Luke Hanners piloted five winners on the 15-race card at Scioto Downs on Saturday, July 25, starting with Night Surfer in the first of two $105,634 Ohio Sires Stakes (OHSS) divisions for two-year-old pacing males.
Night Surfer was first off the car from the rail but was shuffled to third as Jett James (Brett Miller) took the lead towards the :26.2 opening quarter and Marvin Luna moved Atlantic Ivey to the front from post seven. The latter got to the half in :55.3 and to the three-quarters in 1:24.3. Hanners pulled Night Surfer midway down the backstretch in a first over bid, taking the lead as the field came off the last turn. Posting a :26.3 last quarter, Night Surfer won by three-quarters of a length in 1:52 over North Rim (Page). Jett James was third.
Night Surfer, by Downbytheseaside out of the Bettors Delight mare Dark Force, won his career debut. The colt was a $93,055 Ohio Selected Yearling Sale purchase from breeder KAD Farms. Virgil Morgan Jr. trains him for Let It Ride Stables Inc., Morrison Racing Stables and Steven Held. The win price was $7.80.
Hanners then won the second race with Lousbodaciousboy ($10.20) for Morgan, the 12th with Woodrow Blue Chip ($3.60), 13th with Around Midnight ($61.80) and the 15th-race finale with Dirty Harry Too ($5.80). The driver's 265 wins this season are already a career high. He has a win rate of 16.5 per cent through 1,606 starts in 2026. He narrowed the gap to Scioto driving leader Chris Page, a three-time winner on the card, to two wins, now trailing him 137-135.
Next Generation winner Donttruckwithme remained undefeated, going two-for-two in the OHSS with a dominant victory in the second split. Getting off the car from post six, Chris Lems pointed Donttruckwithme to the front and had him on the lead through splits of :28, :56.4 and 1:24.1. Coming home in :27.4, the Catch The Fire gelding won by 2-1/2 lengths over Ocean Party (David Miller). First Grade (Page) was third.
Donttruckwithme won the Next Generation on July 4 and followed that up with a win in the first leg of the OHSS. Saturday's victory brought his record to three-for-three. Bred by Judy Roegner, out of her Real Desire mare Age Of Consent, Donttruckwithme was a $51,388 purchase from the Ohio Selected Yearling Sale. Daren Harvey trains him for Wayne Mast Jr., Eden Acres Farmstead LLC and Kirk Nichols. The gelding paid $2.20 to win.
Live action at Scioto Downs continues Monday with five qualifiers starting at 10 a.m., available for viewing live on RTN. Evening racing continues Tuesday and Wednesday with 14 races on each card starting at 5:25 p.m.
(With files from Scioto Downs; photo of Night Surfer winning on July 25)