Summer late closers; Davis triples at Ocean Downs

BERLIN, MD — Ocean Downs will offer a quartet of late-closing harness racing series — two for 2-year-olds and two for claiming pacers — through the balance of its 2024 meeting.

The Bucky Gray Jr. Memorial Pace and the Tom Cooke Memorial Trot are open to 2-year-olds (Maryland Sire Stakes or Race Fund-eligible horses preferred) and will span July. Both series consist of $7,500 and $8,500 preliminary legs leading to a $12,500-added final. Nominations, accompanied by a $100 fee per horse, are due to the Ocean Downs race office by July 1 for the Gray and July 2 for the Cooke.

Two claiming series are slated for the second half of the meet. The Diane ‘Mum’ Stevenson Memorial, for horses with a base claiming price of $7,500, spans July 11 through Aug. 8; while the David Hill III Memorial, for horses with a base claiming price of $10,000, will take place from Aug. 15 through Sept. 5.

Both series offer three preliminary legs and a final, with progressively higher purses and claiming prices in each leg. To take part in these series, horsepeople must pay a $250 declaration fee in conjunction with a given horse’s first start in the series; no nomination prior to entry is necessary.

For more information, contact the Ocean Downs race office at 410.641.0600, ext. 3212.

Janet Davis vaulted into a joint third place in the Ocean Downs training standings after scoring a hat trick on Thursday’s (June 13) 12-race program.

Davis kicked off her training triple in the fourth race, a $7,500 pace for non-winners of five races or $25,001 lifetime, with Fast Chat ($8.40). With Eric Davis in the bike, the son of Well Said yielded for a pocket ride behind 4-5 favorite Cult Classic before emerging off the home turn and dueling down the pacesetter to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:57.2.

Janet and Eric Davis teamed up again to win the fifth, a $5,000-$7,500 claiming handicap pace, with American Rock ($16.40). The 12-year-old likewise parlayed a pocket trip into victory, lunging past paesetter Moneyorroses in deep stretch to win by a half a length in 1:56.4. Ohhloooookatchuuuu ($41.80) and Steven Robinson rated a 1:00 first half before digging in to turn aside challenges from Hey Siri and 3-5 favorite Street Beats to win in 1:59.4.

American Rock and Ohhloooookatchuuuu also gave Davis two wins as an owner on the program.

With eight days of the 2024 Ocean Downs meet completed, John Wagner and Michael Hall top the training table with six wins apiece; Davis’ three wins on Thursday give her four on the meet, putting her in a share of third with Stacey McLenaghan and Darren Olsen.

Racing returns to Ocean Downs with a 12-race card slated for Sunday (June 16); first post is 7:05 p.m. EDT.

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

From Ocean Downs