Both events were for Ohio-registered 2-year-olds at six furlongs, with the first being the Best of Ohio Cleveland Kindergarten Stakes that featured a field of nine colts and geldings, while the second was the Best of Ohio Miss Ohio Stakes that saw six fillies vie.

Thedayofthegrey left no doubt he was much the best in the Cleveland Kindergarten, using a front-stepping effort to score in 1:12.06 under the handling of rider Sonny Leon. Bred by trainer Robert Cline, the grey son of Twinspired-Sharon's Way, by Proud Citizen left the gate at 9-1 odds and returned $20 on a two-dollar ticket to his backers. Thedayofthgrey bested 6-5 rival Tantrum (Malcolm Franklin) by nearly two lengths, with 20-1 Rumble Strip Ron (Scott Spieth) third and 6-5 Condemnation (Luan Machado) fourth.

Thedayofthegrey had only two previous starts under his belt coming into the Cleveland Kindergarten Stakes, and after winning his maiden effort on Jun 1 at Thistledown, was third in the $75,000 Hoover Stakes on July 23 at Belterra Park in Cincinnati, Ohio.

“He stumbled in the Hoover and kind of lost his footing,” explained Cline, who owns the youngster in partnership with Richard Wilkinson. “He broke well today, however, and he's an accredited-bred, so that shows what a nice colt he is.”

Thedayofthegrey, a striking deep grey gelding who dons a white hood with can't-see-back blinkers over a white bridle, now has $85,500 in career earnings as a result of today's triumph.

Pacific Coast gave an impressive showing of herself in the 53rd running of the Best of Ohio Miss Ohio Stakes, flying under the wire in 1:11.88 for rider Jose Bracho.

“Tim gave me the opportunity to ride this filly and I'm grateful for that,” Bracho said. “At the start, we got into a little bit of trouble, but once we got in the clear, by the three-eights, she just did it all by herself.”

The well-built, dark chestnut filly with the tiny star and beautifully braided mane, walked into the Thistledown winner's circle like an old campaigner for trainer Tim Hamm and owners-breeders WinStar Farm and Blazing Meadows Farm. Pacific Coast is by Exaggerator, out of the Indian Ocean mare Ocean Princess.

“Our operation started in 1992 or 1993,” Hamm stated. “We came out and watched the Best Of Ohio races at Thistledown and decided that was the way to go. We started breeding our own and our first crop was in 1995. We get our horses ready in Florida, and our partnership with WinStar has really boosted our program.”

Pacific Coast, who broke from the gate as the 6-1 choice, won by open lengths over 5-2 rival Candlelight Hours (Malcolm Franklin) with 4-1 Flatter Her Again (John McKee) third and 5-1 Squid (Luis Rivera) fourth. Pacific Coast now has $78,900 in her career coffers.

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The brown gelding, a son of Carpe Diem – Delitefully Wild, by Offlee Wild, bested eight rivals to capture the one and one eighth mile contest in 1:53.68 over the Cleveland dirt. It was the 53rd running of the stake for 3-year-old Ohio-registered foals.

Ridden to victory by Luis Saez and trained by Tim Hamm for WinStar Farm and Blazing Meadows Farm, Historically upped his career earnings to $102,265 and now has three wins, two seconds and one third in ten starts.

To Win, a 45-1 longshot, finished an impressive second for Fernando Becerra, while 5-1 Uptown raced well to be third for rider Jose Bracho, with the 1-1 crowd favorite Buckeye Magic finishing fourth with John McKee in the irons.

Historically paid $14.80, $6.40, and $8.40. Second-place To Win paid $27.80 and $21.60. Uptown paid $7.20 to show.

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The Daredevil filly won three of four starts last year, winning on debut by 6 1/4 lengths at Belterra Park, then taking the Hoover Stakes at the same track with a front-running trip. Esplanande then shipped north to Thistledown for the Best of Ohio Cleveland Kindergarten Stakes, where she once again led at every point of call to win by 4 1/4 lengths.

