Contact Information:
Bob Roberts (216-662-8600)
September 26, 2008
www.thistledown.com
A total of 75 horses, including three defending champions, have been nominated for the 22nd running of the Best of Ohio, set for Thistledown on Saturday, Oct. 4. The five-race series, worth $425,000 in purse money, is restricted to Buckeye-breds. Its top events are a pair of $100,000 races, the Best of Ohio Endurance at 1 1/4 miles and the Best of Ohio Distaff at 1 1/8 miles.
A trio of $75,000 races, the Best of Ohio Sprint at six furlongs, and the John Galbreath Memorial and Juvenile, both to be contested at 1 1/16 miles for two-year-olds, complete the lineup.
"These should be great races," said Bill Couch, Thistledown racing secretary. "We expect the best Ohio-breds to be in the entry box when the fields are finalized on Monday. The races will not only appeal to Ohio horseplayers, but handicappers around the country."
Blazing Meadows Farm's Smarmy, who rallied from the back of the pack to win last year's Endurance, is among the 15 nominees for this year's renewal, as are Pyrite Personal and Catlaunch, who finished second and third, respectively to Smarmy.
Elisabeth Alexander's Cryptoquip, a romping 7 1/2-length in the 2007 Distaff, tops the list of 16 nominees to next Saturday's running. Her presence would set up a showdown with the top Ohio-bred in training, Pyrite Stable's Pay The Man, winner of three stakes this year at Thistledown, including the Rose DeBartolo Memorial.
Shazam and Leemington Stable's Dooze, a wire-to-wire 3 3/4-length winner of last year's Sprint, is the top gun on the nomination list that numbers 14 for this year's dash. Also eligible to run is Kathleen Lowry's Ben's Reflection, winner of the Sprint in both 2004 and 2005. In its 18-year history, no horse has won the Sprint three times, although four have won it twice.
The Galbreath and Juvenile are restricted to freshmen runners, which means no repeat winners. Tim Hamm's Slides Choice, a winner of two stakes in just two career starts (the Tah Dah and Miss Ohio), heads the Galbreath's prospective field, while Ruben Valdes' Australis Day (Cleveland Kindergarten) and Blazing Meadows Farm and Brian Broll's Raise the Reward (Hoover), both stakes winners, look to be the earlybird Juvenile heavyweights.