Four $60,000 Ohio Sires Stakes Championships for pacers and trotters that are at least four years old will be contested this Saturday night (Oct. 6) at Northfield Park. The four sires stakes events – which have been carded as Race 9 through 12 on the 16-dash program – will feature full, eight-horse fields. First-race post time will be at 6 p.m. (ET).
Trainer Ron Burke will send out a formidable pair in the $60,000 mare pacing championship (Race 9), $340,262-earner Rosemary Rose and Feelin Red Hot, who sports a bankroll of $213,279.
Owned by Burke Racing, J.V. Melilo and Weaver Bruscemi, Rosemary Rose is a four-year-old daughter of Foreclosure N, out of The Panderosa mare Pantathlon. A winner of 18 of 44 career starts, Rosemary Rose won a $18,500 Filly & Mare Open Handicap at Dayton on September 14 in 1:52.1. Bred by Ron Salcedo, Rosemary Rose will start from the rail with Chris Page aboard.
Stablemate Feelin Red Hot will start from Post 4 with Ronnie Wrenn Jr. in the sulky. The five-year-old Feelin Friskie lass won a $19,000 Northfield Park Filly & Mare Open on September 15 in wire-to-wire fashion in 1:51.1. Owned by Burke Racing and Weaver Bruscemi, Feelin Red Hot has won 19 of her 74 trips postward for her connections.
The $60,000 Ohio Sires Stakes Trotting Championship (Race 10) will feature a hardy field of eight diagonally-gaited specialists that have collectively earned more than $3.26 million.
Buckeye Boss looks like the one to beat from Post 3. Aaron Merriman steers the four-year-old Triumphant Caviar gelding for trainer Chris Beaver, who co-owns Buckeye Boss along with breeder Marion Beachy and Synerco Ventures. A winner of $331,874 from 15 wins, three seconds and three thirds in 34 career starts, Buckeye Boss has five triumphs to his credit this season, including a 1:54.3 score at Scioto Downs on September 8 in a $30,000 Open.
I Know My Chip, who is another that looks to have a solid shot in the event, hails from conditioner Walter Haynes Jr.’s stable. A winner of $846,006 lifetime, the six-year-old son of Deep Chip has battled against some of North America’s best trotters this season. His most impressive seasonal effort came in the $186,000 Crawford at Tioga Downs on August 12, when he finished second to Will Take Charge in 1:52.1.
Seven-year-old Victory Sam gelding Ladys Dude has earned $763,848 from 44 wins, 16 seconds and 17 thirds from 118 career trips postward. Bred by Ohioan Duane Lowe and trained by Ron Burke, Ladys Dude has been super consistent in the Ohio opens for his connections this year and has banked $128,750 in seasonal earnings.
Millionaire Dancin Yankee is the clear standout in Race 11, the $60,000 Ohio Sires Stakes Pacing Championship. Ron Burke will harness the 10-year-old Yankee Cruiser horse from Post 3 with Chris Page driving for the Burke Racing Stable of Fredericktown, PA. With $1,806,957 earned, Dancin Yankee has been one of the most consistent Ohio-bred performers throughout his career, with 68 wins, 48 seconds and 30 thirds from 216 lifetime starts. He’s scored nine triumphs this season — including a heart-stopping 1:48.4 victory in a Scioto Downs open. As well, Dancin Yankee captured this same event in 2014 (in 1:52.1); in 2015 (in 1:51.3); and in 2016 (in 1:52.2), the last time it was contested.
The $60,000 Ohio Sires Stakes Mare Trotting Championship (Race 12) will feature $320,471-earner A TC Queenie, who appears to be the one to beat. Trained by Ron Steck for Trish Sousby and Rick Schaut, the five-year-old daughter of Triumphant Caviar lost a nose decision in the Ohio Breeders Championship at Delaware on September 19, but had previously won six of 21 starts this season. Lifetime, she’s visited the winner’s circle 20 times, with ten seconds and seven thirds from 66 career outings.
As well, another Burke trainee has a formidable chance in the same event. Party At The Banks, a four-year-old Break The Bank K lass, prevailed impressively in the Ohio Breeders Aged Championship at Delaware on September 19 in 1:53.4 before finishing second in a conditioned trot at Dayton on September 28. Owned by Burke Racing and Weaver Bruscemi, Party At The Banks has amassed $49,973 in purses from eight wins, eight seconds and one third from 28 career starts. Dan Noble will drive from Post 3.
Rose Run Sydney has been saddled with the dreaded eight-hole for trainer Steve Carter, who owns the four-year-old Triumphant Caviar filly in partnership with Adam Friedland and RBR Racing. A winner of $522,283 in her career from 22 wins, Rose Run Sydney captured the $250,000 Ohio Sires Stakes Three-Year-Old Championship last season. Ryan Stahl is slated to be in the bike from the outside slot.
(OSDF)