Pleasant Prince and Hurricane Ike topped a list of 34 three-year-old thoroughbreds nominated on Thursday for the 76th running of the $100,000 Ohio Derby at Thistledown.
View full sizeRacing fans will be out in force on July 31 at Thistledown for the Ohio Derby.The field for the 1 1/16-mile race is limited to 14 horses. If more are in the entry box Tuesday morning, the 14 horses with the highest lifetime earnings get the nod for the $100,000 race.
Hurricane Ike, owned by Ike and Dawn Thrash and trained by John Sadler, captured the Derby Trial at Churchill Downs on April 24.
Pleasant Prince's claim to fame for Kentucky owners Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey was a second-place finish at this year's Grade I Florida Derby. He was beaten a scant nose by Ice Box, a horse that dazzled the Churchill Downs crowd with a late charge in the Kentucky Derby, finishing second to Super Saver.
Pleasant Prince is scheduled to arrive at Thistledown today and work out Saturday. Filling in for trainer Wesley Ward is Blake Heap, a former Thistledown trainer who will fly in from Del Mar Turf Club in California.
Also on the list is Ohio-bred That's a Heckofacat, the Ohio 2-year-old of the year for owner Barbara Johnson that earned a nomination by winning the $75,000 Cleveland Gold Cup on July 3. Also getting nominations were runners-up Nehru, another member of the Ramsey Farm stable, and Busha'.
Colizeo, Dixie Band and So Elite are additional stakes winners nominated. Colizeo won this year's Northern Dancer Stakes at Churchill; Dixie Band took the Arlington-Washington Futurity in 2009 at Arlington Park; and So Elite won the Charlie Barley Stakes at Woodbine less than three weeks ago.
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