Four horses are looking to complete Ohio Triple Crown-winning seasons on Saturday, Sept. 27 as Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway hosts the 2025 Ohio Sires Stakes (OHSS) Scarlet Championships.
Saturday’s 14-race card features purses totaling $3.65 million USD and includes eight divisions of the OHSS Scarlet Championships and four Dayton Oaks Derby Grand Circuit races with two consolations. The four divisions of the Scarlet Championships for trotters have purses of $300,000 USD each. The divisions of the Scarlet Championships for freshman and sophomore filly pacers and freshman colt pacers have purses of $300,000 USD each, with the division for sophomore colt pacers going for $400,000 USD. First-race post time is 6:30 p.m.
Freshman trotter Big Ranger (pictured above) is looking to continue an unbeaten season by claiming the Ohio Triple Crown. The In Range colt out of Big Blue Bird is six-for-six thus far with $301,961 in earnings. Those six victories include one in each of the first two legs of the Triple Crown — the Ohio State Fair Stakes at Eldorado Scioto Downs and the Ohio Breeders Championship at Delaware — as well as the first, fourth, and fifth legs of the OHSS. His lifetime best of 1:54 came in the Next Generation, which was his first start in a purse race. Trainer Ronnie Gillespie has been in the sulky with Big Ranger all season, including getting his 1,000th career driving victory at the State Fair Stakes on July 31. Gillespie will be back in the bike on Saturday leaving from post four in hopes of yet another milestone moment.
“If he gets a good draw, I feel really good about him,” Gillespie said in August of Big Ranger’s Triple Crown chances. “That’s what I’m shooting for is the Triple Crown.”
After that interview, Gillespie and Big Ranger went on to claim a victory in the OBC on Sept. 16, setting up the possibility of claiming the Triple Crown. Other top contenders for the OHSS Championship for freshman colt trotters include Ready Russell, Rose Run Banker, and Special Moni. Ready Russell (David Miller) was a perfect five-for-five in the OHSS this season and has six victories in eight starts with $198,915 in earnings. His lifetime best of 1:54 came in the fifth leg of the OHSS at Scioto where he broke his own track record for freshman trotting geldings. Trained by Deborah Swartz, the son of Ready For Moni topped the OHSS standings with 255 points — well ahead of second-place Big Ranger with 153 — and will leave from post six. Rose Run Banker (Chris Page) and Special Moni (Aaron Merriman) tied for third in the standings with 125 points each. The Ron Burke-trained Rose Run Banker will leave from the rail. He has hit the board in six of eight seasonal starts with two wins. Special Moni, a Chris Beaver trainee, is a two-time OHSS winner this season and will leave from the far outside.
The freshman filly trot division has a Triple Crown candidate in Demonic Niko (Yannick Gingras). The Erv Miller trainee was four-for-five in the OHSS this season with her lone blemish being a runner-up showing to Setyoursightshigh in the fourth leg. The In Range filly out of Cant Stop Marie posted wins in the OSFS in 1:57.1 and the OBC in 1:56.2. Her lifetime best of 1:55 came in the fifth leg of the OHSS at Scioto on Sept. 1. She has hit the board in all nine seasonal starts with seven wins and two seconds and has $330,724 in earnings. She compiled 230 points to lead the OHSS standings and will leave from post five. Speedbewithyou (Austin Hanners), who finished second in the standings with 185 points, posted wins in the first, fourth, and fifth legs of the OHSS. The Mission Accepted filly is trained by Todd Luther and has hit the board in seven of eight starts this season with four wins and $199,132 in earnings. She will leave from post two. Leaving next to Demonic Niko will be Miller stablemate Lucky Lady Volo (Atlee Bender) in post four. The In Range filly has two wins this season, both of which came in the OHSS, and finished third in the standings with 150 points. Setyoursightshigh (Dexter Dunn), a two-time winner in the OHSS, has hit the board in all eight seasonal starts with six victories and has $500,991 in earnings.
