Stellar Fields drawn for Miami Valley $50,000 Scarlet & Gray Invitationals
At 0h02, on April 20, 2021 • By MIAMI VALLEY
The lineups are set for the first two $50,000 Scarlet & Gray Invitationals at Miami Valley on Friday (April 23). The best Ohio-sired 3-year-old fillies will go postward, trotters in the ninth race and pacers in the eleventh. Their male counterparts will contest another pair of $50,000 Scarlet & Gray Invitationals on Saturday (April 24).
The filly trot features three horses with over $100,000 in earnings and average bounty for the nine entrants over $81,000. The first four finishers in last week’s $40,000 James K. Hackett Memorial championship earned automatic berths in the Scarlet & Gray, as well as an elimination winner who made an unfortunate break in the final.
Likely favorite is Swizzle Hanover (driver Mike Wilder), based on three wins in four starts already in 2021, including the Hackett championship. Sires Stakes leg winners Herculisa (Brett Miller), Celebrate With Me (Chris Page), My Jazz (Anthony MacDonald) and Katie’s Lucky Day (Trevor Smith) are also likely to get support at the betting windows despite having less prep work thus far this season. Others in the field are Boujee Girl (Miller), Ozma (Aaron Merriman), Magic Credit Card (Miller) and I Am Winning (TBA).
The filly pace field includes the top three finishers from last year’s $300,000 OSS championship and the top three finishers from the recent Hackett final. There are a pair of $100,000-plus earners and the entire nine-horse field averages $94,000 in purse winnings early in their careers.
From the rail out the contestants include Rainy Day Chic (Brett Miller), Lady Arthur (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.), Leave Her Wild (Mike Wilder), Rockin N Kissin (Tyler Smith), Babs Jansen (Kayne Kauffman), Summer Touch (Chris Page), Free Thinker (Page), Smothastenesewisky (TBA) and Pal O Mine (TBA).
