1. Dayton Raceway is hosting the event for the first time
For the past 26 years the Ohio Sire Stakes – which draws the state’s top 2- and 3-year-olds and is called the Ohio Super Night – have been run at either Northfield Park or Scioto Downs.
Dayton Raceway was awarded the Ohio Super Night as testament to the track’s growing status.
2. It’s a lot of money
There will be eight different $300,000 races and they will share the card with four Dayton Derby races, each worth $250,000.
“That’s a total purse of $3.4 million, which is by far the richest purse in the history of Ohio racing, both for harness horses and Thoroughbreds,” said Gregg Keidel, the race secretary at Dayton Raceway.
3. The horse to watch
Of the top performers, none are bigger than Bulldog Hanover, the No. 1 ranked, fastest harness horse in history.
He has been the top rated horse in North American for 12 straight weeks in the Hambletonian Society/Breeders Cup poll.
The horse, which has won over $1 million this year and is the leading candidate for Horse of the Year, has won 10 races in a row.
4. What did it take to get here?
Saturday night’s Oho Sire Stakes championships were preceded by preliminary competitions run at Miami Valley Gaming in Lebanon, MGM Northfield and Eldorado Scioto Downs.
5. More about Dayton Raceway
That Dayton Raceway is connected to the Hollywood Gaming casino at Needmore and Wagner Ford roads, it had its biggest season ever last year and showed a $3.5 million increase in its handle.
The 2022 season, the ninth since the track opened in 2014, began Sept. 27 and runs through December 23. The 70-race program runs every Tuesday through Saturday. On October 22, the track will a host the Buckeye Stallion Series.