All four of the Ohio champion two-year-old standardbreds of 2012 will be in action this weekend at Lebanon Raceway, as the Ohio Sires Stakes kicks off its 2013 season.
Purses for the nine Ohio Sires Stakes events at Lebanon on Friday and Saturday total $270,000.
The trotters are Trottin On Over and the filly Contessa Leigh, while the champion pacers from last season are Feelin Lika Winner and the filly Cating Around. Each won Ohio Sires Stakes finals at Scioto Downs last September and is hoping to repeat as champions.
The three-year-old fillies compete on Friday night in five separate divisions of Ohio Sires Stakes action, each for a purse of $30,000. Trotter Contessa Leigh is favoured in the first race of the evening and Xenia native Chip Noble will drive the filly for trainer Marty Wollam. She’s making her first start of the season after impressively winning a qualifying race at Northfield Park in Cleveland.
Cating Around, the two-year-old pacing filly champion in the Buckeye State in 2012, renews her rivalry with Pink Camo in Lebanon’s third race on Friday. Cating Around has started twice this year at Lebanon, winning the elimination heat and final of the James K. Hackett Memorial. She will be driven by Chris Page, currently ranked fifth among all harness drivers in North America. Last year Pink Camo finished second to Cating Around in the Ohio Sires Stakes final.
On Saturday evening, Trottin On Over will make his third start of the 2013. Last year the young trotter came from the Ohio county fair circuit to win the Ohio Sires Stakes final for trainer-driver Mark Headworth. He won his second start of this season in Toledo by more than nine lengths and should be favoured in his $30,000 event.
In Saturday’s ninth race, Feelin Lika Winner makes his seasonal debut for driver Kayne Kauffman and trainer and co-owner Scott Mogan. Last year he overpowered his rivals in the final quarter to win the Ohio Sires Stakes final. He will face six rivals at Lebanon on Saturday night.
(Ohio State Racing Commission)