Adios Butler packed a lot of success into a four-year racing career. The son of Adios out of Debby Hanover became pacing’s first Triple Crown winner in 1959, was a two-time Horse of the Year, and set world records at mile and half-mile tracks en route to being inducted into the Hall of Immortals at the Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 1990.

Bred by Russ Carpenter of Chester, New York, and foaled in 1956, Adios Butler was owned by trainer Paige West and Angelo Pellillo. George Phalen drove Adios Butler to a 2:04.1 track record for 2-year-olds at Ocean Downs in July 1958, but a virus limited the colt’s success as a freshman. [More...]

Aquatic Yankee was purchased at the Kentucky Standardbred sale in 1997 by Harold L Bauder for $3,000. Aquatic Yankee went on to have an outstanding racing career. In her four years of racing she had a record of 80 starts, with 26 wins, 19 seconds and 15 thirds which makes 75% of her starts on the board. [More...]

Though a virus infection cut his racing career short, B.F. Coaltown’s legacy is one of success both on and off the track.

Born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1960 and named in part using the initials of breeder Ben Falter, the son of Galophone and Sis Rodney went on to have a spectacular season as a 2-year-old trotter. He set a track record in winning the first division of the WN Reynolds Memorial in 2:08 in June 1962, and he won the final of the Challenge Stakes at Scioto Downs in July in 2:03.3. [More...]

The son of Harness Racing Hall of Fame and Ohio Harness Racing Hall of Fame member Gene Abbe out of Tiny Wave, Big Towner went from “just another horse” to the “Free-For-All King of New York” in his racing career before becoming a respected sire.

Bred by Ohio natives Paul Gardner and Florence Startsman, Big Towner was a foal of May 1974. Nothing seemed remarkable about him at the time, as Startsman described him as “just another horse.” In 1975, he was purchased as a yearling by Maryland owners Patrick Kelly, Gerald Post and Richard Bissette for $5,700 at the Blooded Horse Sale in Delaware, Ohio.

As a 2-year-old in 1976, Big Towner hit the board in all six starts with five wins and one second, all at Rosecroft Raceway in Maryland. His earnings were a modest $3,972. [More...]

In 1988, BJ Scoot made history as the first Ohio-bred horse to win the Little Brown Jug to highlight what would become a highly successful racing career. An Ohio Sires Stakes champion, he posted 22 wins along with 16 seconds and eight thirds to go with $891,010 in earnings in 72 lifetime starts.

Bred and owned by Jack Howell of Lancaster, Ohio, BJ Scoot was foaled on May 10, 1985, in Hanover, Pennsylvania. The son of fellow 1998 Hall of Fame inductee Falcon Almahurst won 10 of 13 starts during his 2-year-old season in 1987, earning $135,611. [More...]

Elected to the Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Ohio Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 2004, Bret Hanover won 91% of his starts and later became one of the sport’s leading studs of all time.

Bret Hanover was foaled in Hanover, Pennsylvania, in May 1962. The son of Adios out of Brenna Hanover, he was the high-priced yearling of 1963, selling for a then-record $50,000 to Richard Downing. He went on to put together three outstanding seasons on the track, capturing the Pacing Triple Crown and earning Horse of the Year honors each year from 1964 to 1966 and becoming a fan favorite.

As a 2-year-old, Bret Hanover went unbeaten in 24 starts en route to becoming the first juvenile to be named Horse of the Year. [More...]

As a top performer on the track, Courageous Lady hit the board in almost 60% of her starts throughout her five-year career and holds the distinction as the first Ohio Sires Stakes champion to defend her title.

Foaled in March 1975 in Carthage, Indiana, Courageous Lady raced from 1977 to 1981. Purchased by Ruth Cohen of Mayfield Heights, Ohio, she hit the board in 11 of 12 starts, including eight wins, and earned just over $66,000 as a freshman. During that season, she set an age-sex track record of 1:59.3 and won the $71,000 Ohio Sires Stakes championship for 2-year-old pacing fillies. [More...]

The son of Crysta’s Crown out of Super Laure, Crysta’s Best was foaled in 1988 in Wilmington, Ohio, and went on to earn over $500,000 during a three-year racing career before retiring to breed.

