A grey filly named Aggressive Elegance will take on eleven male rivals in the $50,000 Green Carpet Stakes that serves as the weekend racing centerpiece on Sunday. It is a bold move for the gray miss who is making only her third lifetime start, but a start that was a dandy on the grass. Collaring the heavily favored and previously unbeaten Stamp Queen, with a furlong left to run in the Tomboy Stakes she pulled away to win easily by 9 ½ lengths. The $50,000 Tomboy was contested at 1 1/16 miles on the turf – the same distance and surface as the Green Carpet.
“I know it’s asking a lot of a filly to take on the boys with only a two-week turnaround, but how many chances do you get to race on the grass in Ohio,” stated owner/breeder Peter Sheppell. “She’s bred to run on the turf and has a half-sister who loved it and won over $240,000.” The daughter of Macho Uno is trained by Craig Holstein and was installed as the 8 to 5 favorite. Jockey Albin Jimenez will again ride Aggressive Elegance and they will break from the inside post position.
The top four finishers in the Green Carpet Prep will be in the starting gate on Sunday headed by the winner License to Bling. Voted as the champion 2-year-old in Ohio last season, License to Bling went head and head with runner-up Diavoletto for six furlongs and then pulled away by 2 ¾ lengths in the grassy 7 ½ furlong test. In their previous meeting, Diavoletto bested License to Bling by 5 lengths in the $50,000 Howard B. Noonan Stakes going six furlongs at Beulah Park.
While the Green Carpet will be the stakes feature Memorial Day weekend, Chef Nick Chevalier will be featuring a “Steaks-Double” with the very popular Rib-Eye Steak and the new Shaved BBQ Flank Steak sandwiches on the grill in the paddock. For those of you that like the taste of Hops and Barley with your meal, he will also be serving up “Drunken Kielbasa and Italian Sausage” sandwiches, smothered in peppers and onions.
Saturday is “ESPN Ultimate Sports Day” at the track. The popular host Mo Egger will be on hand to raffle off tickets to top local sporting events like the Indy 500, WWE, Kentucky Speedway, Cincinnati Bengals and college sporting competitions. Sign up in the paddock and be on hand after the 7th race for the drawings.
Sunday is “KISS 107 Spa Day” here. Stop by for a massage and sign up for some great Spa Certificates with the top prize being a Spa Treatment at Belterra Casino Resort.
Monday is Memorial Day and we will feature a rare live race date with a first post time of 1:30 p.m. It’s the official kickoff to “Hot Fun in the Summertime” – and River Downs will be the coolest place to be!