MGM Northfield Park hosts the 2025 Buckeye Stallion Series (BSS) Finals on Saturday, Oct. 4 with eight $75,000 USD divisions. Twin B High Tide and Hunka Hunka enter as standouts among the entries in the four divisions of pacers.
The 2024 BSS colt pace champion as a two-year-old, Twin B High Tide (pictured above with Austin Hanners) posted victories in the second and third legs of the BSS this season en route to finishing sixth in the standings with 102 points. Trained by Alicia Hanners, the Downbytheseaside colt has hit the board in 10 of 15 lifetime starts with seven wins and $234,534 in earnings. He will leave from post six. Some of his top competitors for the 2025 BSS title include Fly High Cruiser, Woodrow Blue Chip, and Johnny Up, who finished as the top three in the standings.
Fly High Cruiser (Dan Noble) enters as a three-leg winner with 171 points. The Yankee Cruiser gelding and Anette Lorentzon trainee has hit the board in seven of 11 seasonal starts with four wins and will leave from the far outside. Woodrow Blue Chip (Justin Irvine) will leave from post five. Trained by Ryan Miller, the Lather Up gelding won a division in the first leg of the BSS and posted runner-up finishes in each of the next four legs. He has five wins, five seconds, and four thirds in 17 seasonal starts. Leaving from post two will be Johnny Up (Kurt Sugg), who has five wins in 11 starts this season. Two of those victories came in the BSS. The Lather Up gelding is trained by Edward Miller. Seaside Star (Luke Hanners) is another two-leg winner in the eight-horse field.
Hunka Hunka (Sugg) highlights the freshman colt pace field after posting wins in four of the five legs of the BSS this season, including a lifetime-best 1:52.3 in the fourth leg. The leader in the standings with 205 points, the Catch The Fire colt has hit the board in eight of nine seasonal starts with six wins and two seconds. The Daren Harvey trainee will leave from post six.
Three-leg winners Stoke The Fire (Chris Lems) and The Ebony Dragon (Luke Hanners) round out the top three in the standings with 185 and 175 points, respectively. Trained by Scott Cox, Stoke The Fire will leave from the rail. The Catch The Fire gelding has four wins and two seconds in seven starts this season. The Ebony Dragon is a Fear The Dragon colt trained by Tyler Bates. He has 11 wins in 15 seasonal starts and will leave from post seven. The field also includes two-leg winners Heerz Corinthian (Cameron McCown), Odds On Phil (Chris Page), Odds On Rpj (Aaron Merriman), and Wagon Day (Kayne Kauffman).
The headliner in the freshman filly pace division is Eyes Up (Sugg), who will leave from post six as the leader in the standings with 163 points. Rachel Oenema now trains the Lather Up filly. She has hit the board in seven of nine starts with three wins this season. Two of those victories came in the BSS, including a lifetime-best 1:54.4 in the second leg.
Odds On Dividend (Austin Hanners) and Jamie Amanda (Luke Hanners) were second and third in the standings with 138 and 130 points, respectively. Downbytheseaside filly Odds On Dividen recorded one win and three runner-up finishes over the course of the five legs of the BSS this year. The Virgil Morgan Jr. trainee has hit the board in six of eight starts in 2025 and will leave from post seven. Morgan Jr. stablemate and fellow Downbytheseaside filly Jamie Amanda posted two BSS victories and has three wins and one second in six seasonal starts. She will leave from post four. Two-leg winners Madetorockette (Lems), Queen Valerie (Page), and Seaside Angel (Noble) are also in the field.
In the sophomore filly pace division, Judge Me Again (Trevor Smith), who sits atop the standings with 155 points, will leave from the rail. The Western Vintage filly won twice in the BSS this season, including a lifetime-best 1:51.3 in the second leg. Trained by Chris Beaver, she has four wins, seven seconds, and two thirds in 18 seasonal starts.
Maddies Delite (Page) and Survivin Fire (Noble) are poised as top challengers after finishing with 130 and 129 points, respectively. Maddies Delite has hit the board in 17 of 19 starts this season with 11 wins and six seconds. Trained by Steve Carter, the Lather Up filly has one win and three runner-up finishes in the BSS this year and has 24 victories in 37 career starts. She will leave from the far outside. Catch The Fire filly Survivin Fire will leave from post three. The Michael Hitchcock trainee has hit the board in 17 of 20 starts in 2025 with 10 victories, two of which came in the BSS. Fellow two-time BSS winners Anna Loves Bananas (Merriman) and Queen Of Fear (Sugg) are also in the field.
