“We’ve only been in it for five years, but I think she’s probably our once-in-a-lifetime horse.”

Although he is still relatively new as an owner, Lindsey Rankin understands how rare it is to find a top racehorse.

So he is trying to enjoy the ride with Lady Shadow to the fullest.

Lady Shadow is among 22 horses in Wednesday’s $298,100 Jugette for three-year-old female pacers at the Delaware County Fair in Ohio. The field was divided into three eliminations, from which the top three in each will advance to the same-day final.

The winner of 10 of 18 career races, Lady Shadow competes in the first elimination. She drew post No. 2 for the son-and-father team of driver Doug McNair and trainer Gregg McNair and is the 5-2 morning line favourite.

Beach Gal, who is coming off a third-place finish in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes championship, is the 5-2 favourite in the second elimination. She starts from post four for driver Tim Tetrick and trainer Dave Menary. Gettingreadytoroll, who has won three in a row including the Simcoe Stakes and Miss New Jersey, is the 5-2 choice in the third division. She will start from post two with Yannick Gingras at the lines for trainer Jimmy Takter.

Lady Shadow has earned $426,753 in her career, racing to this point only in Ontario.

“We’re going to try to enjoy it," said Rankin, a Michigan resident, who owns Lady Shadow with his wife, Connie. "It would be nice to make the final. We have family and friends coming to see her.

“She’s got a lot of ability. She’s a really nice filly. She’s got a big heart. It’s been a lot of fun.”

Lady Shadow won five of eight races last year, including the Battle of the Belles at Grand River Raceway, and finished second by a neck in the Ontario Sires Stakes championship.

So far this season, Lady Shadow has won five of 10 starts, including the Standardbred Breeders of Ontario Association final and two preliminary divisions of the Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Series.

She won her elimination for the Canadian Breeders Championship by more than eight lengths in a career-best 1:49.2 on July 12 at Mohawk, but went off stride at the start of the final on a sloppy track and finished sixth.

But even with the miscue, which left her trailing the early leaders by 27 lengths after the first quarter and 21 lengths at the halfway point, she missed by just 1-3/4 lengths.

“We’re not really sure what happened,” Rankin said. “Doug said she was 'fumbly-gaited' and just started to run. Once he set her, she was fine, but he wasn’t real sure what that was all about. She did that once earlier this year too. She’s kind of a hot head sometimes. She’s settled down as the season has gone on, but at the beginning of the year she was a lot to handle.

“She’s got a lot of speed, but sometimes she’s hard to rate. She likes to be put up in the front, in contention, from the get-go.”

Rankin owned horses for three years beginning in 1979, but got out of the sport because of the demands of running a business that supplies graphic design equipment. Five years ago, he asked his then 11-year-old daughter Abby if she wanted to get a horse, and when the young girl’s eyes lit up, he was back in the game.

“Now we’re kind of hooked back into it,” said the now-retired Rankin, who owns six horses.

He bought Lady Shadow for $19,000 at the Forest City Sale in Ontario. The filly is a daughter of 2008 Little Brown Jug winner Shadow Play out of the mare Lady Camella. The dam’s family includes 1962 Little Brown Jug winner Lehigh Hanover as well as famed trotter Peter Volo.

“I liked a lot about her; her conformation,” Rankin said. “She’s always been high strung. We had a lot of issues with her when she was a yearling. She was always trying to do something stupid, but we got through it all.

“We’ve been real happy with her this year. She paces a half-mile track just as well as she does a big track, so we think she deserves a shot.”

Below are the elimination fields for the Jugette in post order with drivers, trainers, and morning line odds.

Elim One:
1. Shell Bell, Kurt Sugg, Kurt Sugg, 12-1
2. Lady Shadow, Doug McNair, Gregg McNair, 5-2
3. Colors A Virgin, Trace Tetrick, Brian Brown, 4-1
4. Southwind Silence, Matt Kakaley, Ron Burke, 6-1
5. Ali Blue, Yannick Gingras, Jimmy Takter, 5-1
6. Beach Body, Ron Pierce, Chris Oakes, 10-1
7. Also Encouraging, David Miller, Casie Coleman, 7-2

Elim Two:
1. Uffizi Hanover, David Miller, Jimmy Takter, 4-1
2. Allstar Rating, Yannick Gingras, Ron Burke, 7-2
3. Somethinincredible, Ron Pierce, Bob McIntosh, 8-1
4. Beach Gal, Tim Tetrick, Dave Menary, 5-2
5. Fits Well, Scott Zeron, Brian Brown, 12-1
6. Gallie Bythe Beach, John Campbell, Jim Campbell, 10-1
7. A La Notte Hanover, Matt Kakaley, Ron Burke, 8-1
8. Sectionline Aqua, Brett Miller, Steve Bauder, 5-1

Elim Three:
1. Cut A Deal, Jim Pantaleano, Nick Surick, 12-1
2. Gettingreadytoroll, Yannick Gingras, Jimmy Takter, 5-2
3. Beautiful Lady, Matt Kakaley, Ron Burke, 5-1
4. Someislandsomwhere, Ron Pierce, Casie Coleman, 6-1
5. Candys A Virgin, Trace Tetrick, Brian Brown, 4-1
6. Sandbetweenurtoes, Brett Miller, Larry Remmen, 7-2
7. Beach Story, David Miller, Kelvin Harrison, 8-1

To view program pages for Wednesday's card, click the following link: Program Pages - Jugette Day.

This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.