Oak Grove, KY — Thirteen trotting sophomores will square off across a pair of $20,000 Kentucky Sire Stakes prep races — one for each sex — that serve as co-features on Monday’s (June 8) harness racing program at Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel.
Chiquita Ba-Beeman, third-place finisher in the $300,000 Oak Grove Trotting Oaks, headlines a field of six fillies to contest their prep race, carded as the first of 12 races on the program. The Gimpanzee-Goldavila F filly returns to the site of her fastest mile to date — her 1:54.1 performance in pursuit of Jailbird Jog in the Oaks — after breaking her maiden in 1:56.3 at Harrah’s Hoosier Park on May 27. Atlee Bender drives Chiquita Ba-Beeman, who has been installed as the 2-1 morning-line favorite, from post 1 for trainer Melissa Essig and owners Russell Beeman and Charles Weaver.
The field also includes Country Glide (post 3, Melvin Schmucker, 5-1), who sprang a 25-1 upset in last year’s Kentucky Sire Stakes Championship Series final for 2-year-old fillies at the Red Mile; Oaks Silver Consolation winner Decreed (post 6, Marcus Miller, 5-2), a five-time winner and one of two Carter Pinske trainees; and Degas (post 4, Joey Putnam, 3-1), who looks to rebound after suffering broken equipment in the Oaks.
The prep for trotting colts and geldings, carded as Race 9, is led by Zephyr Kemp, who finished second to Big Ranger in the Oak Grove Trotting Derby Silver Consolation on May 16 and has been installed as the 2-1 morning-line favorite. The son of Calgary Games-Southwind Adele, trained by Marcus Melander for Kemppi Stables, Suojalampi Stable, PCW Racing and Sjoeblom Racing, has won three of 12 races in his career and finished third in a pair of Grade 3 events at the Red Mile last fall. Marvin Luna will drive Zephyr Kemp from post 6 in the field of seven.
Among the other entrants are Nofreak Volo (post 4, Marcus Miller, 6-1) and Lethal Legacy (post 7, Josert Fonseca, 9-2), who finished third and fifth, respectively, in the Derby Silver Consolation, and Onemorenkickmeout (post 5, Wyatt Avenatti, 7-2), a seven-time winner who rolled to a decisive 1:55 score in his sophomore debut.
The Kentucky Sire Stakes schedule for 3-year-olds at Oak Grove consists of three events, to be held June 23, July 7 and July 13.
First post Monday and Tuesday (June 9) this week is 1:10 p.m. (CDT). For more information, including free past performance pages and race-by-race insight from analyst Ray Cotolo, visit oakgrovegaming.com.