Crysta’s Best won 10 of 19 starts and earned $319,520 as a freshman and achieved national prominence when he overcame a break at the start to win the 1990 Breeders Crown for 2-year-old trotters at Pompano Park with trainer-driver Dick Richardson Jr. He was named the Dan Patch 2-Year-Old Trotting Colt of the Year and Ohio Horse of the Year that season, which also saw him win the Ohio Sires Stakes Final, the Horseman Stake in straight heats at Indianapolis, and a division of the Tompkins-Geers at Scioto.

As a 3-year-old in 1991, he hit the board in 12 of 22 starts with five wins, one second, and six thirds and earned $217,087. He competed in the Hambletonian and posted his lifetime-best mark of 1:55.2 at Indianapolis.

He made just five starts in 1992 in what would prove to be his final season and closed his career with 15 wins, one second, and seven thirds to go with earnings of $537,007 in 46 starts.

Early in his 4-year-old season, Crysta’s Best was purchased by Olympic equestrian gold medalist Alvin Schockemoehle of Germany and retired to stud in Europe.

He was inducted into the Ohio Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 2009.

Beth Yontz bred the son of Yankee Cruiser and Dance With The Best.

During his 10-year racing career, Dancin Yankee recorded 80 career wins and over 2 million dollars in earnings. He is a two-time world champion and owns a lifetime best of 1:47.2 at Pocono Downs.

He was the three-time Ohio ‘Older Pacer of the Year.’

Dancin Yankee looks to make his mark on the Ohio racing scene during his next career as a sire at Cool Winds Farm.

Despite not being entered into some of harness racing’s biggest stakes races, Dream Of Glory made a name for himself on the track and went on to leave a prolific legacy as a sire.

The son of Speedy Count out of Dixie Valley, Dream Of Glory was foaled in 1971. Breeder and owner Leo Soehnlen, of Canton, Ohio, reportedly devoted so much time and attention to his dairy business that he never pursued staking Dream Of Glory to the major races, including the Hambletonian and Kentucky Futurity, where he would’ve had the opportunity to prove his true racing ability. However, that didn’t stop him from garnering lots of acclaim.

As a freshman, Dream Of Glory won 15 of 19 starts, including the Ohio Standardbred Futurity, Arden Downs, and five Ohio State Stakes. [More...]

Among his many accomplishments, Falcon Almahurst retired at the end of 1978 as the fastest 3-year-old pacer in harness racing history on both a mile and half-mile tracks and later became a dominant pacing stallion in Ohio.

Purchased as a yearling by Scioto Downs and Hill Farms operator Charlie Hill in 1976, Falcon Almahurst was the son of Meadow Skipper and Ingenue. As a 2-year-old, he posted three wins and two seconds in six starts, including a 13-length victory at the Meadowlands in 1:59. Then came the world records in 1978 during his 3-year-old season.

Falcon Almahurst became the first 3-year-old pacer to post a sub-1:53 time when he ran a world-record 1:52.2 mile time trial at Lexington, and his 1:55.2 in a Little Brown Jug heat win was the fastest any harness horse had run on a half-mile track. [More...]

Inducted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 1978 and the Ohio Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 1998, Gene Abbe amassed 49 wins and 46 runner-up finishes in 151 lifetime starts before going on to rewrite the record books as a sire.

Bred by Ottawa, Ohio, native Clinton Lighthill, Gene Abbe was the son of Bert Abbe and Rose Marie in 1944. Pacing free-legged, he won 14 of his 16 2-year-old starts and ended up racing until he was 6 years old, achieving over $51,000 in lifetime earnings.

In 1952, he went to stud at Eventime Farm in Washington Court House, Ohio, which was owned by Toledo’s Dr. Roy Knisley. [More...]

Bred and owned by 2008 Ohio Harness Racing Hall of Fame inductee Jerome T. Osborne, of Mentor, gelded pacer Majestic Osborne was one of the top racing horses in Ohio during the 1990s.

