Ohio’s female standardbred stars of the future will make their stakes-racing debut on Thursday during the holiday matinee card at Scioto Downs. There are 39 two-year-old fillies competing in five Ohio Sires Stakes events, each for a purse of $30,000.
There are three divisions of trotting juveniles, programmed as Races 2, 3, and 11. The two divisions of pacers will race in the afternoon’s opening race and in Race 12 on the 14-dash holiday card.
In The Grippers is the 5-2 morning-line favorite in Race 2, perhaps because she’s from the stable of Virgil Morgan Jr., the leading trainer at Scioto for many years. She will be steered by Chris Page, the driving champion at Scioto Downs in recent seasons. In The Grippers shows a trotting win in 2:04 already this season.
Big Vs Lil Girl, another Morgan trainee, gets the favourite’s role in the third race and will have the driving services of Dan Noble, the leading race-winning pilot in North America in 2011. She has a win in 2:03.1 to her credit.
Dellou is the early choice in Race 11, the final of the three trotting divisions for freshman fillies. She is trained by James Lupton and will have Kurt Sugg as her driver. She’s got a victory in 2:03.2 this season.
In the first race of the day, the Ohio Sires Stakes field of eight is led by favoured Crown Time Keeper, a recent winner in a swift 1:58. Steve Carter trains with the driver to be named later.
Baby Slider will start from Post 1 in Race 12, and the odds-maker has picked her to finish first, too. She’s trained by Bill Webb and has one win and one second in two lifetime starts. Mark Headworth will be in the sulky behind Baby Slider.
First-race post time Thursday at Scioto will be 1:00 p.m.
(OSS)