BLAZIN LOU & STARSTRUCK DREAMER CAPTURE BREEDERS CROWN ELIMS FOR 2-YEAR-OLD PACING COLTS

COLUMBUS, OH -- October 16, 2026 -- Blazin Lou made it look easy as he captured the first of two $25,000 Breeders Crown eliminations for 2-year-old colt and gelding pacers (race 5) at Scioto Downs. The son of top pacing sire Sweet Lou endured a first over trip in easy fashion to prevail in 1:50.4. Dexter Dunn drove the youngster, giving him his fourth victory on the night’s card.

The victory came as no surprise to the colt’s trainer Tony Dinges, who conditions Blazin Lou for owner Rick Berks of Paris, KY.

"I was expecting him to race good, and I didn’t think the post would matter to him,” Dinges said of the colt’s far outside post position. “I expected a good effort from him no matter how the race went. He showed talent all along—from the beginning of his training—and he’s gone even more forward since racing at the Red Mile.”

Rival Eastie Boy (Ronnie Wrenn, Jr.), the 6-5 choice, led the field to an easy :27 opening panel, and positions remained unchanged to the :56.3 half, as Blazin Lou steadily moved up on the outside to the 1:24.4 three-quarter marker. Around the final turn, Blazin Lou turned up his speed a notch and easily collared the leader with a :25.3 final panel. Eastie Boy held on for second, while 5-2 choice Mr Bear (Marcus Miller) held on for third over 21-1 L A Captain (Bob McClure).

Ocean Party (Chris Page ) was fifth, with Billly Hill (Austin Hanners) sixth, followed by Night Agent (Andrew McCarthy) seventh, and Mascarpone (Scott Zeron) eighth.

Blazin Lou has scored previous victory in Kentucky Commonwealth stakes, and more recently in the $89,300 Bluegrass Stakes and in the $104,000 International Sires Stakes at the Red Mile. He now has a 5-1-2 record in 11 career starts and pushed his career earnings to $169,550. Blazin Lou was a $110,000 yearling at the 2025 Lexington Select Sale, and is a full brother to Rocknroll Lou p, 4, 1:51.1 ($483,355) and a half-brother to Captain Rocknroll (by Captaintreacherous) p, 4, 1:51.1 ($74,552).

Bred by Cornerstone Stock Farm of Kentucky, Blazin Lou is the third foal from his dam, Beautiful Lady p, 4, 1:50.1 ($328,390), who won a division of the 2014 Jugette and was second in the finale.

Starstruck Dreamer, the 9-5 choice and Todd McCarthy took the second division (Race 11) in 1:50.2 with a grueling first over trip that saw him nip 2-1 Night Surfer (Dexter Dunn) by a whisker in a blanket photo, with 6-5 Shalom Hanover (Louis Roy) third and 87-1 Stonebridge Blitz (Yannick Gingras) fourth.

Seine, the 24-1 choice, and driver Joe Bongiorno took the early lead out of the gate, leading the field to a :27.1 first quarter before yielding to Shalom Hanover passing the stands for the first time to the :55 half and 1:23.2 three-quarter marker. Meanwhile, the eventual winner had steadily been making up ground on the backside and through the final turn, where he paced nose-to-nose with the leader, before drawing off to win.

Starstuck Dreamer, a freshman son of Captaintreacherous, himself a Breeders Crown champion, is trained by Noel Daley for the partnership of Steve Wienick Racing, Pryde Stables, Jfoderatritchicanamerica, and Hyatt Holdings. The victory, the sixth of his career in seven starts, upped Starstruck Dreamer’s career earnings to $146,300.

Bred by the Sergent Stables, Starstruck Dreamer was an impressive force in PASS contests this season, taking a career mark of 1:48.4 on Aug. 14. He is the first foal out of the Bettor’s Delight mare Scarlett Hanover p, 4, 1:49.4 ($946,786) and was a $105,000 yearling purchase at the 2025 Lexington Sale.

Draw for the $700,000 Breeders Crown 2-Year-Old Colt Pace

1-Blazin Lou

2-Mr Bear

3-Ocean Party

4-Starstruck Dreamer

5-Shalom Hanover

6-Eastie Boy

7-Night Surfer

8-Stonebridge Blitz

9-L A Captain