There are three Best of Ohio state showcase cards throughout the season at each of the Buckeye State’s three Thoroughbreds tracks – this Friday at Belterra Park, in August at Thistledown, and in October at Mahoning Valley. This Friday’s program, with five stakes worth $100,000 each, not only provides a chance to make an early-season statement, but it is unique among the trio of cards. Belterra is the only one of the three tracks with a turf course, providing a chance not only to try something new but perhaps vault into some of Belterra’s remaining half-dozen turf stakes this summer. The Best of Ohio Sydney Gendelman, for older horses, rematches the top two finishers from last year’s edition, the Tim Hamm-trained stablemates Spellcast and Villian. Spellcast, who won the 2025 edition by 1 3/4 lengths over Villian, also won the 2024 Best of Ohio Green Carpet on the Belterra turf. Last August, he went on to run successfully against open turf stakes company, finishing second in the Pennsylvania Governor’s Cup to graded stakes-winning millionaire Emmanuel. Meanwhile, Villian has never missed the board in four turf starts, all in stakes, including a victory in last year’s Buckeye Native. That kicked off a four-stakes win streak to end the veteran’s 2025 season and begin 2026, as he comes in off a win in the Michael F. Rowland Memorial on May 2 on the Thistledown dirt. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Just Like Rambo won last year’s Green Carpet and was second by a neck to Villian in the Buckeye Native in his only two tries on turf. He comes into this off an allowance win on Belterra’s dirt. The only other horses in the 13-horse Gendelman field with wins on turf are General Mathis, who did so against low-level open company at Santa Anita, and Obi Kenobi, whose win came via disqualification. Green Carpet Because of the lack of opportunities in the state, none of the 11 3-year-olds entered for the Best of Ohio Green Carpet have ever started on turf or synthetic, meaning other clues must be used. Mark My Words, Sheltowees Rocket, and Bosabrother have all won on muddy tracks, with wet-track form sometimes transferring well to turf. Mark My Words has won all three of his starts this year by a combined 21 1/2 lengths, including the Howard B. Noonan on a muddy track and then, most recently, the Tall Stack on May 8. Sheltowees Rocket, by the versatile sire Mobil, won an allowance two back on a muddy track before finishing third in the Tall Stack. Bosabrother is coming off a muddy allowance win and is from the immediate family of several Ohio-bred champions, including Back to Ohio, an open stakes winner on a synthetic track. Dirt sprint stakes An eight-horse field of older sprinters lines up for the Best of Ohio Babst/Palacios Memorial, with 2024 Best of Ohio Sprint winner Empire’s Fire the defending winner of this race and 2025 Best of Ohio Sprint winner Superwolf among six stakes winners in the field. The sister race to the Babst/Palacios, the Best of Ohio Diana, has attracted six stakes winners, including Lionistic. She comes in with solid recent form, notching a victory in the J. William Petro Memorial on May 7 at Thistledown. :: Get the Inside Track with the FREE DRF Morning Line Email Newsletter. Subscribe now.  Queen City Oaks Rounding out the activity is the Best of Ohio Norm Barron Queen City Oaks for 3-year-old fillies going 1 1/16 miles, with distance and class questions making this an intriguing handicapping race. Miss Elecktra is multiple stakes-placed, including a second against males in the Noonan to Mark My Words. Most recently, she has been running against older statebreds in allowance company, with a win and a second. Echo Valley handed Miss Elecktra that allowance defeat. The two sport some of the best numbers in this field. However, Miss Elecktra is running farther than six furlongs for the first time, and Echo Valley has not yet won beyond that distance. They also both have tough draws, in posts 1 and 10, respectively, in a field of 11. R U Enticed bested males at this distance in a maiden race last September. Not only is she coming off a layoff, but she will need to improve her speed figures dramatically. The same is true for Weelassie, coming off a maiden win at a mile. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.