Freshman filly pacer Shesafirewoman has shown lots of promise for trainer Mark Winters.

“She’s a fast horse, and she’s very smart,” Winters said.

Owned by Harry Horowitz, of Brooklyn, N.Y., Shesafirewoman has hit the board in all seven starts this season with six wins and one second to go with $197,914 in earnings. Headlining her resume is a four-for-four showing in the Ohio Sires Stakes (OHSS). She’s looking to complete a perfect five-for-five run on Saturday (Sept. 6) as Eldorado Scioto Downs hosts three $50,000 USD divisions in the fifth leg of the OHSS for two-year-old filly pacers.

The Ohio Sires Stakes for freshman filly pacers is part of a 16-race, $1.26 million USD card at Eldorado Scioto Downs on Saturday that also includes two $250,000 USD Grand Circuit events in the Charlie Hill Memorial and the Jim Ewart Memorial. Also in the card are two $65,000 USD divisions each of the fifth leg of the OHSS for sophomore colt and filly trotters and filly pacers and three $50,000 USD divisions of the fifth leg for freshman colt pacers. First-race post time is 5:45 p.m.

Shesafirewoman is a filly by Catch The Fire out of Shesasmokinlady, who recorded 20 wins and over $300,000 in earnings in her four-year racing career from 2015 to 2018. Winters said she trained down like a normal horse, never showing any obvious signs of turning into the highly successful racehorse she has become.

“She always did what I asked her to do but not more,” he said.

But, he added, she has been a pleasure to train.

“She’ll let you do what you want to do when you want to do it instead of it being her way or no way, which helps a lot. She’s not hard to deal with in the barn, and she likes her job,” Winters said. “Sometimes she’ll get upset if you’re not getting to her quick enough to jog. Not really upset, but she lets you know she’s there. It’s like she’s saying, ‘Hey, it’s my turn to go.’”

Showing plenty of speed, Shesafirewoman won the opening leg of the OHSS at MGM Northfield Park on July 13 in 1:54.3 and paced a lifetime-best 1:51.4 in the second leg at Scioto. Her wins in the third leg at Northfield and fourth leg at Scioto came in 1:54.2 and 1:53.1, respectively, giving her a comfortable lead in the OHSS standings with 204 points. Luke Hanners was in the sulky for each of those victories and is set to drive her again on Saturday as the 7-5 morning line favourite in the first division. She will leave from post two alongside 5-2 second choice Shehasaway (Brett Miller), who won a division in the fourth leg in 1:53.

Shehasaway has two wins and one second in three seasonal starts and is trained by Steve Bauder.

Winters said Shesafirewoman perhaps owes her success partly to having drawn some favourable post positions thus far but credits the filly for being a talented, versatile racehorse.

“Luke can do what he wants to do with her when he wants to do it,” he said. “She has raced a lot on the front, but I don’t think she has to. Training down, she was better coming from behind. She liked to chase down other horses versus being in the front.”

As for whether she can pull out another OHSS victory, that remains uncertain, Winters said.

“It all depends on if I’ve done my job,” he said. “I’ve learned through the years not to get your hopes up and not to be too confident because they’ll let you down real quick. Whatever happens will happen.”

However, should she get that fifth OHSS win of the season, Winters would be elated.

“That would be so great,” he said.

In the second division, Stride For Stride (Justin Irvine) opened as the slight favourite at 5-2 ahead of 3-1 co-second choices Shes Lit (Tyler Smith) and Zooom Call (Dan Noble). Lather Up filly Stride For Stride is trained by Garry Martin. She has four wins and one second in six seasonal starts. Shes Lit will leave from the rail next to Zooom Call in post two. Shes Lit has one win, two seconds, and one third in seven seasonal starts and is trained by Scott Mogan. The Steve Carter-trained Zooom Call has two seconds and three thirds in seven starts this season.

Shacarri (Chris Page) is the early 3-2 favourite in the third division. Trained by Ron Burke, the Summa Cum Laude filly has one OHSS  victory — in the third leg in 1:55 — as part of three overall wins in six starts this season and will leave from the far outside alongside 7-2 second choice Sassy By The Sea (Noble) in post six. Sassy By The Sea is trained by Herman Hagerman and has hit the board once in five seasonal starts, placing third.

Trevor Smith and Pet Project Seek Fourth OHSS  Win as Scioto Hosts Fifth Leg for Freshman Colt Pacers

A three-time winner in the Ohio Sires Stakes this season, Pet Project has been a standout among two-year-old colt pacers.

“What stands out about him is how easy he is to drive. He’s very willing to do anything I put him towards,” said Trevor Smith, who has driven Pet Project in all six purse starts this season. “He’s a very versatile and quick horse, and it bodes well with this style of racing in Ohio.”