Sophomore filly Mocha Hill (Page) rounds out the trotting Triple Crown contenders. Trained by Burke, the What The Hill filly out of Socha Hanover finished tied for ninth in the OHSS standings but posted a victory in each of the first two legs of the Triple Crown. She won a division of the OSFS in a lifetime-best 1:54.3 and a division of the OBC in 1:55. She has eight career wins and $497,437 in earnings and will leave from post three. Aunt Laura (Dunn), who was the OHSS champion as a two-year-old, is looking to claim back-to-back titles after topping this year’s standings with 155 points. The Virgil Morgan Jr. trainee posted wins in each of the first two legs of the OHSS this season as part of four overall victories in 12 starts. The Uncle Peter filly has seven lifetime wins and $508,427 in earnings and will leave from post seven. Dream Something (Tyler Smith) and Jailhouse Pearl (Hanners) — two-time OHSS winners this season — finished second and third in the standings with 154 and 134 points, respectively. Dream Something is an Uncle Peter filly trained by Miles Wollam. She has hit the board in eight of nine seasonal starts with three wins and will leave from post four. Jailhouse Pearl is a Long Tom filly trained by Eric Nesselroad. She has hit the board in 11 of 13 starts this season with four wins and will leave from post two.
Sophomore trotter Lt Loverboy (Brett Miller) is looking for a second straight OHSS championship after winning the title as a two-year-old in 2024. The Long Tom gelding trained by Daren Harvey scored victories in three of the five legs of the OHSS this season, including a lifetime-best 1:52.1 in the third leg, and sits stop the standings with 175 points. He has hit the board in 17 of 20 career starts with $642,966 in earnings and will leave from post eight. Another three-time OHSS winner this season, Battle Hill (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.), was second in the standings with 168 points. Trained by Matthew Burkholder, the Marseille gelding has six wins in 10 seasonal starts and will leave from post five. He has hit the board in 16 of 19 lifetime starts with 10 wins and $514,243 in earnings. Jet Wings (Dunn), who was third in the standings with 154 points, posted two OHSS wins this season and has six victories and six seconds in 16 starts on the year. Trained by Morgan Jr., the What The Hill gelding has hit the board in 25 of 31 career starts with 10 wins and $319,945 in earnings and will leave from post three.
Crocodile Station is looking to stake his claim to an Ohio Triple Crown-winning season. The freshman pacer seeks to secure the 2025 Ohio Triple Crown after scoring wins in each of the first two legs in the Ohio State Fair Stakes at Eldorado Scioto Downs and the Ohio Breeders Championship at Delaware in 1:52.3 and a lifetime-best 1:52, respectively. The Downbytheseaside gelding out of Camera Lady was a two-time winner in the OHSS this season and closed the series in fourth place in the standings with 130 points. Trained by Michael Hitchcock, he has $178,010 in earnings and will leave from post four.
Pet Project (Trevor Smith), Illbetyourboots (Yannick Gingras), and Lindy Dragonwater (Chris Page) each posted three OHSS wins this year and finished as the top three in the freshman colt pace standings with 175, 168, and 153 points, respectively. Pet Project and Lindy Dragonwater were both winners in the OSFS. Trained by Kim Dailey, Pet Project has a lifetime best of 1:51.2. The Pet Rock gelding posted wins in the second, third, and fourth legs of the OHSS and has $156,843 in earnings. He will leave from post six. A winner in the Next Generation at Scioto, Illbetyourboots recorded victories in the first, second, and fifth legs of the OHSS, the last of which came in a lifetime-best 1:51.4. The Summa Cum Laude gelding is trained by Ron Burke and has six wins in nine seasonal starts with earnings of $223,675. He will leave from post five. Leaving from post three is Lindy Dragonwater, a Downbytheseaside gelding trained by Burke. He scored wins in the first, fourth, and fifth legs of the OHSS, posting a lifetime-best 1:51 in the fourth leg. He has $194,892 in earnings.
