Jessica Millner expected Joelsyy Hanover to be a nice horse for her stable. He turned out to be much more.
Joelsyy Hanover, an eight-year-old male pacer co-owned by Millner and Andrew Coblentz, arrived in Millner’s barn in May 2023 at the age of five. He had won his final start for his previous connections – a 1:56.3 score at The Raceway at the Western Fair District for his seventh lifetime victory – and then added three more triumphs for his new group through the remainder of the season while competing in conditioned classes at racetracks in Ohio.
The following year, the gelded son of Jk Endofanera-Jans Luck worked his way up the conditions ladder on his way to racing in Opens at Northfield Park and Hollywood Dayton Raceway during the second half of the campaign. After winning one Open II event at each track, Joelsyy Hanover captured the Open at Dayton on Dec. 19 and added a second win at that level eight days later to end his season.
He hasn’t looked back since. In 2025, Joelsyy Hanover enjoyed his best season to date, banking $239,088 and winning in a career-best 1:49.1 at Eldorado Scioto Downs. Overall for Millner, he has won 23 times – including seven Opens/Open Handicaps – and earned more than $370,000 USD.
“He’s been a pleasant surprise,” Millner said. “I knew he was going to be okay, but I didn’t know he was going to be this good. We bought him because his lines at Woodbine (Mohawk Park) looked good and he won in (1):56.3 at (Western Fair), so he could get around any size of track well. When we bought him, he still fit non-winners classes. I never dreamed he would be an Open horse.
“When he won his first Open for me, I didn’t know if it was one of those things where he just got a good trip, but then he came back and did it again,” Millner said. She added with a laugh: “So, then, we were like, okay, maybe he is an Open horse. He has outperformed our expectations and just been amazing.”
Millner credits Joelsyy Hanover’s attitude for his success.
“I don’t know if it’s just maturity, that he grew up, but he’s a very gritty horse,” Millner said. “He fights. When you think he’s all done, he’s not. He just started getting tougher and tougher, and as he went up the ladder, he was winning.”
Joelsyy Hanover, whose dam won 48 races over a seven-year, 149-start career and earned more than $1 million, also has a playful side around the stable.
“He’s got such a fun personality; he’s a goofball,” Millner said. “He rests a lot during the day, and when he gets up, when he goes to sit up, he sits like a donkey. He’ll sit on his butt with his two front legs upright, and he’ll sit for about three minutes and just look around. But he takes care of himself.”
On Sunday, Mar. 1, Joelsyy Hanover will face five foes in the $36,000 USD Open Handicap Pace at Miami Valley Raceway. He will leave from post two with driver Sam Widger and is 7-1 on the morning line. I Did It Myway, who won last week’s Open, is the 2-1 morning-line favourite followed by Little Rocket Man (5-2), Burnout (3-1) and Charlie May (5-1).
Joelsyy Hanvoer defeated a field that included I Did It Myway, Little Rocket Man and Charlie May – not to mention past Breeders Crown champion Gem Quality and millionaire Better Is Nice – on Feb. 8 at Miami Valley.
“He really impressed us that day with the horses he beat,” Millner said. “Those are some of the best horses in the country right now.”
Millner, a 34-year-old native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., grew up in a racing family. Last season, her stable earned $936,933 USD in purses, the second-best total of her career, and at the end of November she notched career training victory number 1,000.
“That meant the world to me,” Millner said. “I lost my dad (John Martin) earlier last year to cancer. He’s the reason I do this. And he was definitely a numbers guy; he would always tell me what I had left. I wish he was here for it. But just being able to accomplish it was a big achievement for me.”
As for the future with Joelsyy Hanover, the goal is simple.
“He had such an amazing year last year, we just hope to maintain it,” Millner said. “He’s not getting any younger. If he’s able to come back to even three-quarters of what he was last year, that would be a big deal for us.”
Racing begins at 4 p.m. on Sunday at Miami Valley. The Open Pace is race nine on the 14-race card.
(USTA; photo of Joelsyy Hanover winning on Oct. 25, 2025)