Columbus, OH - Driver Brett Miller had a spectacular Saturday night (Sept. 7) at Scioto Downs, capturing one $75,000 Ohio Sires Stakes Championship for veteran harness racing pacing mares and three $75,000 Ohio Sires Stakes Consolations.
Miller, 46, a resident of Blacklick, Ohio began his four-race win streak by steering 5-1 Homer Hall to victory in the $75,000 OSS 3-Year-Old Colt Consolation. Trained and co-owned by Steve Carter along with Jay Mossbarger & Cass Gallagher, the son of Broadway Hall was clocked in 1:54.3 for Miller.
Bred by Midland Acres, Homer Hall bested 3-5 rival Morally Flexible (Danny Noble) by a length with 21-1 Workinitonbroadway (Ronnie Wrenn, Jr.) nailing down third-place honors. The victory, Homer Hall's tenth of the year and 17th lifetime in 26 starts, upped his lifetime bankroll to $193,742.
Next, Miller guided Patti Roth and Alan Keith's Bad Sammie to a 1:53.1 clocking in the $75,000 OSS 3-Year-Old Filly Pace Consolation. The Big Bad John lass left the gate as the 3-5 favorite, besting 3-1 Twinsburg (Danny Noble) by half a length with 16-1 Lofty Beach (Yannick Gingras) third. Mike Roth trains Bad Sammie, who was bred by Midland Acres and now has $132,740 in career earnings from just four wins in 21 starts.
Miller then reined 5-2 B Like Cruiser to a 1:51.4 triumph for trainer Virgil Morgan, Jr. and owners Michael Cimaglio and William Richardson in the $75,000 OSS 3-Year-Old Colt & Gelding Pace Consolation. The homebred gelded son of Yankee Cruiser finished a neck ahead of 18-1 Rose Run Ulysses (Tim Tetrick) at the wire, with 16-1 Ohio Vintage (Aaron Merriman) another short neck back. Unraced as a freshman, B Like Cruiser now has seven wins, two seconds and one third in 13 trips postward with $110,301 in his coffers.
Finally, Miller used a three-wide move in the last turn to bring 7-1 Up Front Flor Ida home first in the $75,000 Veteran Mares Pacing Championship in 1:51.3. The 4-year-old daughter of Woodstock is owned by Kevin McKinney and Virginian McKoy, and is trained by Tim McKoy. She now has career earnings of $269,890 from 15 wins, eight seconds and ten thirds in 52 lifetime starts. Using a :28.4 final brush, she easily paced to the win ahead of 50-1 Berazzled (Aaron Merriman), with 60-1 McDazzle (Ronnie Wrenn, Jr.) getting up for third.
Harold Bauder's Sectionline Bigry captured the $75,000 OSS Veteran Pacing Championship for horses and geldings impressively in 1:49.2 as the 1-5 favorite. Driven by Tyler Smith for trainer Steve Bauder, this 4-year-old homebred son of Pet Rock has been a strong contender in the Ohio open and invitational ranks all season. This latest victory--his 11th of the season and 18th lifetime--upped his career earnings to $365,027. Whataboy was second at 8-1 for Danny Noble, while 90-1 Barley Up was third for Ronnie Wrenn, Jr.
Driver Aaron Merriman got the evening started by piloting 6-5 Chris Beaver-trainee Delovely Hall to a 1:58.1 triumph in the $75,000 OSS 2-Year-Old Filly Trot Consolation. Renee Bercury owns the Cash Hall lass who picked up a perfect time to score her second career victory.
Danny Noble had no trouble bringing 1-5 Buxton home first in 1:57.2 for owner Carter Duer and trainer Bob Stewart in the $75,000 OSS 2-Year-Old Colt Trot Consolation. The homebred Dejarmbro colt picked up his second career win in six starts and now has $60,460 in his bankroll.
Trainer Brian Brown then sent out the next two OSS winners--the first being PJ's Legacy, a 1-2 daughter of Big Bad John who stopped the clock in 1:53 in the $75,000 2-Year-Old Filly Pace Consolation for driver Ryan Stahl. Brown then harnessed 6-5 Stanford Court, with Ronnie Wrenn, Jr., taking the youngster to a 1:52.4 victory in the $75,000 OSS 2-Year-Old Colt Pace Consolation.
Chris Page brought Burke Racing Stable, J&T Silva-Purnell&Libby and Weaver Bruscemi's 3-1 Buckeye Starlet into the Scioto winner's circle after the Uncle Peter filly took the $75,000 OSS 3-Year-Old Filly Trot Consolation in 1:56. The win was the fourth of the year and fifth lifetime for Buckeye Starlet, who now has $95,681 in career earnings.
Hambletonian winner Atlanta had to work a bit to prove her dominance as she took the $220,000 Charlie Hill Memorial Trot in front-stepping fashion for driver Yannick Gingras and trainer Ronnie Burke in 1:51.4, holding off Plunge Blue Chip (Ake Svanstedt) by a head in the final yards. The daughter of Chapter Seven recorded her 19th career victory for Crawford Farms Racing, Brad Grant and Howard Taylor.
In the $440,000 Jim Ewart Memorial, McWicked, with Brian Sears in the sulky, scored a nose victory over Donttellmeagain (Tim Tetrick) in 1:49. Casie Coleman conditions the 8-year-old son of McArdle for the New York-based SSG Stables. The win was McWicked's 28th of his career and his lifetime earnings now stand at well over $4.4 million.
The Ohio Sires Stakes Championships for Veteran Trotters, 4-year-olds and up, will be held on Saturday, Oct. 12 at Northfield Park, with two $75,000 divisions scheduled for both genders. Those events will wrap up the 2019 Ohio Sires Stakes season.
by Kimberly Rinker, Ohio Standardbred Development Fund Administrator
