Champion Volstead filly takes Ohio Filly Trotter of the Year

Grove City, Ohio – Sugar Instead (Volstead) dominated the ranks of sophomore harness racing filly trotters, earning the Ohio Triple Crown on her way to being named the Ohio 3-Year-Old Filly Trotter of the Year.

Owned by Joyce McClelland and Larry Wills and bred by Elmer Miller, Sugar Instead won 15 of 17 starts this year. Her victories included the $139,000 Ohio State Fair Stakes, the $113,640 Ohio Breeders Championship, and the $300,000 Ohio Sires Stakes Scarlet Championship to earn the Buckeye State’s only Triple Crown of 2024. She was undefeated in Ohio, banking $541,739 in seasonal earnings.

SUGAR INSTEAD $300,000 OHIO SIRES STAKES REPLAY

Sugar Instead was named the Ohio 2-Year-Old Trotting Filly of the Year in 2023. She claims a record of 22-2-1 in 28 career starts, banking $915,664 in lifetime earnings. She is trained by Virgil Morgan, Jr.

It was the fourth time in the last six years that the two-year-old champion repeated as a three-year-old.  Rose Run Yolanda did it in 2023, Gabbys C Note in 2022, and Only Take Cash accomplished the feat in 2019.

Sugar Instead will be honored at the Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association Annual Awards Banquet on January 18, 2025, at the Marriott Columbus Airport in Columbus, Ohio. Seats are sold out.

The 2024 Ohio Horse of the Year will be announced at the awards banquet.

by Ashley Dailey, for the OHHA