The filly then tested deeper waters, shipping to Saratoga for the Grade 1 Spinaway Stakes in her final start of the season. She led through the early fractions, but ultimately finished second to future Eclipse Award winner Vequist.

Esplanande is owned by the partnership of Winstar Farm LLC, Blazing Meadows Farm LLC, and Michael Lewis. She was also bred by WinStar and Blazing Meadows, and she is trained by Tim Hamm.

The filly's ownership group was also named Ohio Owners of the Year, and Esplanande took home additional honors as Ohio's champion 2-year-old filly. Southern Silence, the dam of Esplanande was also named Ohio's Broodmare of the Year.

This year's winners were selected by a committee composed of Lawrence “Bill” Couch, Ed Vomacka, and Hugh Drexler – the racing secretaries at each Ohio Thoroughbred track – and Bob “Railbird” Roberts, the award-winning former turf writer for the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Following is the full list of winners from the OTBO's 2020 year-end awards.

Owner of the Year: Winstar Farm LLC., Blazing Meadows LLC and Michael Lewis

Breeder of the Year: Mapleton Thoroughbred Farm

Horse of the Year: Esplanande
Owner: Winstar Farm LLC., Tim Hamm and Michael Lewis
Breeder: Blazing Meadows Farm & WinStar Farm LLC
Trainer: Tim Hamm

Stallion of the Year: Mobil
Owner: George Sikora
Standing at: Mapleton Thoroughbred Farm

Broodmare of the Year: Southern Silence
Owner: Blazing Meadow and Winstar Farm LLC

Champion Handicap Horse: Mobil Solution
Owner: Danielle Agnello
Breeder: Mapleton Thoroughbred Farm
Trainer: Jeffrey Skerrett

Champion Handicap Mare: Circus Rings
Owner: Knights A to Z Racing LLC
Breeder: Michael E. Lauer & Penny S. Lauer
Trainer: Valerie K. Shanyfelt

Ohio-Bred Claimer of the Year: Star Mabee
Owner: Michael J. Annechino
Breeder: Lake Shore Farm, LLC
Trainer: Jeffrey A. Radosevich

Champion Sprinter: Chief Randel
Owner: Harry D. Waite
Breeder: Harry D. Waite & Ronald C. Waite
Trainer: Jose A. Romero

Champion Accredited Male: Mobil Solution
Owner: Danielle Agnello
Breeder: Mapleton Thoroughbred Farm
Trainer: Jeffrey Skerrett

Champion Accredited Female: Grizabella
Owner: Michael J. Annechino
Breeder: Mapleton Thoroughbreds
Trainer: Jeffrey A. Radosevich

Champion 3-Year-Old Male: Chief Randel
Owner: Harry D. Waite
Breeder: Harry D. Waite & Ronald C. Waite
Trainer: Jose A. Romero

Champion 3-Year-Old Filly: Moonlit Mission
Owner: Charlie J. Williams LLC
Breeder: Belvedere Farm Inc.
Trainer: Silvano M. Gonzalez

Champion 2-Year-Old Male: Buckeye Magic
Owner: Maccabee Farm LLC
Breeder: Maccabee Farm
Trainer: Thomas Drury Jr.

Champion 2-Year-Old Filly: Esplanande
Owner: Winstar Farm LLC., Tim Hamm and Michael Lewis
Breeder: Blazing Meadows Farm LLC & WinStar Farm, LLC
Trainer: Tim Hamm

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The Kentucky-bred juvenile, owned in partnership by Hamm's Blazing Meadows Farm and her breeder, Three Chimneys Farm, moved smartly to the lead on the turn for home and kept her mind on business under jockey Wilmer Garcia en route to a 1 ½-length victory from Special Princess in the 6 ½-furlong, allowance/$75,000 optional claiming event for 2-year-old fillies.

Charge It All's time on a fast track was 1:18.30.

