07/02/2012 4:56PM

Thistledown: Prospective heads compact Ohio Derby

By Marty McGee
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Michael Burns
Prospective, with Luis Contreras riding, wins the Victoria Park.

Prospective will make his first start since winning the June 10 Victoria Park Stakes when he leaves from post 1 in a field of just five 3-year-olds in the Grade 3, $100,000 Ohio Derby, to be run Saturday for the 78th time at Thistledown in suburban Cleveland.

Prospective, trained by Mark Casse for John Oxley, won the Tampa Bay Derby in March before finishing sixth in the Blue Grass Stakes and 18th in the Kentucky Derby. The son of Malibu Moon then rebounded to win the Victoria Park on June 10 at Woodbine as the 2-5 favorite.

Jermaine Bridgmohan has the call aboard Prospective for the 1 1/16-mile Ohio Derby, for which entries were drawn Monday. Prospective had his final tune-up Sunday morning at Woodbine, breezing a half-mile in 49.80 seconds over the main Polytrack surface.

The main challengers to Prospective are Politicallycorrect (post 2, Elvis Trujillo) and Z Rockstar (post 4, Channing Hill).

Politicallycorrect, trained by Wesley Ward for Ken and Sarah Ramsey, is a two-time winner who most recently ran third behind Teeth of the Dog in the Easy Goer Stakes on the June 9 Belmont Stakes undercard. Teeth of the Dog wheeled back to win the Grade 2 Dwyer Stakes last weekend at Belmont.

Z Rockstar, an Oklahoma-bred trained by Donnie Von Hemel, also is a two-time winner and comes off a third-place finish in the June 2 Prairie Mile.

Rounding out the Ohio Derby cast are Defiant Flyer (post 3, Luis Gonzalez) and Swage (post 5, Perry Compton).

The Ohio Derby, the only graded race in the state, will anchor a nine-race Saturday card that also includes the $50,000 Cleveland Kindergarten for 2-year-olds. Scratch time is Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. Eastern.

Rita Polander More than 1 year ago
Joe Polander here - I live in Northeast Ohio and will be attending the Ohio Derby on Saturday. Looking for Politically Correct to pull a mild upset over heavy favorite Prospective. Last years winner of the Ohio Derby went on to win the BC Dirt Mile, Caleb's Posse. Hoping that T-Down gets slots in 2013. I started going to the track with my dad when I was a kid , now I am a big fan. A healthy racetrack creates jobs and excitement for T-Down and surrounding communities.
Rita Polander More than 1 year ago
testing
RickMarciniak More than 1 year ago
Surprised to see some jocks leave their home base for this 100k gem. Ohio tracks needs the slot revenue ASAP!
Jimee63 More than 1 year ago
Rick, I respect your opinion about Ohio tracks needing slots revenue. Here is my opinion that you won't like. All catagories of horse racing should not be subsidized by slots revenue or any other form of revenue. Over the last 3 decades, horse racing has fallen completely out of favor with the wagering public. The industry has collapsed from within with poor management and lack of internal controls to clean up the sport. Just one example- for a Saturday night card, Pompano Park is lucky to break $60K in total handle but hands out over $40K in purses due to their racino agreement. This doesn't work. If racing cannot put out a product that sustains itself through the handle then it should go away.
RickMarciniak More than 1 year ago
Jimee, Thanks for thoughts. I am a PA resident and Slot Subsidies has done amazing things in this state. We are #2 in the nation to Kentucky in horse breeding. Owners who run PA breds in this state are rewarded with Thousands of dollars in bonus money that is awarded. Mike Jester awhile back built a barn and breeds horses in my town. That created jobs. I am friends with a jockey at Penn Nat and the higher purses allows him to remain in Central PA and the boost in purses helps support his family and his living. Racing has a lot of issues that need to be fixed and its all over the place, but if Horsemen/Casino Execs and Lawmakers reach a resolution to how slots subsidies can benefit the horses...it can be a winning combo. Be Well! --Penn National Rick