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LEBANON, OH. – Miami Valley tops its Spring Festival of Racing with the inaugural Scarlet & Gray Champions Day on Monday (May 8), including Grand Circuit harness racing stakes action on May 7th and May 8th.
The first ever Scarlet & Gray Champions Day features a collection of four $50,000 invitational races showcasing the best of Ohio harness racing in each 3-year-old category: trotting colts, pacing colts, trotting fillies and pacing fillies.
Entrants are comprised of recent Ohio Sires Stakes and James K. Hackett Memorial winners and other top finishers. Automatic berths were offered to winners and place finishers in all fourteen first leg Ohio Sires Stakes races at Miami Valley earlier this week.
The Scarlet & Gray filly trot, scheduled as Monday's third race, includes Rose Run Sydney, Chim Swift and Gabbysloosechange, all winners in last week's Sires Stakes action. Other hopefuls are Sawmill Road, Amuse's, Ms Bank Robber, Let's Get Started, Away My Baby and Purple Sona. The field combined to win 31 races and earn $712,136 as two-year-olds.
Filly pacers go postward in the fifth race, headed by O.S.S. winners Bourbon And Barley, Rose Run Skylar, Official Kisser and Pistol Packin Mama. They will be joined by Hackett champion Rosemary Rose as well as Bye Bye Felicia, Berazzled, Woo's Prfincess and Cam's Little Bit.
The $50,000 division for trotting colts (eighth race) features first leg winners Lord Of The Reigns, Fraser Ridge and Full Surge. Also seeking Scarlet & Gray gold will be place and show finishers Goldfinger, Dekeyser, Jailhouse Sam, Winning Memories, Star Buster and Stormy Kromer.
Pacing colts will round out the Scarlet & Gray menu in the eleventh race, with O.S.S. winners Lightning Onmyfeet, Drunk On Your Love and Heracer all in the lineup. They'll be joined in the field by Sunny's Bro, White Jet, McThriller, McLucky, Gotta Go B B and Barley Up.
A collection of North America's best older mares will compete at Miami Valley in the $86,400 Miami Valley Distaff Trot on Sunday, May 7th and the $100,000 Sam 'Chip' Noble Memorial Pace on Monday, May 8th. A total of four veteran horses with over $1 million in earnings have entered in the two Grand Circuit races, including several who earned Dan Patch awards as the best horse in the country in their division during 2016.
Potential Horse of the Year candidate Hannelore Hanover, who won 17 of 20 races and earned $1,119,111 in 2016, has been installed the 6-5 favorite in the Miami Valley Distaff, carded as the ninth race on Sunday. The 2016 Breeders Crown champion is conditioned by America's leading trainer Ron Burke and will be driven by Yannick Gingras.
Others in the talented field include Miami Valley track record holder Kestrel (Josh Sutton, 5-2), Churita (Trace Tetrick, 7-2), Barn Girl (Aaron Merriman, 9-2), Charmed Life (Chris Page, 6-1), Flowers N Songs (Jim Pantaleano, 10-1) and South Side Hanover (TBA, 12-1).
As a group, these mares have visited 133 winner's circles throughout North America–including most of the biggest stakes events–and have banked a collective $4,539,504.
Lady Shadow, also a 2016 Breeders Crown winner, gets the slight morning line nod in the $100,000 Noble Memorial. The $1,587,542 earner will open at 5-2 on the tote board for trainer Ronald Adams and driver Yannick Gingras. Pure Country (Brett Miller, 3-1), another multiple winner of major stakes with $1,772,398 in career bankroll, is second choice due to an outside post position draw. Others seeking Grand Circuit glory will be Sandbetweenurtoes (Doug McNair, 7-2), Darlinonthebeach (David Miller, 9-2), Blue Moon Stride (Andrew McCarthy, 6-1), Medusa (Tony Hall, 8-1), Enhance Your Mind (Victor Kirby, 10-1), Divas Image (Joe Bongiorno, 12-1) and No Clouds Bluechip (Tim Tetrick, 15-1).
The field of the finest mares in North America has won a whopping 155 races and over $7 million in purses.
Watch, wager and win on the best in harness racing at Miami Valley Gaming and Racing.
Post times for the two-day Scarlet & Gray/Grand Circuit extravaganza are 2:05 p.m. on both Sunday, May 7th and Monday, May 8th.
Gregg Keidel