“I like this horse a lot,” Hamm said. “At this time last year, she was really fat and she looked kind of like a cow. I didn't know if she would ever slim down, but after being in Miami in June, July and August, she got some scope to her and has turned into a real nice filly. I'm pleased with her performance. I think there is some upside to her.”

Charge It All benefited from a lively speed duel between pace-setter Splash Cash and R Averie Lynn before Garcia popped the question approaching the 3/8-mile pole and she took off.

Hamm credits his assistant, Julie Hutchison, for getting Charge It All into solid racing shape in south Florida during the summer prior to the filly's first start on Sept. 17 at Gulfstream Park. The daughter of Will Take Charge-Invalida, by Street Cry, is now 2-for-3.

Hamm's success earlier this year with his 2-year-old filly Dayoutoftheoffice, owned by Blazing Meadows Farm in partnership with Siena Farm, brought the conditioner widespread attention within the sport. She went 3-for-4 this year, winning the Grade 3 Schuylerville Stakes at Saratoga and the G1 Frizette at Belmont before settling for a second-place finish to Vequist in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Keeneland. The Frizette was Hamm's first G1 victory.

Certain to be an Eclipse Award finalist for Champion 2-Year-Old Filly, Dayoutoftheoffice is at Siena Farm in Paris, Ky., and will soon be sent to Hamm's Blazing Meadows South in Ocala to begin preparations for her 3-year-old season. She earned $556,500 this year.

Every horse develops at a different rate and Hamm isn't ready to get too far ahead of himself with Charge It All. At the same time, he says the $125,000, seven-furlong Gasparilla Stakes for newly turned 3-year-old fillies on Jan. 16 is a likely next start, provided she rebounds well from Sunday's effort.

“Julie was mad at me because I didn't nominate her for the (six-furlong Sandpiper Stakes on Dec. 5), but we knew this allowance was coming up,” Hamm said. “Now, it's kind of like we have nothing to lose (by racing in the Gasparilla). I'm not too ambitious yet, but I'm ambitious enough to let her tell us where to go next.”

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Like many conditioners, the Ohio native grew up around horses–he had experience with Saddlebreds and Standardbreds, and his parents owned an Arabian farm. His father, who worked for General Motors, trained horses off the family’s farm and shipped them in to race at Mountaineer.

Hamm attended Youngstown State and earned a bachelor’s degree in business before immediately starting his own construction company upon graduation. Business must have been pretty good, as a few years into his construction career, Hamm ventured down to Ocala to shop the 1994 OBS April sale.

He purchased a Pennsylvania-bred filly by Proof for $13,500 and, after someone explained to him what her state-bred status meant, Hamm pointed his purchase towards a debut at Philadelphia Park that July. Named Willowy Proof, Hamm’s filly romped by 9 1/4 lengths in that initial outing.

“I was coming off the track, and the breeder approached me and asked if she was for sale. I said ‘No, I’m just kind of fiddling around here,'” Hamm recalled. “But they offered me $100,000. At that time, I didn’t realize that when they ran big you could make some money selling them. So, that spurred the thought that maybe I could make a business out of this. It was either beginner’s luck or not that hard–now I know it was beginner’s luck.”

Hamm went back to Ocala the following year and purchased four more horses, who he says all became stakes winners. He also bought a farm in nearby Williston around that time, and while he’s added and subtracted to that property over the years, the majority of Hamm’s runners since 1995 have gotten their start at that facility.

Hamm also preps some babies at his farm for the 2-year-old sales, and has sold under his Blazing Meadows Farm banner the likes of champion Wait a While ($50,000 KEESEP ’04 to $260,000 OBSFEB ’05) and Grade I-winning juvenile Sky Diva ($100,000 KEESEP ’07 to $250,000 FTFFEB ’08).

He’s been to the Breeders’ Cup before as an owner with flashy Ohio-bred Too Much Bling, who he sent out to a 19 1/2-length maiden-breaking score at Thistledown in 2005. Stonerside Stable subsequently purchased a majority interest in the colt and turned him over to Bob Baffert, for whom he took a trio of graded stakes before finishing sixth in the 2006 GI Breeders’ Cup Sprint.

