Four divisions of the $114,865 Ohio Sires Stakes Veteran Championships were held at Eldorado Scioto Downs on Friday, Aug. 30. Driver Dan Noble doubled up in the championships with Charlie May (pictured above) and Refined during a five-win night.
The aged trot, a pre-card non-wagering event with five entries, was won by The Mighty Hill in gate-to-wire fashion in 1:52.4. Driven by co-owner Trevor Smith, The Mighty Hill led through fractions of :29, :56 and 1:24.2 before holding off Caviar Gold (Aaron Merriman), who was second by a neck, and Gabbys Bit Coin (Austin Hanners), who finished three-quarters of a length back in third.
The Mighty Hill is a five-year-old gelding by What The Hill out of the Tagliabue mare Maxine The Mighty. Friday’s win was his 15th lifetime in 51 starts. Owned by Smith and Bet The House, the Jeff Smith trainee went over the half-million-dollar earnings mark.
The aged mare division went to My Red Sea (Eric Goodell), who also led gate-to-wire for her win. The four-year-old mare set fractions of :26.2, :55 and 1:22.3 on the way to setting a new lifetime mark of 1:50, winning by more than three lengths over High Flyin Filly (Chris Page) and Penpaperpaige (Tyler Smith).
Jason Irwin trains the Downbytheseaside mare out of the Jeremes Jet mare My Hare Lady for Jennifer Bongiorno Stable and Robert Weinstein. My Red Sea now has 14 wins in 51 lifetime starts and $336,560 in earnings.
Refined took the aged mare trot in 1:51.4 with Dan Noble up. Getting the pocket trip behind Martysmagicmoment (Brett Miller) through opening fractions of :27.1 and :55.3, Noble pulled Refined midway down the backside and made the lead by the 1:23.3 third quarter mark. Forceful Power (Hugh Beatty) was at her wheel coming down the stretch but Refined was a length and a half better at the finish. Rose Run Yolanda (Hanners) finished well back in third.
Refined is by Uncle Peter out of the Malabar Man mare Reinvent. Owned by Joyce McClelland and Larry Wills, the eight-year-old mare is trained by Virgil Morgan Jr. Refined now has 43 career wins from 129 starts and soared over $1.2 million in earnings. She earned her second Veteran Championship title after winning her first in 2022.
The aged pace had a lot of movement going towards the :26.3 opening quarter with Donttouchmytruck (Chris Presley) getting off the car first, Act Fast (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) taking the lead midway around the first turn and Seafire (Page) not content to sit fourth, pulling and marching to the front as the field straightened out on the stretch for the first time. By the :54.2 half, the field had settled in single file, but Burnout (Hanners) pulled first-up towing Charlie May and Noble right behind him. Flipping three-wide at the 1:22.3 third quarter mark, Charlie May had the momentum and sprinted down the stretch to win in 1:49.2 by a half-length over Seafire. Donttouchmytruck powered up for third.
Charlie May, a Don Tiger homebred trained by Steve Carter, is by McArdle out of the Western Hanover mare Stipple Hanover. Friday’s victory was the first win of the year for the six-year-old gelding. Lifetime, Charlie May has won 28 races and has amassed more than $2.2 million in earnings from 74 starts. He was an Ohio Sires Stakes champion as a two-year-old and previously won the Veteran Championship in 2022.
Friday’s card also had three divisions of the Buckeye Stallion Series for three-year-old colt pacers. Trainer Christi Noble took two of the divisions with both colts winning in 1:51.2.
JDs Zack Attack (Tyler Smith) won the first division by a nose over Seaside Delight (Kayne Kauffman) with Twenty Five (Page) was third. The colt by Yankee Cruiser is owned by Eleven Star Stables, Caleb Miller, Frank Baldachino and Henry Graber, Jr. JDs Zack Attack now has five wins in 15 seasonal starts.
Nine One Oh Six (Noble) took the second division by a half-length over Theheavyweightway (Trevor Smith) and Heerz Popeye (Cameron McCown). Owned by Tim Homan, Norman Rae Racing and Jim Burnett, the Lather Up colt now has seven wins in 15 seasonal starts.
The last division, which was also the fastest, was won by Seasideescape (Miller) in 1:50.3. Cheyenne Tuff (Page) was second with Legendary Noble (Noble) finishing third. Trained by Steve Carter, Seasideescape is owned by Country Club Acres, Joe Sbrocco & JAF Racing, Don Latore and AWS Stables. The Downbytheseaside gelding now has three wins in 14 seasonal starts.
There will be a special Labour Day card on Monday, Sept. 2, with the next live racing day not until Thursday, Sept. 5. The Saturday, Sept. 7 card features the $250,000 USD Jim Ewart Memorial Pace and the Charlie Hill Memorial Trot. Post time for all remaining cards, except for Friday, Sept. 13, is 5:45 p.m. First post for the Friday the 13th card will be 6:45 p.m., to help accommodate horsepeople attending the Ohio Selected Yearling Sale.
(With files from Scioto Downs)