The Crawford County Fair in Bucyrus, Ohio is hosting the opening leg of the 2025 Buckeye Stallion Series for two-year-old colt trotters on Wednesday, July 16.
Wednesday’s 12-race card features four $20,000 USD divisions of the BSS with 29 total starters.
The first division includes What Say You (Luke Hanners), who will leave from post six in his fifth career outing. The Long Tom-Cometpedia gelding has won three times, all in the fair circuit at Paulding, Circleville, and Ottawa. His lifetime best of 1:59.1 came in a qualifier at Eldorado Scioto Downs on June 30. The Tyler Bates trainee raced in the $202,703 Next Generation for colt trotters at Scioto on July 5 but finished eighth after a break. Also in this division, Mogul Maverick (Drew Neill) and Long To B Withu (Justin Hall) enter having hit the board in both of their starts with each posting one win and one second.
Spirit Mission (Logan Ebersole) is the lone starter in the second division that has a win on his resume. The Mission Accepted-Spirit Bell colt is coming off a victory in 2:09 at Courtland on July 8. His lifetime best of 2:03.4 came in a qualifier at MGM Northfield Park on June 19. The Kent Sherman trainee will leave from the far outside post seven on Wednesday. Rosy Weaver trainee Longtimecomin (Justin Irvine) will leave from post four. The son of Long Tom-Lisa Jane has hit the board in both starts this season with one second and one third.
Trainer Hank LeVan will drive Rudedude L, leaving from post seven in the third division. The Long Tom-Lipsofangel As gelding has hit the board in four of five starts with one win and three seconds. His win came at Ottawa in a lifetime-best 2:06 on June 24. He joined What Say You in the Next Generation race at Scioto on July 5, finishing fifth in 1:55.3. Starting next to Rudedude L in the far outside post will be Eckert Hill Brady (Neill), who is two-for-two. The son of In Range-Carrie The Torch, a Rosy Weaver trainee, won at Marion on July 1 and is coming off a victory at Bellefontaine on July 8 in a lifetime-best 2:05.4.
Buckeye Baron (Chris Page) will leave from the rail in the fourth division and enters having hit the board in all four starts this season with two wins and two seconds. The Timothy Grubb trainee won at Paulding in a lifetime-best 2:10.1 on June 9 and added a victory at Marion on July 1. The Long Tom-Frannies Ridge gelding posted runner-up finishes at Ottawa on June 24 and Bellefontaine on July 8. Leaving from post four, Johns Baby Colt (Bart Stimer) is two-for-two this season. The John Beecher Jr. trainee, a Ready For Moni-Pearl Axe It gelding, won a pair of races in Michigan this month, getting a victory at Charlotte before posting a lifetime-best 2:01.3 at Hastings on July 13.
The Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association will be live streaming these Buckeye Stallion Series races as part of its coverage from the Crawford County Fair on Wednesday. First-race post time is 6 p.m.
(With files from the Ohio Harness Horseman's Association)