The lineups are set for the first two $50,000 Scarlet & Gray Invitationals at Miami Valley on Friday (April 23). The best Ohio-sired three year old fillies will go postward, trotters in the ninth race and pacers in the eleventh. Their male counterparts will contest another pair of $50,000 Scarlet & Gray Invitationals on Saturday (April 24).
The filly trot features three horses with over $100,000 in earnings and average bounty for the nine entrants over $81,000. The first four finishers in last week’s $40,000 James K. Hackett Memorial championship earned automatic berths in the Scarlet & Gray, as well as an elimination winner who made an unfortunate break in the final.
Newcomers joining this week’s fray include the place and show finishers in last year’s $300,000 Ohio Sires Stakes (OHSS) championship, plus a filly that entered that race undefeated in five starts but made an untimely break in the final. The last starting berth was awarded to a filly that won seven of 13 races at two, including on the board finishes in both the Buckeye Stallion Series final and the Ohio Fairs final.
The likely favourite is Swizzle Hanover (driver Mike Wilder), based on three wins in four starts already in 2021, including the Hackett championship. Sires Stakes leg winners Herculisa (Brett Miller), Celebrate With Me (Chris Page), My Jazz (Anthony MacDonald) and Katies Lucky Day (Trevor Smith) are also likely to get support at the betting windows despite having less prep work thus far this season. Others in the field are Boujee Girl (Miller), Ozma (Aaron Merriman), Magic Credit Card (Miller) and I Am Winning (TBA).
The filly pace field includes the top-three finishers from last year’s $300,000 OHSS championship and the top three finishers from the recent Hackett final. There are a pair of $100,000-plus earners and the entire nine-horse field averages $94,000 in purse winnings early in their careers.
A case could be made for almost every filly in the wide open race. From the pylons out the contestants include Rainy Day Chic (Brett Miller), Lady Arthur (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.), Leave Her Wild (Mike Wilder), Rockin N Kissin (Tyler Smith), Babs Jansen (Kayne Kauffman), Summer Touch (Chris Page), Free Thinker (Page), Smothastenesewisky (TBA) and Pal O Mine (TBA).
There are still a couple spots left in the colt divisions for Saturday. Trainers are invited to enter online by 11 a.m. Wednesday (April 21) or contact Race Secretary Gregg Keidel if interested in details.
(Miami Valley Raceway)