The Pet Rock gelding was a winner in the third leg of the OHSS at MGM Northfield Park in 1:53.3 and fourth leg at Eldorado Scioto Downs in 1:52.1 before recording a lifetime-best 1:51.2 in the rescheduled second leg back at Scioto on Aug. 30. Those wins are part of four consecutive victories in a stretch that began in the Ohio State Fair Stakes on Aug. 2. Smith and Pet Project have proven to be a successful combination thus far for trainer Kim Dailey, who co-owns Pet Project with Jr Stable LLP. With the addition of a third-place finish in the opening leg of the OHSS, they have hit the board in all four legs thus far.

“He’s very well-mannered. Kim did a great job with him training down,” Smith said of Pet Project. “He respects the driver. He has the heart that you always want to see in a horse, which makes my job a hundred times easier to be able to do what I want to do in certain situations. When it gets tough, some horses will step down from the pressure, but he does nothing but step up to the plate and knows how to get the job done.”

Pet Project has racked up $151,287 in earnings and leads the OHSS standings for two-year-old colt pacers with 166 points. He and Smith are looking to make it four straight OHSS victories, and five consecutive wins overall, on Saturday (Sept. 6) as Scioto hosts three $50,000 divisions in the fifth leg for freshman colt pacers. Pet Project will leave from post two and opened as the 5-2 favourite in the third division. But there is plenty of competition, as the division also includes a trio of two-time OHSS winners in Crocodile Station, Gentlemans Club, and Lindy Dragonwater as well as first-leg winner Swelce. Crocodile Station and Lindy Dragonwater are also Ohio State Fair Stakes winners.

“That field is very tough — it’s a power-packed field. It’s not what I wanted to see, especially this close to the final,” Smith said. “My biggest thing is being able to keep him fresh without having to really overdo it while still letting him display his talents. It’s going to be a tough task.”

Crocodile Station (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) opened as the 3-1 second choice. The Michael Hitchcock trainee’s OHSS wins came in the second leg in 1:52.1 and third leg in 1:53.2. A Downbytheseaside gelding, he has $133,383 in earnings. The Ron Burke-trained Lindy Dragonwater (Chris Page) posted OHSS wins in the first leg in 1:54.2 and fourth leg in 1:51. Trained by Aaron Lambert, Gentlemans Club (Aaron Merriman) has OHSS wins in the first leg in 1:54.3 and fourth leg in 1:51.4 and will leave from the far outside. Swelce (Mike Wilder) has hit the board in seven of eight seasonal starts with two wins and has $132,665 in earnings.

In such a competitive field, Smith knows not to be too confident about his chances of winning on Saturday despite his past success with Pet Project. But the combination of the favourable draw and a talented horse is a recipe for success.

“Being on the inside, I can see how things play out before I make my move, which gives me a little edge up, in my opinion,” he said. “I really like my chances, but it’s hard to see how everything is going to go. If I can give him any trip and be close at the top of the stretch, I really do think he has a great shot.”

In the first division, two-time OHSS winner Illbetyourboots (Page) is the 8-5 morning line favourite ahead of 5-2 second choice Odds On Ray (Dan Noble). Trained by Burke, Illbetyourboots won this year’s Next Generation at Scioto in 1:52. The Summa Cum Laude gelding’s four seasonal wins also include one in the first leg of the OHSS  in 1:54 and the second leg in 1:53.3. He has $185,620 in earnings. Odds On Ray is a Virgil Morgan Jr. trainee with two wins, one second, and one third in five seasonal starts.

Fellow Morgan Jr. trainee Odds On Phil (Dexter Dunn) is the early 7-2 favourite in the second division with 4-1 second choice When Is Parade (Wrenn Jr.). Lather Up colt Odds On Phil has hit the board in all five seasonal starts with three wins and two seconds. When Is Parade will leave from the far outside. The Burke trainee has two wins this season, including in the third leg of the OHSS in 1:53.2.

Stablemates Odds On Chesapeake, Odds On Hialeah Seek Another Strong Showing as Scioto Hosts Fifth Leg of OHSS  for Sophomores

Through four legs of the Ohio Sires Stakes for sophomore filly pacers, Virgil Morgan Jr. stablemates Odds On Chesapeake and Odds On Hialeah are deadlocked in the standings with 179 points each. They each have three OHSS wins on the season and are looking to add one more as Eldorado Scioto Downs hosts two $65,000 USD divisions of the fifth leg for three-year-old filly pacers.

In three of the four OHSS legs thus far, Odds On Chesapeake and Odds On Hialeah have been in separate divisions. But there was just one division in the fourth leg at MGM Northfield Park on Aug. 10, and Odds On Hialeah came out on top by more than two lengths over Odds On Chesapeake in 1:52.1. That proved to be a bounce-back victory for Odds On Hialeah after finishing as the runner-up to Rose Run Aimee in the second division of the third leg.

