Sea Bistro Hanover tied the fastest pacing mile ever at Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel with a 1:48 victory in the $112,676 Kentucky Sire Stakes (KYSS) final for three-year-old pacing colts and geldings on Wednesday, July 15, closing day for the track's 2026 season.
Leaving from post five, driver Todd McCarthy motored Sea Bistro Hanover away into third as Papi Rick (Andy McCarthy) ripped out of post seven to a :26 first quarter chased by post-eight starter Captain Apple (Yannick Gingras). Sea Bistro Hanover angled out of third passing the stands the first time and brushed by Papi Rick for the lead while maintaining his speed to a :54.2 half. Captain Apple flushed off the cones to race first-up as his stablemate Show Me Your Ace (Dexter Dunn) pushed on the outside from mid-pack, but Sea Bistro Hanover continued at a quick clip to three-quarters in 1:21.1. Papi Rick remained the closest pursuer spinning for home, though Sea Bistro Hanover staved off that late challenge for a half-length win with Benny B Hill (Scott Zeron) saving ground to take third.
The 1:48 mile crushed the previous track record for three-year-old pacing geldings of 1:49.1 set last year by Harrisburg Heist and matches the all-age pacing record established in 2024 by Admiral Hill.
A gelding by Captaintreacherous-Santa Rosa, Sea Bistro Hanover won his third race from eight starts this season and his fourth race from 15 starts in his career, boosting his earnings to $145,712. Brett Pelling trains the gelding for David McDuffee, Paul Bordogna and Mel Hartman. The win price was $10.14.
Hope Hill slashed her week-old track record with a 1:48.3 stroll to win the $112,676 KYSS final for three-year-old pacing fillies, lowering the previous mark by three-fifths of a second. Dexter Dunn looped her out of third past a :26 first quarter to take the front from Gonebutnotforgottn (Tim Tetrick), and the new leader sailed through steady middle fractions of :54 and 1:21.4. Interstellar (Marvin Luna) mounted a first-over challenge into the backstretch but plateaued turning for home while Hope Hill coasted to the line a winner by three-quarters of a length. Gonebutnotforgottn shook free from the pocket late but settled for second with Interstellar holding third.
Virgil Morgan Jr. trains Hope Hill, a homebred Papi Rob Hanover-Ruth Hill filly, for owner Tom Hill. She won her fifth race from seven starts this season is now nine-for-16 lifetime with $321,641 in earnings. She paid $3.18 to win.
Oak Grove hosted five $70,423 KYSS "B" divisions on the closing-day undercard. Caviart Anders (Todd McCarthy, 1:49.4, $8.08), Louaville (Scott Zeron, 1:51, $4.20) and Thiago Hanover (Dexter Dunn, 1:50, $5.94) won the dashes for sophomore pacing males. Lady Panera (Atlee Bender, 1:52.1, $43.24) and Bettor Be A Star (Dexter Dunn, 1:51.2, $3.08) won the splits for three-year-old pacing fillies.
Atlee Bender secured another driving title at Oak Grove, reclaiming the crown after finishing second in last year's standings to Marvin Luna. Bender led all drivers through the meet with 52 wins while Dexter Dunn took second with 44 wins. Todd McCarthy scored a hat trick on closing day to tie for third at 33 wins on the meet alongside Marcus Miller while Joey Putnam's one win on closing day placed him in a tie for fifth with Ronnie Wrenn Jr. at 26 wins.
On the training side, North America's leading trainer Ron Burke secured the conditioning title with 31 wins on the meet, thwarting defending champ Erv Miller — Oak Grove's leading trainer the last three years — by two victories. Tony Dinges finished third in the standings with 21 wins followed by Wayne Oke in fourth with 20 wins. Joe Putnam overtook Carter Pinske for fifth with 17 wins after scoring a final-day victory.
Live racing at Oak Grove will return in 2027.
(Oak Grove; photo of Sea Bistro Hanover winning on July 15)