Shesafirewoman (Luke Hanners) highlights the freshman filly pace field after going a perfect five-for-five in the OHSS this season, including posting a lifetime-best 1:51.4 in the second leg. The Catch The Fire filly trained by Mark Winters has hit the board in all nine seasonal starts with eight wins and one second to go with $235,951 in earnings. She is atop the OHSS freshman filly pace standings with 255 points and will leave from post seven. A pair of two-time OHSS winners this season, Burke trainees Shacarri (Page) and Seaside Shuffle (Wrenn Jr.), finished second and third in the standings with 130 and 102 points, respectively. Summa Cum Laude filly Shacarri has hit the board in six of eight seasonal starts with four wins and $253,562 in earnings and will leave from post four. Seaside Shuffle will leave from the rail. A Downbytheseaside filly, she has hit the board in seven of eight starts this season with three wins and earnings of $224,390.
Virgil Morgan Jr. stablemates Odds On Chesapeake (Dexter Dunn) and Odds On Hialeah (Hanners) highlight the field of sophomore filly pacers as the top two in the standings with 230 and 205 points, respectively. Odds On Chesapeake was four-for-five in the OHSS this season with her only blemish coming as a runner-up to Odds On Hialeah in the fourth leg. Her lifetime best of 1:49.3 came in a Jugette elimination race at Delaware on Sept. 17, and she finished second in the Jugette Final. She has hit the board in 11 of 12 seasonal starts with nine wins and has 13 lifetime victories and earnings of $692,251. She will leave from post four. Odds On Hialeah will leave from the far outside and is looking to repeat as OHSS champion after winning the title as a two-year-old in 2024. The Lather Up filly posted three OHSS wins this season, recording a lifetime-best 1:50.3 in the first leg. She has hit the board in 15 of 17 lifetime starts with $739,725 in earnings. Rose Run Aimee (Wrenn Jr.), who was third in the standings with 125 points, will leave from post seven. Trained by James Ehrsam, the Racing Hill filly has hit the board in 10 of 12 seasonal starts with five wins and has $189,935 in lifetime earnings.
Burke stablemates Rick Wink (Page), Fear The Hate (David Miller), Harrisburg Heist (Todd McCarthy), Sippinonsearoc (Gingras), and Swingtown (Wrenn Jr.) highlight the field of sophomore colt pacers as the top five in the standings. Bit Of A Legend N colt Rick Wink was a three-time winner in the OHSS this year and led the standings with 166 points. Leaving from post three, he has five wins in 11 seasonal starts and has hit the board in 18 of 20 lifetime starts with 13 victories and $810,585 in earnings. Fear The Hate was second in the standings with 115 points and will leave from post seven. A two-time winner in the OHSS this season, the Fear The Dragon colt has eight wins in 15 career starts with $197,114 in earnings. Harrisburg Heist, Sippinonsearoc, and Swingtown finished in a three-way tie for third in the standings with 77 points each. Downbytheseaside colt Sippinonsearoc won the OHSS title as a two-year-old in 2024 and has 12 career wins and $1.3 million in earnings. He will leave from post two. Fellow Downbytheseaside colt Swingtown will leave from post nine. He has 10 wins and $1.1 million in earnings from 23 lifetime starts. Harrisburg Heist, a Downbytheseaside gelding, has hit the board in 12 of 15 seasonal starts with eight wins. He has $391,643 in lifetime earnings and will leave from post eight.
The Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association (OHHA) will live stream “Saturday Night at the Races” presented by the Ohio State University Veterinary Hospital. The live stream, which can be seen on the OHHA YouTube channel and Facebook page as well as the Standardbred Canada website, will begin at approximately 6:30 p.m. Coverage of the 14-race card includes eight divisions of the Ohio Sires Stakes Scarlet Championships and the four $250,000 USD Dayton Derby Grand Circuit races.
For a free online program for Saturday's card, click here.
(with files from Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association)