The stablemates will once again be in separate divisions on Saturday. Each of them opened as the even-money favourite in their respective six-horse fields and will be driven by Dexter Dunn.

Odds On Hialeah will leave from post five in the first division. Prior to her win in the fourth leg of the OHSS, the Lather Up filly posted victories in the first leg at Scioto in a lifetime-best 1:50.3 and second leg at Northfield in 1:51.2. She has hit the board in 13 of 14 lifetime starts with 11 wins and two seconds to go with $679,231 in earnings. Fellow Lather Up filly Rylee Too (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) is the 3-1 second choice in the division. Trained by Steve Carter, she has two wins, three seconds, and five thirds in 11 starts this season and will leave from the rail.

Odds On Chesapeake will leave from post four in between 3-1 co-second choices The Word Is Out (Chris Page) and Rose Run Aimee (Dan Noble) in posts three and five, respectively, in the second division. The Downbytheseaside filly has hit the board in eight of nine starts this season with seven wins and one second. She posted OHSS wins in the first leg in 1:51.1, second leg in a lifetime-best 1:50, and third leg in 1:50.4 before her runner-up finish in leg four. She has 11 wins and three seconds with $538,362 in earnings in 19 lifetime starts. Ron Burke trainee The Word Is Out has a pair of third-place finishes in the OHSS this year, recording them in the first and fourth legs. Rose Run Aimee has hit the board in nine of 10 seasonal starts with five wins. Her third-leg victory came in a lifetime-best 1:49.4.

The first of two divisions for sophomore colt trotters featured a loaded five-horse field led by 7-5 morning line favourite Lt Loverboy (Brett Miller), who leads the standings with 166 points. After finishing third in the opening leg of the OHSS, the Daren Harvey trainee posted a victory in each of the next three legs in 1:52.4, 1:52.1, and 1:54.2, respectively. Named Two-Year-Old Trotter of the Year in 2024, the Long Tom gelding has hit the board in 17 of 18 lifetime starts with 10 wins and $627,586 in earnings. Leaving from the far outside, Vekna, driven by trainer Kayne Kauffman, is the 3-1 second choice. He has hit the board in seven of eight seasonal starts with three wins, including one in the first leg in 1:56.3. The field also includes Matthew Burkholder trainee Battle Hill (Wrenn Jr.) — an OHSS winner in the first and second legs in 1:56.3 and 1:54.4, respectively — and the Burke-trained Hilltop Sonar (Page), who posted a win in the fourth leg in 1:55.2.

Morgan Jr. trainee Jet Wings (Dunn) is the early 3-2 favourite in the second division. A winner in the third leg in 1:54, the What The Hill gelding was a runner-up in both the second and fourth legs. He has hit the board in 24 of 29 lifetime starts with nine wins and $261,752 in earnings. He will leave from the rail next to 2-1 second choice Scrappys Love. Trained by Chris Beaver, Scrappys Love has three wins, two seconds, and three thirds in 10 seasonal starts. He was a runner-up in the first and third legs and placed third in the fourth leg.

In the second division of sophomore filly trotters, two-time OHSS winner Aunt Laura (Miller) opened as the 5-2 favourite and will leave from post five next to 3-1 second choice Dream Something (Tyler Smith) in post four. Aunt Laura, who posted wins in the first and second legs in 1:56.3 and 1:54, respectively, was a runner-up in the fourth leg and is second in the standings with 129 points to leader Dream Something with 141 points. Trained by Morgan Jr., Aunt Laura is an Uncle Peter filly with seven career wins and $479,340 in earnings. Fellow Uncle Peter filly Dream Something has OHSS wins in the first and fourth legs in 1:53.3 and 1:56.2, respectively. The Miles Wollam trainee placed third in the second leg and was a runner-up in the third leg. She has hit the board in 12 of 16 lifetime starts with eight wins and $352,168 in earnings. The Eric Nesselroad-trained Jailhouse Pearl (Austin Hanners), a winner in the second leg in 1:54.4 with 13 career victories and $240,462 in earnings, will leave from post three.

In The End (Noble), a two-time OHSS winner this season, is the early 6-5 favourite in the first division and will leave from the rail. The Anette Lorentzon trainee has six wins in nine seasonal starts, including in the third and fourth legs of the OHSS in 1:53.4 and 1:55.1, respectively. The Lionhunter filly has $198,036 in lifetime earnings. Beaver trainee Mega Money (Aaron Merriman), who posted a win in the third leg in 1:53.3, is the 5-2 second choice and will leave from the far outside. The Triumphant Caviar filly was the runner-up to Dream Something in the opening leg and placed third in the fourth leg. She has five wins in 11 seasonal starts with lifetime earnings of $351,723.

(with files from Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association)