Trotting filly Travel Nurse will also vie for a second straight Buckeye Stallion Series championship. The BSS filly trot champion as a two-year-old in 2024, Travel Nurse (Luke Hanners) scored one win and two runner-up finishes in the series this year, which was good for 103 points and sixth place in the standings. Trained by Virgil Morgan Jr., the Enterprise filly has two wins, three seconds, and two thirds in 15 starts this year. She will leave from post five. Her top competitors include Sweet Rose (Chris Lems), Up (Aaron Merriman), and Pretty Lil Penny (Trevor Smith), who finished as the top three in the sophomore filly trot standings this year with 154, 130, and 125 points, respectively.
Sweet Rose and Pretty Lil Penny were both two-time winners in the series in 2025. Trained by Matthew Burkholder, Sweet Rose has hit the board in eight of 10 seasonal starts with four wins. The Marseille filly will leave from post seven alongside Pretty Lil Penny in the far outside of the eight-horse field. Pretty Little Penny has won four times in 11 seasonal starts and is trained by Jeremy Miller. Up, who posted a win and three runner-up finishes in the BSS, is trained by Burkholder. The Uncle Peter filly has three wins, four seconds, and one third in 13 seasonal starts and will leave from post six. Volstarita (Justin Irvine), a two-time BSS winner this year, is also in the field.
Judys Moni (Anthony MacDonald) headlines the freshman filly trot division as a three-time winner in the BSS this season. The Jason McGinnis trainee sits atop the standings with 180 points and will leave from post four. A Ready For Moni filly, Judys Moni posted a lifetime-best 1:57.2 in the opening leg and has hit the board in five of six starts on the year.
Two-leg winners Readi Two (Sandy Beatty) and Hangtighthoney L (Hank LeVan) tied for second in the standings with 154 points and will leave from the rail and far outside, respectively. The Beatty-trained Readi Two has hit the board in all seven seasonal starts with five victories. Trained by LeVan, Hangtighthoney L has 10 wins, three seconds, and one third in 16 starts this year. The eight-horse field also includes two-leg winners Chasingstardust As (Austin Hanners), Chip Shot (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.), and Wild As Her As (Dan Noble).
In the sophomore colt trot division, Smoke One For Me (Noble) leads the BSS standings with 155 points thanks to two wins and a pair of runner-up finishes. His fifth-leg win came in a lifetime-best 1:55. Trained by Christi Noble, the Long Tom gelding has seven wins in 20 seasonal starts and will leave from the rail alongside Shoot Some Hoop (Chris Page) in post two.
An Enterprise gelding trained by Ron Burke, Shoot Some Hoop is second in the standings with 138 points. He posted one win and three second-place finishes in the BSS this season. Nelli Up (Kayne Kauffman) and Letsgotoparis (Kurt Sugg) tied for third in the standings with 121 points each and will leave from post three and six, respectively. Trained by Ryan Miller, Nelli Up is a Muscle Up The Goal gelding with six wins in 18 seasonal starts. Letsgotoparis is a Mister Anson gelding trained by Edward Miller. A two-time winner in the BSS in 2025, he has hit board in 13 of 17 starts on the year with nine victories. Fellow two-leg winners I Stand Alone As (Wrenn Jr.), Rose Run Ari (A. Hanners), and Royaltimestwo (Merriman) are also in the field.
Ready Made (Beatty), Eckert Hill Brady (Sam Widger), and Tom Largo (Lems) highlight the field of freshman colt trotters as the top three in the standings with 122.5, 110, and 102 points, respectively. Ready Made and Tom Largo will leave side by side from posts five and six, while Eckert Hill Brady will leave from post three.
Ready Made is a Ready For Moni gelding trained by Dustin Arledge. He has two wins on the season, both of which came in the BSS. His third-leg victory came in a lifetime-best 1:59.4. Eckert Hill Brady has hit the board in 12 of 14 seasonal starts with nine wins. Trained by Rosy Weaver, the In Range gelding has one win and two runner-up finishes in the BSS this year. Scott Cox trainee Tom Largo is a Long Tom gelding who has hit the board in five of eight seasonal starts with four wins, including two in the BSS. Also in the field is two-leg winner Okay One More (Merriman), who will leave from the rail.
Saturday’s 15-race card at MGM Northfield Park includes all eight divisions of the Buckeye Stallion Series Finals. First-race post time is 6 p.m. The Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association will provide live-streaming coverage of the BSS Finals as part of its “Saturday Night at the Races” program on the OHHA YouTube channel and Facebook page as well as HarnessRacingOhio.com beginning at 6:15 p.m.
(Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association)