Hamm said he typically breaks a crop of 40 to 50 on his farm, but had 75 last year and will have around 80 2-year-olds of 2021.

A significant part of his business comes from partnering with large commercial breeders. He has a close relationship with WinStar Farm, co-breeding and campaigning Ohio-breds together and standing the stallion National Flag at Blazing Meadows Ohio as WinBlaze. Hamm has also teamed up in recent years with the likes of Three Chimneys Farm, for whom his brother Tom is Director of Stallion Seasons, and Breeders’ Cup chairman Fred Hertrich III and John Fielding. Three Chimneys and Blazing Meadows race last year’s two-time Woodbine stakes winner Fast Scene (Fast Anna) together.

“They’re on an individual basis–some of them are on deals, some we partner on and some are from conception,” Hamm said when asked about the structure of his partnerships. “Most of the WinStar horses are ones we’re breeding together. Each horse is different, how it’s structured. Historically, what we started doing years ago, if they had one they really liked but maybe the sire wasn’t that hot or maybe there was a blip on the X-rays that might not hurt them to race but would hurt them at a yearling sale; or maybe their conformation wasn’t up to what would pass at a yearling sale to really get much, we took a lot of those [on deals] and we still do some of those.”

Hamm’s first time working with Dayoutoftheoffice’s breeder and co-owner, Anthony Manganaro, Ignacio Patino and David Pope’s Siena Farm, came in 2015 with eventual 2016 My Dear S. heroine Velvet Mood (Lonhro {Aus}).

“In our first experience with Siena, they gave me a Lonhro filly who was really crooked, not real big, but I took her and they called me a week later and said, ‘You know, we feel like we’re not giving you much of a shot with that filly. If you’re going to invest this time and money, we’re going to throw in this Ghostzapper colt–a more attractive horse,'” Hamm said. “It ended up that the Lonhro filly won her first three, including a stake at Woodbine and we sold her for pretty good money. The colt turned out to be a dud, but that’s how we get started with Siena.”

Hamm said he took an equity position in Dayoutoftheoffice in exchange for training her, and it didn’t take him long to figure out he had gotten a good one.

“It was probably late January or February,” Hamm said when asked when he first knew Dayoutoftheoffice was a runner. “There were three fillies who really stood out in our crop, and sure enough all three ended up really being runners. We always thought she was the best of the three based on the fact that she had a lot of size and scope along with being very athletic. The other two were [eventual Ohio-bred multiple stakes winners] Alexandria (Constitution) and Esplanande (Daredevil). Esplanade was second in the GI Spinaway S. to the filly who was second in the Frizette, and Alexandria was third in the GIII Pocahontas S. You can identify them pretty early, but what you can’t control is injury and sickness and all that.”

Dayoutoftheoffice got an early start to her career when she scored by 4 3/4 lengths at Gulfstream May 14. She was dismissed at almost 20-1 in Saratoga’s GIII Schuylerville S. two months later, but took another leap forward to air by six lengths.

“I was fairly confident that she would run very well [in the Schylerville]–whether she would win it or not, I think all those fillies that have just broken their maiden and are going into graded stakes at Saratoga for the first time, you really don’t know how they’re going to react when they meet the next level of horse,” Hamm said. “I was very skeptical about running her

4 1/2 furlongs at Gulfstream, but she was ready, and I didn’t want to keep training on her and waiting so we figured we’d get a race in her and see how she did. I knew she had a lot of ability early, and I guess she answered the question as to whether she could up her level.”

With the Breeders’ Cup circled on the calendar for quite some time now, Hamm has kept Dayoutoftheoffice’s races well spaced out. She didn’t make a start between the July 16 Schuylerville and Oct. 10 GI Frizette S. at Belmont, while posting seven drills back and forth between Thistledown and Belterra Park in the interim.

