Eight freshman trotters looking for repeat wins

Grove City, OH – All eight winners from the prior two legs will be vying for their second Buckeye Stallion Series win of the season as MGM Northfield Park hosts four $20,000 divisions of the third leg for freshman colt trotters on Wednesday (Aug. 13).

Four of those prior winners — Eckert Hill Brady, Hidden Brook Monty, Perfect Range, and Ready Made — are in the nine-horse field in the fourth division. Eckert Hill Brady (Justin Irvine) is the early 3-2 favorite and will leave from post two next to 9-5 second choice Ready Made (Sandy Beatty) in post three. Trained by Rosy Weaver, Eckert Hill Brady posted a win in the first leg of the BSS at Bucyrus in a lifetime-best 2:04.1 and was a runner-up in the second leg at Eldorado Scioto Downs. The In Range gelding has hit the board in all six starts this season with four wins and two seconds. Ready Made has one win, one second, and one third in three seasonal starts. He won a division in the first leg in 2:06.2 and posted a third-place finish in the second leg. The Ready For Moni gelding is trained by Dustin Arledge. Perfect Range (Luke Hanners) and Hidden Brook Monty (Ronnie Gillespie) opened with 8-1 and 20-1 odds, respectively. Perfect Range won a division in the second leg of the BSS in 1:58.2, while Hidden Brook Monty took a division of the opening leg in 2:01.2.

The second division features another competitive field highlighted by three winners from the previous two legs in Lt Will B Awesome, Okay One More, and Rudedude L. Lt Will B Awesome (Peter Wrenn) is the 3-2 morning line favorite and will leave from post six in between Rudedude L (Hank LeVan) and Okay One More (Aaron Merriman) in posts five and seven, respectively. Rudedude L is the 9-2 second choice, while Okay One More opened with 7-1 odds. Lt Will B Awesome scored a win in the second leg of the BSS 1:55.3 and also has a third-place finish in his two seasonal starts. The Long Tom gelding is trained by Melanie Wrenn. Trained by LeVan, Rudedude L has three wins, three seconds, and one third in eight seasonal starts. The son of Long Tom won a division of the second leg in a lifetime-best 1:57.3 and placed third in the opening leg. Okay One More has three wins in four seasonal starts, including a victory in the second leg in a lifetime-best 1:59.3. The Triumphant Caviar gelding is trained by Chris Beaver.

Emerald Tom (Anthony MacDonald) opened as the 2-1 favorite in the first division. Trained by Jason McGinnis, the Long Tom colt has hit the board once in four starts, placing third. He will leave from post four next to another son of Long Tom in 9-2 second choice Rg’s Juggernaut (Hanners) in post five. A Vernon Beachy trainee, Rg’s Juggernaut will be making just his second career start. Long To B Withu (Justin Hall), who posted a win in the first leg in a lifetime-best 2:02.2, opened with 6-1 odds. Trained by Hall, the Long Tom gelding has two wins and two seconds in six seasonal starts.

Long Tom geldings Tom Largo (Chris Lems) and Jackie Jann (Wilbur Yoder) are the 3-5 favorite and 7-2 second choice, respectively, in the third division. Tom Largo is trained by Scott Cox. He has two wins in four seasonal starts. Trained by Yoder, Jackie Jann has one win, one second, and one third in six starts this season.

Wednesday’s Buckeye Stallion Series is part of a 15-race card at MGM Northfield Park. First-race post time is 6 p.m.

For complete race entries, click here: US Trotting entries.

From Wes Mayberry for the Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association