Volstead filly named 2024 Ohio Horse of the Year

Grove City, Ohio – Sugar Instead (Volstead), Ohio’s 3-Year-Old Trotting Filly of the Year, has been named the 2024 Ohio Horse of the Year.

“We didn’t know what to expect,” said co-owner Larry Wills. “This year she was just spectacular.”

Owned by Joyce McClelland and Wills and bred by Elmer Miller, Sugar Instead won 15 of 17 starts this year. Her harness racing 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.

SUGAR INSTEAD $300,000 OHIO SIRES STAKES REPLAY

Sugar Instead was undefeated in Ohio, banking $541,739 in seasonal earnings under Virgil Morgan Jr.’s conditioning. “Our state’s program is arguably the best in the nation. Every year it’s harder to win this honor,” remarked Morgan.

“She’s coming back to race in 2025,” reassured Dick McClelland, Joyce’s husband.

by Ashley Dailey, for the OHHA