Ohio's two best sprinters clash in Babst/Palacios Memorial

Ohio-bred standouts Mo Dont No and Rivers Run Deep will clash Saturday in the first stakes of the season at Belterra Park, the $75,000 Edward Babst/Albert Palacios Memorial Handicap at six furlongs.

It’s just the second time that the 4-year-old Mo Dont No, the Ohio-bred Horse of the Year for 2016, and Ohio’s best sprinter, the 6-year-old Rivers Run Deep, have gone head to head. Rivers Run Deep defeated Mo Dont No by 1 1/2 lengths on a sloppy track at Thistledown in last summer’s Honey Jay.

Rivers Run Deep, the winner of the last two runnings of the Babst/Palacios, was conceding five pounds in the Honey Jay. As the 129-pound highweight Saturday, Rivers Run Deep is spotting Mo Dont No nine pounds. Two years ago, Rivers Run Deep carried 128 pounds when he romped by nine lengths in the Babst/Palacios.

There are six other horses entered in the stakes, but none looks fast enough to challenge the two obvious favorites.

The race is named in honor of Edward Babst, a Cincinnati native who was a longtime photographer and member of the Ohio State Racing Commission before his death in 1993, and Albert Palacios, who was the leading trainer five times at Belterra’s predecessor, River Downs, before he died in a car accident at age 73 in 2005.

Babst/Palacios Handicap, Race 7

Rivers Run Deep, by Ready’s Image

Last 3 Beyers: 84-89-74

◗ He is 11 for 12 in sprints restricted to statebreds since May 2014 and owns a 5-for-6 record at Belterra, with his lone defeat coming when he was second going 1 1/16 miles in the off-the-turf Sydney Gendelman Memorial Handicap in 2015.

◗ Rivers Run Deep also has recency on his side. He was third, hindered when he had to check on the turn, in an allowance at Oaklawn Park three weeks ago. The winner, Recount, returned to win a restricted stakes at Hawthorne last weekend with a 93 Beyer Speed Figure.

Mo Dont No, by Uncle Mo

Last 3 Beyers: 88-74-73

◗ He will be making his first start since November, and trainer Jeff Radosevich doesn’t do well with sprinters in stakes returning from an absence of 61-180 days, having gone 0 for his last 8, including four losses in this stakes. The best performance among that group came from Dubacious, who is entered Saturday and was the runner-up to Rivers Run Deep last year.