After a somewhat inauspicious start to the season, Pet Project is on a roll.
“Everything has been working his way,” said trainer Kim Dailey, who co-owns Pet Project with Jr Stable LLP of Orient, Ohio. “He’s come a long way, and he continues to get better with each start.”
The Pet Rock gelding out of Igottafeelinfran finished fifth in his debut purse start on June 28 and third in the opening leg of the Ohio Sires Stakes (OHSS) at MGM Northfield Park. But it’s been nothing but wins ever since for the homebred.
“He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do so far,” Dailey said. “He’s a nice one, and I hope he stays that way.”
After notching a victory in the Ohio State Fair Stakes at Eldorado Scioto Downs on Aug. 2, Pet Project added wins in the third leg of the OSS at Northfield in 1:53.3 and fourth leg at Scioto in a lifetime-best 1:52.1. He’ll look to make it four straight victories on Saturday (Aug. 30) as Scioto hosts another leg of the OHSS. The three $50,000 USD divisions comprise the second leg for freshman colt pacers, which was rescheduled from July 26 due to inclement weather that evening.
Other than condensing the schedule a bit, that postponement has had little impact on Pet Project’s performance, Dailey said. He leads the OHSS two-year-old colt pace standings with 115 points and is the 9-5 morning line favourite in the third division on Saturday. Trevor Smith, who has driven Pet Project all season, returns to the sulky.
“Trevor has been really good with him,” Dailey said. “The two get along really well, and Trevor has taken care of him, which is what I like.”
While the combo of Smith and Pet Project has had lots of success lately, extending that winning streak may not come easy. Fellow two-time OHSS winner Gentlemans Club is also in the third division and opened as the 2-1 second choice. Driven by Aaron Merriman, the Aaron Lambert trainee will leave from post two, while Pet Project drew post six. Gentlemans Club has three wins in four starts this season, including OHSS victories in the opening leg in 1:54.3 and fourth leg in a lifetime-best 1:51.4. Owned by Anthony Licastro of Australia, the Downbytheseaside colt is not far behind Pet Project in the standings, sitting second with 103 points. Third-place Lindy Dragonwater, a two-time BSS winner with 102 points, is not entered in this leg, meaning Pet Project and Gentleman’s Club will be vying to create even greater separation from the rest of the contenders as they go head-to-head on Saturday.
“They’re both nice horses,” Dailey said. “It’s going to be a good race. It’ll be interesting to see how it unfolds.”
Elsewhere, third-leg winners Crocodile Station (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) and When Is Parade (Chris Page) face off in the first division as the 7-5 morning line favourite and 3-1 second choice, respectively. Crocodile Station has two wins in five seasonal starts with his third-leg victory coming in 1:53.2. He also won a division in the Ohio State Fair Stakes in 1:52.3. The Downbytheseaside gelding is trained by Michael Hitchcock. A son of Summa Cum Laude, When Is Parade has hit the board in all five starts this season with two wins, one second, and two thirds. The Ron Burke trainee posted a lifetime-best 1:53.2 in his third-leg victory.
The second division features a pair of first-leg winners in Summa Cum Laude geldings Illbetyourboots (Page) and Swelce (Mike Wilder). Illbetyourboots opened as the even-money favourite. Trained by Burke, he has won three of six seasonal starts, including the Next Generation at Scioto in a lifetime-best 1:52 and an OHSS race in 1:54, and has $151,373 in earnings. Swelce is the 3-1 second choice and will leave from the far outside. The Jeff Nisonger trainee has hit the board in six of seven starts this season. After posting a victory in the opening leg of the OHSS in a lifetime-best 1:55, he placed third in the third leg and second in the fourth leg.
The Ohio Sires Stakes for freshman colt pacers is part of a 16-race card at Eldorado Scioto Downs on Saturday that also includes four $100,000 USD divisions of the OHSS Veterans Championships for Ohio-sired horses who are at least four years old.
Matchup of Stablemates Sugar Instead, Refined Highlights OHSS Veterans Championships at Scioto
Sugar Instead is on a quest to become a three-time state champion. The next step in that journey is the Ohio Sires Stakes Veterans Championships on Saturday (Aug. 30) at Scioto. Among her competition is millionaire stablemate Refined.
Scioto is hosting four $100,000 USD divisions of the OHSS Veterans Championships, which are designated for Ohio-sired horses who are at least four years old. There is one division each for older male pacers and trotters and older mare pacers and trotters.
As the early 2-1 favourite, Refined (Dan Noble) highlights the division for older mare trotters. Sugar Instead (Tyler Smith) is the 5-1 third choice behind Jurassic Hattie (Brett Miller) at 5-2.
