The $100,000 #SendItIn and Cleopatra Invitationals will be held on Saturday, July 29 at Eldorado Scioto Downs amid a multitude of promotional activities planned for the weekend.
On the track, the action-packed card features the Cleopatra Invitational as race 13. Grace Hill (Tony Hall), following second-place finishes in the Perfect Sting and Dorothy Haughton at The Meadowlands, is the 3-2 morning line favourite. The Virgil Morgan Jr. trainee has seven seasonal starts with five consecutive wins in the Filles & Mares Open at Scioto and the Roses Are Red elimination and final at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Local horses Im Offngone N (Brett Miller), Velocity Lady (Brady Galliers), Ocean Music (Dan Noble) and Shesonebadmomma (Chris Page) will take on outside invaders Kobes Gigi (Tyler Smith) and Violets Rainbow (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.), who comes in from Yonkers for Jared Bako and is the 3-1 second choice. Two-time O'Brien Award winner So Much More, who was set to make her stateside debut, has scratched out of the Cleopatra due to the excessive heat and long ship from Canada.
The #SendInIt Invitational will go as race 14 and features William Haughton Memorial winner Charlie May (Brett Miller), who is the 5-2 morning line favourite. Fresh off his career-best 1:47.1 score at the Meadowlands, the Steve Carter trainee faces Little Rocket Man (Jeremy Smith), who just won the Open at Scioto in 1:47.3, Canadian invader Linedrive Hanover (Aaron Merriman) and Fourever Boy (Montrell Teague), who will be starting from the far outside. The field is rounded out by Later Dudes (Chris Page), Priceless Beach (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.), Tellmeaboutit (Sam Widger) and Bernie (Tony Hall).
The undercard includes three divisions of the Ohio Sires Stakes for two-year-old pacing colts going for $40,000 each, the Open Pace with a purse of $30,000 and the Open Trot going for $33,000.
There is something for the whole family while enjoying the races for #SendItIn weekend, including trackside karaoke, cornhole, bounce house for kids and food trucks. There will be a contest for the best toga at 9 p.m. on Saturday.
Saturday will also be the monthly Racing Frenzy drawing. By placing a $50 live wager on a single ticket with a live teller throughout the month of July, betters received a Racing Frenzy Entry, which should be dropped in for a chance to win up to a $500 wager. Next month’s Racing Frenzy drawing will be held on Labor Day, Sept. 4.
The inaugural winners of the #SendItIn in 2020, when it was held in divisions, were Brassy Hanover and Workin Ona Mystery, the latter of which also won in 2021. Tattoo Artist took the 2022 edition. The inaugural Cleopatra Invitational was won in 2022 by Test of Faith.
Racing is held at Scioto Downs each Tuesday and Wednesday with a 3:15 p.m. first post, and Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays with a 5:50 p.m. first post through Saturday, Sept. 16.
(With files from Scioto Downs; Photo of Charlie May winning the William Haughton Memorial)