After winning as the heavy favourite in 1:49.3 at Plainridge Park just last week, Rockin On Venus stepped up in class and was grossly overlooked at 16-1 from a pylon start in the $34,247 Open Pace on Monday, July 28 when he made it two in a row in the Bay State.

Driver Bruce Ranger took no prisoners with Rockin On Venus (pictured above) as he held his position in front the entire way. With Price Control (Mitchell Cushing) drafting second in the hole, Rockin On Venus strung out Lifes A Puzzle (Nick Graffam) and stablemate Spring Inhis Step A (Brett Beckwith) through quarters of :26, :53 and 1:20.1. 

Heading into the final turn, Spring Inhis Step A tipped three-deep around Lifes A Puzzle and Price Control came off the pegs for a clear shot at the leader. 

Heading for the wire, Price Control and Spring Inhis Step A had a clear shot and were bearing down on Rockin On Venus. But it was Rockin On Venus who finished what he started by winning in 1:49.1 and establishing a new seasonal mark. Price Control finished second, with Spring Inhis Step A crossing the wire in third.

The win was the sixth of the year in 15 starts for Rockin On Venus, who is owned by Pollack Racing. The seven-year-old son of Rockin Image-Venus Killean is trained by Jeff Cullipher. He return $34.20 for the upset win.

Rockin On Venus was part of a driving grand slam for Ranger on Monday.

In a $30,822 upper-level condition pace, Sweet Jeff IR and driver Nick Graffam sat the pocket second behind Blazing Home N (Larry Stalbaum), who forged fiery fractions of :26.3, :54.1 and 1:20.4 as Two Fold Cold (David Ingraham) pushed the issue on the outside from the half to the top of the stretch. As they entered the lane, the top two tanglers continued to match strides as they drew near the wire. But it was Sweet Jeff IR who found a seam at the pylons and bolted to the front to win by a head in 1:49.2, a time that established a new lifetime mark for the winner.

Sweet Jeff IR is owned by Burke Racing and Weaver Bruscemi. The five-year-old gelded son of Sweet Lou-Maddi is trained by Joe Nelson. He paid $15.80 to win.

Graffam also had a grand slam at the lines during the afternoon program.

Keen competition has foiled favourites at Plainridge Park

The racing product at Plainridge Park has improved exponentially in recent years and has gotten to a point where those who race there will tell you that it’s not easy to win at The Ridge. And that statement is not merely hearsay as there are many statistics to back that claim, starting with the most important one: percentage of winning favourites.

Through the completion of racing on Monday, Plainridge boasts the lowest percentage of winning favourites among all tracks currently holding extended pari-mutuel meets in the United States with only 41.2 per cent of winning chalk approaching the halfway point of the meet. And with the exception of only a couple tracks (The Meadowlands being one as it sits a very close second with 41.4 per cent winning favourites), Plainridge is trending as a favourable place to play for bettors.

The quality of overnight horses racing at Plainridge has been on a steady incline for some time, but this year seems to have hit a new level. New England horsemen and horsewomen have been re-investing in the business and that is showing. Plus some stables from outside the Commonwealth have been showing up and the result of that is simply fierce competition.

On Monday, when the best male pacers hit the strip, not much separated a mid-level condition event from the Open: a non-winners of $7,500 USD went in 1:49.4, non-winners of $10,000 USD went 1:49, non-winners of $12,500 USD went 1:49.2 and the Open was clocked in 1:49.1. And three out of four of those winners returned $50, $15.80 and $34.20 as the off-time favourites finished eighth, third and third, respectively, in those races. As has been seen in many cases all year, these solid win prices have driven up the gimmick payouts across the board as well.

Here is a complete list of U.S. tracks and their per cent of winning favourites: Plainridge: 41.2 per cent, Meadowlands: 41.4 per cent, Buffalo: 43.6 per cent, Vernon: 44.5 per cent, Yonkers: 46.7 per cent, Pocono: 47.2 per cent, Running Aces: 47 per cent, Scioto: 47.2 per cent, Hoosier: 47.5 per cent, Northfield: 47.7 per cent, Saratoga: 48.3 per cent, Bangor: 48.6 per cent, Meadows: 49 per cent, Cumberland: 49.1 per cent, Monticello: 49.4 per cent, Philladelphia: 50.1 per cent, Tioga: 50.1 per cent and Ocean Downs: 56.7 per cent. (Note: Batavia Downs and The Red Mile are not included in these numbers as their meets have just recently gotten underway and provide only a small sampling of results.)

Another indicator of how tough it is to win at Plainridge this year is the competition between the drivers and trainers. Those standings illustrate very well that there are no runaway leaders in either category.

The race for leading dash driver is unprecedented at Plainridge this year as the top six drivers are only separated by 16 wins with a relatively close number of starts among the group. Nick Graffam is the current leader with 63 wins followed by Brett Beckwith (56), Mitchell Cushing (55), Matty Athearn (51), Bruce Ranger (51) and Kevin Switzer Jr. (47). Plus a total of 61 drivers have competed at Plainridge so far this year, which is the largest pool of competitors to date.

On the training side, only 13 wins separate the top 11 conditioners who compete regularly at Plainridge and with four months left in the meet -- this title is available to anyone on that short list. At the end of business on Monday, Gretchen Athearn is the top trainer with 26 wins, but right behind her are Jimmy Nickerson (25) and Domenico Cecere (24). Then after a short six-win gap, Randy Bickmore (18), Jackie Greene (17), Julia Eaton (15), Mark Eaton (15), Melissa Beckwith (14), Jolene Andrews (13), Jeff Cullipher (13) and Mike Graffam (13) are only five wins apart from each other and are all still in play for the top spot. Plus an unprecedented 159 trainers have sent horses postward at The Ridge to this point in 2025.

As the meet winds its way through the heat of the summer, racing action in the second half of the season promises to stay hot even as the weather may cool down when the Massachusetts Breeders Stakes gets underway on Monday, Sept. 29 and brings with it a new wave of competing horses, drivers and trainers and more opportunities for bettors to take advantage of big payouts at "The track near the Cape," Plainridge Park.

Racing for Tuesday, July 29 has been cancelled due to the expected high heat index. Live harness racing will resume at Plainridge on Thursday, July 31 at 4 p.m. 

(With files from The Standardbred Owners of Massachusetts & Plainridge Park)