Grove City, OH – The 50th anniversary season of the Ohio Sires Stakes kicks off Saturday (May 2) at Miami Valley Raceway with eight $75,000 divisions for 3-year-olds.
The second division of pacers features several standouts among colts and geldings. Coming off a win in the James K. Hackett Memorial final at Miami Valley on April 23, Crocodile Station (David Miller) is the 2-1 morning-line favorite. The Michael Hitchcock trainee and Downbytheseaside gelding won four of nine starts and earned $153,232 in 2025. Leaving from post three, he will contend with the likes of 4-1 second choice I’llbetyourboots (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) and Lindy Dragonwater (Chris Page). The Ron Burke trainees will leave from posts five and eight, respectively. In 2025, I’llbetyourboots was victorious in the Next Generation and three legs of the OSS, while Lindy Dragonwater was a three-leg winner in the OSS en route to taking the OSS Scarlet Championship and being named Ohio’s 2-Year-Old Colt Pacer of the Year.
In the first division of male pacers, Sparks N Fire (Austin Hanners) is the 5-2 morning-line favorite and will leave from post three next to 4-1 second choice Fire Run (Atlee Bender) in post four. Sparks N Fire is a son of Catch The Fire trained by Todd Luther. He was winless with four seconds and one third in seven starts as a freshman and has two wins in three starts this year. Fire Run is making his seasonal debut. The Erv Miller trainee finished with a 1-3-3 record in 13 starts in 2025. Pet Project (Trevor Smith), a three-leg winner in the OSS as a freshman, is also in this division, leaving from post five.
Rose Run Banker (Page), another 2026 Hackett final winner, is 2-for-2 this season and will leave from post four as the 2-1 morning-line favorite in the first division of male trotters. The Burke trainee is a son of In Range and closed last year with a record of 2-3-2 and $189,910 in earnings in nine starts. Soulful Saul (Brett Miller), the 5-2 second choice, will leave from post six in his seasonal debut.
Scott Cox trainee Tom Largo is the 2-1 morning-line favorite in the second division of male trotters. Leaving from post six, the Long Tom gelding finished second in his lone start of 2026 thus far after recording five wins in nine starts as a freshman. Max The Mighty (Aaron Merriman) will leave from post four as the 3-1 second choice.
Among fillies, the first division of pacers includes a competitive field highlighted by Seaside Shuffle (David Miller) and She’safirewoman (Luke Hanners). Seaside Shuffle scored victories in two legs of the OSS as a freshman en route to winning the Scarlet Championship. The Downbytheseaside filly hit the board in 10 of 12 starts in 2025, recording four wins and $400,607 in earnings, and has one win in two starts in 2026. She is trained by Burke and will leave from post three.
She’safirewoman was victorious in all five legs of the OSS a year ago and was the runner-up to Seaside Shuffle in the Scarlet Championship. The 2025 Ohio 2-Year-Old Filly Pacer of the Year finished her freshman campaign with eight wins and two seconds in 10 starts along with $246,576 in earnings. The Catch The Fire filly is trained by Mark Winters.
Seaside Shuffle is the 4-1 second choice on the morning line, while She’safirewoman opened with 7-1 odds and will leave from the far outside. Shacarri (Page) is the 7-2 morning-line favorite and will leave from post six. Trained by Burke, the Summa Cum Laude filly has one second and one third in two seasonal starts.
Leaving from post two, Kb Wrecking Ball (Luke Hanners) is the 3-1 morning-line favorite in the second division of filly pacers. After not racing as a freshman in 2025, the Fool Me Once filly has six wins and one second in seven starts this year and was victorious in the Hackett final. She is trained by Deborah Swartz. Seaside Charm (Wrenn Jr.) is the 7-2 second choice and will leave from post four.
Another 2026 Hackett champion, Charlies Moni (Chris Lems), is the 2-1 morning-line favorite in the first division of filly trotters. Trained by Vernon Beachy, she will leave from the far outside. The Ready For Moni filly is 2-for-2 this season after hitting the board three times in eight starts as a freshman. Speedbewithyou (Austin Hanners) is the 4-1 second choice and will leave from post six. Trained by Luther, the Mission Accepted filly has one second and one third in four starts this year.
The second division of filly trotters features 5-2 morning-line favorite Demonic Niko (Bender) and 3-1 second choice Faster Horses (Merriman) leaving from posts two and five, respectively. An In Range filly trained by Erv Miller, Demonic Niko hit the board in all 10 starts as a freshman and finished with seven wins and $277,260 in earnings. Faster Horses is a Muscle Up The Goal filly trained by Chris Beaver. She has hit the board in all three starts this year with one win, one second, and one third.
The eight OSS events are part of a special 14-race card that concludes with the Grade 3 $100,000 Pacey Mindlin Memorial Invitational on the final day of the racing season at Miami Valley. First-race post time is 1 p.m. (EDT).