If you like consistent success, Touchedbythesea is probably not the horse for you. But in the Buckeye Stallion Series finals on Saturday, Oct. 3, he’s not to be counted out.
“He didn’t race as a two-year-old. He showed some ability but was just a little colt sore,” said Kris Brechler, of Mt. Vernon, Ohio-based Knox Services, which owns Touchedbythesea with Burke Racing Stable, Slaughter Racing Stable and Weaver Bruscemi. “We brought him back this year and he raced pretty good early. Then he kind of hit a little wall and now he’s racing good again.”
That’s right, Touchedbythesea enters Saturday’s Buckeye final for three-year-old colt pacers with some positive momentum after winning in the fifth leg of the series at the Delaware County Fair on Sept. 24. Driven by Chris Page, the Downbytheseaside gelding out of Summer Touch won that race by a length in 1:54.2 to make Little Brown Jug Day that much more exciting for his connections.
“It’s awesome to win at Delaware,” said Brechler. “We had 20-some people there with us and everyone got to go get their picture taken [in the winner’s circle]. It was a fun day at Delaware and getting the win like that gives us confidence going into the final.”
The Ron Burke trainee hasn’t always inspired confidence, however. A homebred for the ownership group, Touchedbythesea was a complete unknown going into his sophomore season. So, as far as expectations, there really weren’t any.
“We heard that he was fast, but we didn’t know if he would stay sound, so there were really no expectations for him at all,” said Brechler.
Touchedbythesea scored his first career win in just his second start, taking a maiden race at The Meadows on April 29. Just over a week later, on May 9, he added a victory in the first leg of the Buckeye Stallion Series at Eldorado Scioto Downs, edging Tsunami Seas by a quarter of a length in what remains a lifetime mark of 1:52.3.
“I thought he raced well with it being only his third lifetime start,” said Brechler. “It was great for him.”
A victory in the second leg of the Buckeye on June 6 at Northfield Park — this time by 1-3/4 lengths over Fire The Prez in 1:54.3 — inspired even more confidence.
“He drew the two-hole, which is always a good thing, and he got to the front and [driver] Chris [Page] just controlled the race from there and sprinted home,” remembered Brechler. “That was good for him. It showed that he has some ability and that he could keep getting better.”
That confidence was soon dampened, though, as Touchedbythesea missed the board in six of his next seven starts going into the fifth leg of the series at Delaware. That stretch included finishes of third, fourth, two fifths, two sixths and a seventh. So, what was behind that prolonged drought of success? His connections were uncertain.
“He had a couple bad post position draws, which maybe hurt, but there really wasn’t any one thing to pinpoint,” said Brechler.
Whatever it was, it didn’t impact Touchedbythesea’s performance at Delaware. His third Buckeye win of the season and fourth victory overall increased his earnings to $57,291 from 13 starts and re-solidified his status as a contender going into the final.
“It shows that he belongs in the final and gives us some confidence that maybe he’s bounced back a little bit,” said Brechler. “What he’s done this year so far has been a blessing for us.”
With Page back in the sulky on Saturday, Touchedbythesea will look to beat out his eight competitors — Odds On Sugar, Ultimate Catch, Legends Rule, Odds On Mase, Odds On Rpj, Brixs On Fire, The Ebony Dragon and Odds On Phil — for the title of 2026 Buckeye Stallion Series champion in the sophomore colt pace division. He finished the five legs of the series as the points leader with 160, seven points ahead of Odds On Sugar and 13 up on The Ebony Dragon. But he was not among the top three choices on the morning line for Saturday’s race.
After drawing the six-hole, Odds On Rpj (Luke Hanners) has been assessed as the 9-5 favourite ahead of 5-2 second choice Odds On Sugar (Dexter Dunn) and 7-2 third choice Ultimate Catch (Brett Miller), who will leave from posts one and two, respectively. Touchedbythesea is the 6-1 fourth choice and will leave from post four in what will be his first career start at Dayton Raceway.
Brechler said the horse’s inexperience at Dayton shouldn’t be an issue and he’s looking forward to seeing if he can come away with a win.
“It all depends on post position and he drew the four-hole, which is good for him and gives Chris some options with him,” said Brechler. “We’re looking forward to watching him race. It’s going to be a tough race — there’s a lot of nice horses in there. But we’re hoping for a good night. It’s a great race card and hopefully he gets the job done.”
That race is one of eight $80,000 USD divisions of the Buckeye Stallion Series finals at Dayton Raceway on Saturday. The 14-race card also includes four $250,000 USD Dayton Derby Grand Circuit events. First-race post time is 6:30 p.m.
A brief look at each of the remaining seven Buckeye Stallion Series finals is below.
Three-Year-Old Colt Trot - Bitcoin King (Aaron Merriman) will leave from post two as the 2-1 morning line favourite. The Chris Beaver trainee has hit the board in 13 of 17 seasonal starts with six wins, including two Buckeye victories. Time Has Come (Brett Miller) is the 3-1 second choice after drawing the far outside post.
Three-Year-Old Filly Pace - Shehasaway (Brett Miller) is the 5-2 morning line favourite after drawing post five. Trained by Steve Bauder, she has two wins this season, both of which were in this series. Takeaway Hanover (Braiden Rhoades) drew the rail and is the 7-2 second choice.
Three-Year-Old Filly Trot - Dream Of Charlotte (Braiden Rhoades) will leave from post five as the 5-2 morning-line favorite. The Bill Rhoades trainee scored a victory in the fifth leg of the Buckeye and has seven wins and seven seconds in 17 seasonal starts. Princess Karolyn (Sam Widger) is the 7-2 second choice.
Two-Year-Old Colt Pace -Trained and driven by Kayne Kauffman, Passing Gear is the 5-2 early favourite after drawing post four. He has four wins in seven seasonal starts, including three Buckeye victories. Declamation (Chris Page) is the 7-2 second choice.
Two-Year-Old Colt Trot - Obsessed With Me (Brett Miller) and Lou Armstrong (Anthony MacDonald), both three-time winners in the Buckeye this season, are the top choices at 2-1 and 3-1, respectively. Matthew Burkholder trainee Obsessed With Me has four wins in eight seasonal starts and will leave from post eight. Easter Bb (Chris Page), the lone four-time Buckeye winner this year, drew the rail and has been assessed at odds of 9-2.
Two-Year-Old Filly Pace - Midnight Haze (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) is the 5-2 morning line favourite. The Edward Miller trainee will leave from post three with three wins in six seasonal starts. Sea Jazz (Ronnie Gillespie) is the 7-2 second choice after drawing the far outside post. Our Grey Heart (David Miller), a three-time Buckeye winner this year, is listed at 6-1 odds.
Two-Year-Old Filly Trot - Sweet Stevie, trained and driven by Kurt Sugg, is the 5-2 morning line favourite after drawing post eight. She has four wins in eight seasonal starts, including three Buckeye victories. Leaving alongside her from post seven is 7-2 second choice Been Thru Hill (Carson Conrad). Sweet Valorie (Hanners), who joined Sweet Stevie with three Buckeye wins in this division in 2026, drew the rail and is listed at 8-1 odds.
(Ohio Harness Horsemen's Association; photo of Touchedbythesea winning at Delaware County Fair on Sept. 24)