In 150 career starts, Refined has 51 wins, 33 seconds, and 16 thirds with $1,435,271 in earnings. Trained by Virgil Morgan Jr., the nine-year-old Uncle Peter mare out of Reinvent has hit the board in eight of 12 starts with five wins this season after winning the Ohio Breeders Championship and OHSS Veterans Championship in 2024. She set a lifetime best of 1:51.2 as an eight-year-old and matched it this season. Morgan Jr. stablemate Sugar Instead enters Saturday with $1,202,667 in earnings. The four-year-old Volstead mare out of Sugar Pop has had a decorated career, hitting the board in 35 of 42 starts with 24 victories. Named the Two-Year-Old Filly Trotter of the Year in 2023, she went on to earn Ohio Horse of the Year and Three-Year-Old Filly Trotter of the Year accolades in 2024 when she won the Ohio Triple Crown. She has two wins, three seconds, and five thirds in 14 starts this season and posted a lifetime-best 1:52.2 on July 18 at Scioto.
Sugar Instead and Refined will leave side-by-side from posts five and six, respectively, and are owned by Joyce McClelland Stable and Larry Wills.
Jurassic Hattie is a four-year-old Volstead mare trained by Stacey Van Huizen. On July 11, she set a 1:51.2 track record for four-year-old trotting mares at Scioto. She has four wins in 13 starts this season and set a lifetime best of 1:50.4 at Miami Valley Raceway on April 30. Owned by Jerry Welch, she has hit the board in 26 of 33 lifetime starts with 13 wins and $660,538 in earnings.
Fearless Ginger (Aaron Merriman) opened as the 2-1 favourite in the division of older mare pacers ahead of 5-2 second choice High Flyin Filly (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.). Trained by Ron Burke, Fearless Ginger is a four-year-old Fear The Dragon mare with 18 career wins and earnings of $464,788 in 52 starts. She has seven wins, two seconds, and two thirds in 16 starts this season and recorded a lifetime-best 1:49.1 at Scioto on July 18. She will leave from the far outside. Burke stablemate High Flyin Filly is a five-year-old Domethatagain mare with 26 wins and $525,510 in earnings in 91 lifetime starts. She has four wins, four seconds, and four thirds in 21 seasonal starts and recorded her lifetime best of 1:49.3 last season at Scioto. Both horses are owned by Burke Racing Stable and Weaver Bruscemi.
Spaaaanzano (Chris Page), winner of the Next Generation in 2023, has $809,016 in career earnings and is the 2-1 morning line favourite in the division of older horse and gelding trotters. Now four years old, the Coraggioso gelding has hit the board in eight of 14 seasonal starts and set a lifetime best of 1:53.1 on Aug. 22 at Scioto. He has 12 wins, nine seconds, and three thirds in 34 career starts. He is trained by Chris Beaver, who co-owns him with Spaaaartners, Bill Manes, and Leo Fleming. Beaver stablemate Caviar Gold (Merriman) is the 5-2 second choice. The six-year-old Triumphant Caviar gelding has hit the board in seven of 15 starts with four wins this season and has recorded 21 victories, 17 seconds, and 10 thirds with $798,126 in earnings in 75 career starts. He posted his lifetime best of 1:51.3 last season at Dayton Raceway and is owned by Beaver, Manes, Fleming, and Steven Zeehandelar. Hung Over, the 2024 Ohio Sires Stakes champion as a three-year-old, is listed as the first horse also eligible.
Pariss Dragon (Noble) is the early 2-1 favourite in the division for aged horse and gelding pacers. Trained by Christi Noble, the four-year-old Fear The Dragon gelding has hit the board in six of 10 seasonal starts with four wins and two seconds and posted a lifetime best of 1:49.1 at Scioto on May 31. He has $663,270 in career earnings with 15 wins, nine seconds, and four thirds in 40 starts and is owned by Dennis Owens and Norman Rae Racing. The 5-2 second choice is Burke trainee Racing Rebel (Page), who will leave from the far outside. The four-year-old son of Racing Hill has hit the board in 10 of 13 starts with seven victories this season and recorded a lifetime-best 1:48.2 on Aug. 2 at Scioto. Owned by Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi, Chris Page, and Marjorie Polhamus, he has 15 wins, eight seconds, and nine thirds with $501,313 in earnings in 46 lifetime starts. Charlie May, who won the 2024 OHSS Veterans Championship for horse and gelding pacers, is listed as the second horse also eligible.
First-race post time is 5:45 p.m.
(Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association)