Breeders Crown winner Grace Hill took Eldorado Scioto Downs’ $31,000 Fillies & Mares Open Pace on Friday (May 12), while Ohio Aged Trotter of the Year Smoking Jet took the first edition of the $30,000 Open Trot. Persistent rain starting mid-way through the card downgraded the track from fast to good to sloppy throughout the night.
Race favourite Grace Hill (Tony Hall) won by 1-1/2 lengths over Shesonebadmomma (Chris Page) in the Fillies & Mares Open Pace in 1:53. Friday’s victory was her first start back since her win in the TVG final at The Meadowlands back in November. Since, she has had three qualifiers in preparation for her win for trainer Virgil Morgan Jr. and owner Tom Hill of United Kingdom. The five-year-old daughter of Always B Miki now has more than $1.26 million in lifetime earnings.
Smoking Jet, a six-year-old gelded son of Triumphant Caviar, won nearly gate to wire from his assigned outside post to win by a neck in 1:54.1 for driver Page and trainer Ron Burke. This was Smoking Jet’s fourth win in six starts in 2023 for owners Burke Racing, Weaver Bruscemi and Chris Page. Kildare King (Trevor Smith) finished second with Adamsville Road (Sam Widger) just a half-length back in third. Smoking Jet went off at 4-1 and paid $10.60 to win.
Scioto’s 2022 leading driver Brett Miller had three wins on the card, as did last year’s runner-up driver Chris Page and Tony Hall. Scioto’s 28-time trainer of the year Virgil Morgan Jr. went three-for-three.
The 90-day Scioto Downs live racing season goes through Saturday, Sept. 16. The typical race schedule will be Tuesdays-Saturdays with first post of 3:15 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and 5:50 p.m. first post for Thursdays-Saturdays.
(Scioto)