Ohio State Fair Friday action at Scioto Downs

Harness racing drivers Aaron Merriman and Brett Miller each took three divisions of Ohio State Fair action Friday (August 4) at Eldorado Scioto Downs.

Merriman took two out of the three 2-year-old trotting colt divisions. Royal Precedent (Creatine) won the first $56,500 division for 2-year-old colt trotters in 1:56.1. Merriman left from the six hole and got the pocket trip for the opening quarter of :28. After which the 1/2 race favorite took the lead through the :57.1 half and 1:26.2 three-quarters. The gelding bested Do Whats Right (Brett Miller) by a head, with Hung Over (Chris Page) finishing third.

ROYAL PRECEDENT REPLAY

Owned by Claude Gendreau Stable Inc and trained by Sam Schillaci, Royal Precedent now has $89,000 in career earnings in five starts with four wins. The winner paid $3.00 to win.

The second division went to Spaaaanzano (Coraggioso) and Aaron Merriman. The duo went straight for the front just before the :28.1 opening quarter and led through :28.1 and 1:27.2 fractions. Commander Tom (Miller) came first up but couldn’t get to the leader. Spaaaanzano won by three and a quarter lengths in 1:55.4. Smooth Talkin (Don Irvine, Jr) finished third.

Spaaaanzano is owned by Spaaaartners, Bill Manes, Leo Fleming and trainer Chris Beaver. The gelding now has $150,750 and is a perfect four-for-four. The 1/5 race favorite paid $2.60 to win.

SPAAAANZANO REPLAY

Tennessee Tom (Long Tom) took the third and final division in 1:57.3 with Chris Page up for Ron Burke. Parked through the first turn from the six hole, Tennessee Tom hit the quarter in :29.1 and comfortably led the rest of the mile, hitting fractions of :59.3 and 1:29.3. Pocket sitter Rose Run Zoom (Irvine) finished two and a half lengths in second with Ok Corral (Merriman) getting up for third.

Tennessee Tom, going off as the 1/2 favorite paid $3.00 to win and is owned by Burke Racing Stable LLC, Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Hatfield Stables and Knox Services Inc. The gelding now has three wins in five starts and $105,750 in seasonal earnings.

TENNESSEE TOM REPLAY

Brett Miller’s first win was in the first division of the 3-year-old filly pace with Cruise Alert (Yankee Cruiser) in 1:51. Fear of Sports (Tony Hall) left from the eight hole with Cruise Alert and Miller pulling midway through the turn to take the lead just after the :26.1 opening quarter.  The duo set fractions of :55.1 and 1:22.3 with Kassagi (Sam Widger) launching a first over bid. Dragon By The Sea (Tyler Smith) tipped three wide going into the last turn to only be beat by half a length for the win; Kassagi held off a cavalry charge to finish third.

Cruise Alert is trained by Jeff Nisonger for Our Three Sons Stable LLC and Nisonger Stable LLC. In 10 starts Cruise Alert has five wins and $131,150 in seasonal earnings. Going off at 4/1, the winner paid $10.40 to win.

CRUISE ALERT REPLAY

Taking the second division was Racing For Three and Tyler Smith, also in 1:51. Smith ducked the Western Terror filly from third and got away sixth while Super Girl (Hall) took the field to a snappy :25.4 opening quarter. Hysterical (Josh Sutton) was caught wide and took over by the three-eighths but Super Girl quickly launched a bid to re-take by the :54.2 half.

Racing For Three was then second over going to the 1:22 third quarter but slipped to the inside before the turn. Sam Widger took Lofty Treasure three-wide and Racing For Three slipped between her and Super Girl to win by a length. Absolute Euphoria came from the back of the pack to finish third.

Racing For Three, trained by AJ Carlo for owner/breeder C2G Stable and Carlo Racing LLC, now has $86,220 earned in 11 starts with five wins. Going off at 12/1 the winner paid $26.40 to win.

RACING FOR THREE REPLAY

Both Aaron and Brett took a division of the 3-year-old trotting filly races. Waddupgee (Triumphant Caviar) took the first division of 3-year-old trotting fillies in 1:54.4. Doc’s Boo Boo (Jeff Nisonger) and Chulada (Tyler Smith) played hopscotch during the opening half with fractions of :27.1 and :56.1.

By the half Aaron Merriman had Waddupgee third over and after the 1:24.1 third quarter, pulled her three-wide coming out of the last turn. By the end of the mile, Waddupgee had bested Doc’s Boo Boo by a length and a quarter. Truly Relentless (Chris Page) rounded out the trifecta.

Waddupgee, is co-owned by Steven Zeehandelar and breeder/trainer Chris Beaver. Now with four wins in 11 starts this year, she has $87,900 in seasonal earnings. Going off at 12/1, Waddupgee paid $26.20 to win.

WADDUPGEE REPLAY

Rose Run Yolanda took the second division by a length and a half in 1:53. Leaving from post six, driver Brett Miller initially got the race favorite off the car in third, but just as they got close to the opening quarter of :27.2, he pulled the daughter of Triumphant Caviar. They made the lead before the :56 half and took the field to the third quarter in 1:24.4. Rose Run Yanae challenged throughout the last turn and down the stretch, but had to settle for second. Swinging Senorita finished third.

Fresh off a second place finish in the Del Miller at The Meadowlands, Rose Run Yolanda paid $2.80 to win. She has now finished first or second in all eight of her 2023 starts, earning $172,836. She is trained by Todd Luther and owned by Greg Luther Racing LLC.

ROSE RUN YOLANDA REPLAY

Ohio State Fair action concludes Saturday (August 5) with colts – 2-year-old trotters, 3-year-old pacers and 3-year-old trotters. First post is 5:50 p.m. Special promotions throughout the weekend include family “state fair” type activities including a petting zoo on Friday, food trucks and bounce house.

Racing is held at Scioto Downs each Tuesday and Wednesday with a 3:15 p.m. first post and Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays with a 5:50 p.m. first post through Saturday, September 16. Follow @SciotoRacing on Twitter for all the details of the 2023 racing season at Eldorado Scioto Downs.

More information about the entire Scioto Downs racing season, including race schedule, wagering menu, VIP room reservations and more can be found by clicking here.

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

From Eldorado Scioto Downs