“When you start these horses in May, and she’d been in training since at least Oct. 1 [of 2019], we’d done a lot of 2-year-olds over the years and if you just drill them and drill them and don’t give them a little break, I just don’t see them lasting,” Hamm said. “We knew we had a horse who could possibly make the Breeders’ Cup, so we tried to space it so that would be a viable option if she proved to have the ability. We were slightly worried she would be short for the Frizette–she hadn’t run in 80-something days–but her last two works heading into the Frizette were pretty good. We thought she had a heck of a chance to be tight enough, and if we came out of there, we’d have a really fresh and good horse going into the Breeders’ Cup.”

Dayoutoftheoffice proved plenty fit for the next step, and bested GI Spinaway S. romper Vequist (Nyquist) by two lengths at Belmont with a chasm of 10 1/4 lengths back to third.

“I thought it was outstanding,” said Hamm. “Watching the race, it looked like she was in control of it the whole time. She never made me question if she was going to get it done. She just looked in command from the start.”

Dayoutoftheoffice is one of four unbeaten fillies set to square off in the Juvenile, along with pricey three-for-three Baffert trainee and ‘TDN Rising Star’ Princess Noor (Not This Time) expected to go favored; Ken McPeek-conditioned Simply Ravishing (Laoban) coming off a 6 1/4-length score in the GI Darley Alcibiades S. that was so impressive it played a major role in bringing her freshman sire from New York to Kentucky for 2021; and $500,000 yearling and ‘Rising Star’ Girl Daddy (Uncle Mo), last seen taking the Sept. 3 GIII Pocahontas S. by daylight for Dale Romans and the Albaugh Family Stable.

Dayoutoftheoffice owns a best last-out Beyer Speed Figure of 95, with Vequist having earned a 91 for her Frizette second. Princess Noor, meanwhile, only has a 79 Beyer top, Simply Ravishing an 89 and Girl Daddy an 82. But Dayoutoftheoffice seems to have garnered significantly less hype than either Princess Noor or Simply Ravishing.

“Probably because I’m not Baffert or McPeek and I haven’t been to the Breeders’ Cup before,” Hamm said matter-of-factly when asked about the seemingly underdog status of a filly with as impressive a set of past performances as Dayoutoftheoffice’s and who also happens to be by the world’s hottest stallion. “There’s no other reason.”

Hamm said he has been excited to see his charge race around two turns all summer, and he called her 1:00.40 breeze in the Keeneland mud last Friday “her best work.” Now it’s time to see what she, and he, can do against the big guns.

“It’s big for our whole operation–we’ve got the training center in Ocala, the breeding farm in Ohio. The thing that means the most to us is that it lets you know that you can get there,” Hamm said. “We hope that gets contagious. Sometimes the hardest thing is getting there, and sometimes you never get back there. We’re hoping that this won’t be the last time, and you realize it’s not an impossible dream you’re chasing–that it’s attainable. We’re hoping that our people kind of all buy in a little harder and stay on board, and it’s the same with our clients. It shows our clients that if we’ve got the right horse, we can get there. And hopefully it’ll allow us to keep building stronger relationships with them.”

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With the help of director of racing Patrick Ellsworth, the track coordinated public recognition of the 2019 champions and their connections, blended with their “Best of Ohio Series” of divisional races.

Special thanks to trainer Richard Zielinski and Purina Feeds who had coolers embroidered for each state champion and halters personalized for Stallion and Broodmare of the year.  Here are the individuals and horses that garnered year-end awards.

Ohio Horse of the Year, Champion Sprinter and Champion Handicap Horse – Altissimo: Owned by Nancy Lavrich and Ronald Zielinski, the 6-year-old gelding was bred by Nancy Lavrich and Niknar Farm LLC and is trained by Richard Zielinski. A son of Noble Causeway out of Great Going Rose by Albert the Great, Altissimo made seven starts last season with a 4-2-0 record for earnings of $307,250 pushing his career earnings to $781,638.

