Jason Bartlett likes what Spencer Hanover is capable of doing on the racetrack.
He also likes what the horse doesn’t do.
“Nothing really bothers him out there,” said Bartlett, who on Saturday, May 16 will drive Spencer Hanover in the inaugural $500,000 USD Oak Grove Trotting Derby at Oak Grove Racing & Gaming in Kentucky. “He’s got a great attitude. His ears are always going back and forth, which I love, and he’s not doing any more than he has to do, wasting energy pulling on me or anything like that. He’s very professional.
“I know that in the post parade, a lot of the other horses are jumping around and nervous, but when we were done scoring down [for his elimination on May 4], I was able to walk him and he just kind of waits on me to let him know when it’s time to go. I was very pleased he was that relaxed, but when we go to the gate, he’s ready to rock. Then, he’s all business.”
Spencer Hanover, the 2025 Breeders Crown two-year-old male trotting champion, won his Oak Grove Trotting Derby elimination by 2-3/4 lengths in 1:53.4 for Bartlett and trainer Marcus Melander. He will leave from post one in Saturday’s final for three-year-old colts and geldings and is the 2-1 morning line favourite.
“He’s done everything we’ve asked of him so far,” Bartlett said about the son of Chapter Seven-Secret Passion, who qualified twice at The Meadowlands before making his seasonal debut in the Trotting Derby elims. “He got into kind of an easier race compared to the other eliminations. I put him on the front and he just does what he has to do when he’s up there on the front. I was very happy with him. I was very pleased we didn’t have to stretch him out more than we had to. That was a nice easy race for him going into the final.”
Spencer Hanover has four wins and two seconds in his past six races dating back to October. His victories included the final of the Big Apple Trot for two-year-old males and his elimination and the final of the Grade 1 Breeders Crown. He was third at the half-mile point of the Big Apple final and fourth at the mid-point in both of his Breeders Crown starts. In his two setbacks, by a head and a neck, he was in front at the half.
“Both of the ones I lost, I was kind of forced to put him on the front,” said Bartlett, who began driving Spencer Hanover in October. “He just kind of waits on them on the front end. I think this year he is better than he was last year. He’s getting more seasoned, a little more experienced, with every start. I think that with time he’ll be fine up there, but he loves tracking horses down. When he has a target and comes off a helmet, he’s got a good :26 quarter in him. He’s just a very versatile horse.”
For his career, Spencer Hanover has won four of 14 races, hit the board an additional five times and earned $934,837 for owners Jeff Snyder of New York City, New York and Arthur Pronti of Jersey City, New Jersey.
Melander will also send out Nix Nacken in the final. The son of Muscle Hill-Nixie Volo finished third in his Trotting Derby elimination, which was won by Endurance.
Endurance is the Trotting Derby’s 5-2 second choice on the morning line. He will leave from post six for driver Andy McCarthy and trainer Chris Beaver. The son of Captain Corey-Love Session won his elimination in 1:51.3, a track record for sophomore male trotters. The remaining elim was won by Matt Burkholder-trained Silverstein in 1:52.3. The son of Chapter Seven-Shining Brightly will start from post nine and is 8-1.
“I know my horse has the speed to put him in a spot where I think I can try to dictate what other people are doing,” said Bartlett. “He’s a very handy off the gate. I guess we’ll have to see what’s going on in the first eighth [of a mile] and go from there.”
Bartlett, who on Tuesday, May 12 got the 12,000th win of his career, will also have a drive in the $300,000 USD Oak Grove Trotting Oaks, for three-year-old fillies. He will guide Custom, a 1:52.4 elimination winner, from post six for trainer Per Engblom. The daughter of Walner-Goldy Mary FR, who made her seasonal debut in the elim, brings a four-race win streak to the final and is 9-2 on the morning line.
“She was really good in her first two qualifiers [this year] and then we switched her bridle up [for the elimination]. She qualified in the open and we switched it last week into a hood. I knew scoring down that she was a different horse. Before, she was never grabbing me at all; she made me a little nervous at times. But last week with the hood on, she was very good.”
Custom was fifth, 3-1/2 lengths back, after three-quarters of a mile but rallied with a :28 kicker over the last quarter. It was the fastest last quarter of any of the finalists in either the Trotting Oaks or Trotting Derby.
“The trip for three-quarters of a mile looked terrible; there was just a lot of action and a lot of people going nowhere, and finally I shook loose,” said Bartlett. “She was going faster at the wire than at any time during the mile. I was very pleased with the outcome. I really like her. The six-hole isn’t the greatest spot, but we’re going to try to get in the best position we can.”
Naked And Famous is the 5-2 morning line favourite in the Trotting Oaks after winning her elimination in a track record 1:51.2 for driver Todd McCarthy and trainer Noel Daley. The daughter of Six Pack-Sleep Tight My Luv will start from post one. The remaining elimination winner, Victorianas Secret, will leave from post three with Ronnie Wrenn Jr. in the sulky for trainer Vernon Beachy. The daughter of Tactical Landing-Victoriana won her elim in 1:53.3 and is 8-1 on the morning line.
The Oak Grove Trotting Oaks is race 10, with a 4:52 p.m. (CDT) post time. The Oak Grove Trotting Derby is slated for 5:23 p.m.
(USTA; photo of Spencer Hanover winning the 2025 Breeders Crown at Woodbine Mohawk Park)