Thistledown, Belterra Park seasons begin
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The Thoroughbred racing circuit in Ohio moves to Thistledown and Belterra Park as both open their meets this week.
Thistledown, in North Randall, begins its 100-day meet Monday and will run through Oct. 12. Belterra’s 93-day meet in Cincinnati opens Thursday and continues through Oct. 7.
Thistledown kicks off its stakes schedule with the $75,000 Dr. T.F. Classen Memorial on Thursday. The sprint for Ohio-accredited fillies and mares – one of 16 stakes on the Thistledown schedule – has drawn 15 nominations, including the last two winners of the race. Dancin’ Rosie defeated Edge of Night in 2021. Edge of Night came back to win in 2022.
Thistledown will host one of the biggest days on the Ohio calendar June 24 when the Grade 3, $500,000 Ohio Derby and $250,000 Lady Jacqueline Stakes for fillies and mares top a four-stakes card. The Ohio Derby, the richest Thoroughbred race in the state, regularly draws alums from the Triple Crown series. In four of the last 10 years, it has been won by a horse who started in the Kentucky Derby – Mr. Z (2015), Mo Tom (2016), Irap (2017), and Tawny Port (2022).
Both Belterra and Thistledown will host Best of Ohio cards. The series will kick off with five Ohio-bred stakes offering a total of $500,000 in purses on June 2 at Belterra, followed by a similarly structured card on Aug. 12 at Thistledown.
Belterra’s 21 stakes also include the $75,000 Cradle Stakes for open 2-year-olds and its sister race, the Bassinet, on Sept. 1. The Cradle was first run in 1977 and was captured by the likes of eventual Kentucky Derby winner Spend a Buck (1984) and future Canadian Horse of the Year Peaks and Valleys (1994), as well as Harlan’s Holiday (2001) and Bellamy Road (2004).
The Cradle was last run in 2010. Belterra attempted to revive it last year, but with stiff competition from other tracks in region, eventually elected to reroute the funds into overnight purses.
◗ Amadevil was honored as Ohio’s 2022 horse of the year. Statebred champions were selected by a committee comprised of Lawrence “Bill” Couch, Ed Vomacka, and Patrick Mackey, the state’s racing secretaries at Belterra, Mahoning Valley, and Thistledown, respectively.
Amadevil, who is co-owned by Blue Snow Racing and trainer David Wolochuk, will be recognized along with other Ohio-bred champions on Belterra’s Best of Ohio Day.
Amadevil, who has won 10 of 12 starts overall, including three stakes in 2022, last raced in October. She has been working regularly at Classic Mile in Ocala in preparation for a 2023 campaign.
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