All four of his wins were in stakes races including the $97,000 Hockensmith at Delaware Park earning a 100 Beyer Speed Figure. Primarily a main track sprinter, Altissimo captured the $75,000 Gendelman Memorial going 1 1/16 miles over the Belterra Park turf course. Perhaps his best effort of the season was a troubled trip in the Grade 3 DeFrancis Memorial at Laurel Park. While making a winning move, he was floated out in mid-stretch and had to take back and alter course to the inside, only to miss the top spot by three-quarters of a length in 1:08.

Owner of the Year – Ron Paolucci: His bright lime green silks were seen in winner's circles from coast to coast, but the native of Stow, Ohio wins most of his races in the state with Ohio-breds. He finished ninth in the nation with a record of 799-191-144-94 for earnings of $4,851,390 with an impressive 24 percent of his starters in the win column.

Breeder of the Year – Blazing Meadows Farm: Owned and operated by Tim and Shawna Hamm, the farm in North Jackson garnered $168,721 in breeders awards alone. The farm is also home to the graded stakes-winning National Flag in partnership with WinStar Farm. The son of the popular Speightstown, bred more mares than any other stallion in 2019 and his first foals arrived in 2020.

Stallion of the Year – Mobil: Standing at Mapleton Thoroughbred Farm in Polk, the now 20-year-old stallion is still making his mark on the state. A son of Langfuhr out of Kinetigal by Naskra, he built a reputation for himself in Canada over four seasons of racing amassing $1,877,136. A multiple graded stakes winner, he had a record of 29-12-9-1 and the Canadian champion retired to stud north of the border before moving to the Buckeye State.

His offspring have earned $12,199,580 and his current leading runner is Mobil Solution ($470,770), who was voted 2019 champion accredited handicap horse.

Broodmare of the Year – Great Goin Rose: While her career was brief, Great Goin Rose did manage to win her only two starts at two and run second in the Royal North Stakes at Beulah Park from her three trips to post. She made up for her abbreviated on-track career with an extended one in the breeding shed where she produced seven foals since 2010.

Her first foal was Uptown Gal (($140,980), winner of the Norm Barron Queen City Oaks and hitting the board in three additional Ohio stakes. Her current success story is two-time Ohio Horse of the Year and sprint champion Altissimo ($811,658). Owner Nancy Lavrich is keeping her fingers crossed for another home run. Great Goin Rose had a filly this year by first-season sire Free Drop Billy and is in-foal to Runhappy.

Champion 2-Year-Old Filly – Moonlit Mission: Owned, bred and trained by Charlie J. Williams. Chestnut filly by Shackleford – Moonlit River, by Maria's Mon; 6-4-0-0 $182,050.

Champion 2-Year-Old Male – Liberate: Owned and bred by WinStar Farm LLC and Blazing Meadows Farm, trained by Tim Hamm. Bay gelding by Gemologist – Southern Silence, by Dixie Union; 5-4-0-0 $206,250.

Champion 3-Year-Old Filly – Totally Obsessed: Owned by Ron Paolucci Racing, bred by Schleprock Racing LLC, trained by Gary Johnson. Bay filly by Tale of Ekati – Dark Obsession, by Grand Slam; 16-6-2 $233,627.

Champion 3-Year-Old Male – Diamond Dust: Owned and bred by WinStar Farm LLC and Blazing Meadows Farm, trained by Tim Hamm. Bay gelding by Paynter – Radiant Sky, byLeroidesanimaux; 16-8-5-1 $379,725.

Champion Handicap Mare & Accredited Female – Leona's Reward: Owned by Blazing Meadows Farm LLC and Michael Friedman, bred by Blazing Meadows Farm, trained by Tim Hamm. Chestnut mare by Parent's Reward – Prime Time Dancer, by Montbrook; 48-19-7-5 $934,056.

Champion Accredited Male – Mobil Solution: Owned by Gerald Silver bred by Mapleton Thoroughbred Farm and trained by Jeff Radosevich. Bay gelding by Mobil – Perfect Solution, by Seeking the Gold; 24-7-8-5 $413,020.

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