras won the Wellwood for the fifth time in his career. This Chapter Seven colt was an $80,000 Lexington Selected yearling and is owned by ADH Holding, LLC, Paul Kautz, Jeff Gural and Jean Pierre Barjon.
Athena’s Girl, a $300,000 daughter of Walner, out of Fashion Athena, also secured her “Win and You’re In” automatic spot in the eliminations to the $300,000 Oak Grove Trotting Oaks by winning the Grade 1 Peaceful Way at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Saturday night.
Trained by Marcus Melander for owner Brad Grant, Athena’s Girl established a new lifetime mark of 1:53.
The “Road to…” series was established to reward top 2-year-old trotting performances and enrich Oak Grove’s premier events. A series of designated Grand Circuit and Sire Stakes races serve as automatic qualifying events to the Derby and Oaks eliminations.