The son of Nobleand Sam out of Most Happy Missy, he was foaled on May 3, 1989, and went on to have a seven-year racing career from 1991 to 1997. Trained and driven by Joe Adamsky for much of his career, he hit the board in 75 of 98 starts with 47 wins, 14 seconds, and 14 thirds and earned $554,782. [More...]

Despite some life experiences befitting his melancholy name, Melvin’s Woe nonetheless found success on the racetrack highlighted by a Little Brown Jug victory.

The son of 2004 Ohio Harness Racing Hall of Fame inductee Bret Hanover out of Friendly Hal, Melvin’s Woe was born in 1970 and owned by Cleveland, Ohio, millionaire Thurman Downing. Downing named the horse after Norman’s Woe, a small island off the coast of Massachusetts that he and his wife had owned part of, as well as a friend in Kentucky named Melvin.

Plagued by chronic leg ailments throughout his two-year racing career in 1972 and 1973, Melvin’s Woe posted 17 wins, five seconds and two thirds with $157,902 in earnings in 27 starts. Much of his success came in his sophomore season, as he recorded 16 wins and three seconds in 22 starts with earnings of $152,480.

Melvin’s Woe was named the nation’s top 3-year-old pacer in 1973 after his highly improbable Little Brown Jug win. [More...]

A 2000 inductee into the Ohio Equine Hall of Fame, Nobleand Sam became known as one of the top sires in Ohio breeding history following a two-year racing career.

Nobleand Sam was the son of Sonsam and Ima Happy Noble and was bred, owned, and trained by Sam A. Noble Jr. He started just nine races as a 2-year-old in 1985 but hit the board in all of them, winning seven.

He traveled throughout North America as a 3-year-old, scoring victories at such tracks as Louisville Downs, The Meadows, Hazel Park, The Red Mile, Brandywine, and Scioto Downs to highlight a 16-win season amidst 26 starts. [More...]

Overcomer was foaled in the spring of 1983 in Paulding, Ohio.

The son of Speed In Action out of the B F Coaltown mare, Darby Hill was bred by Charles Weaver.

Overcomer was purchased in the fall of 1984 by Michael Lewis of Fostoria, Ohio and Max Graber of Pemberton, Ohio.

Trained by Max Graber and driven by Mark Graber, Overcomer went on to win three Ohio Sire Stakes championships at the ages of three, four and five.

He finished on the board in 45 of 53 career starts, earning more than $400 thousand dollars and a career mark of 1:57 at Scioto Downs.

Overcomer was retired to Success Acres. He stood 14 seasons. He had 1,017 registered foals, 162 in 2:00 and 65 who earned $100,000 or more.

Also a member of the United States Harness Racing Hall of Fame (1997), Indiana Standardbred Hall of Fame (2003), and Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame (2020), Rambling Willie is one of the most storied horses of all time.

By Rambling Fury out of Meadow Belle, Rambling Willie was foaled in 1970 in Monroeville, Indiana. Trainer/driver Bob Farrington purchased him for $15,000 in 1972 and subsequently gave half ownership to his wife, Vivian, as a birthday present while selling the other half to Paul Seibert of Cincinnati, Ohio. Rambling Willie would go on to post 128 victories in 305 starts and earn over $2 million.

Rambling Willie began his career at Ohio county fairs as a 2-year-old in 1972 and went on to race for 12 seasons before retiring as a 13-year-old in 1983. [More...]

A World Champion with over $1.8 million in career earnings, Shady Daisy was a highly accomplished horse in six seasons of racing.

The daughter of Falcon Seelster out of Tika Belle, she was bred by Ronald Jackson, of Hilliard, Ohio. She was foaled in April 1988 and began racing as a 2-year-old in 1990.

Trained her entire career by Louis Bauslaugh, Shady Daisy had early success, hitting the board in 10 of 14 starts as a freshman with six wins and $105,377 in earnings. She really took off as a sophomore in 1991, hitting the board in 24 of 27 starts, including 15 victories, and earning $452,741 while posting what would be her lifetime best of 1:51 at The Red Mile in Lexington, Kentucky.

After winning nine races in 21 starts and matching her best time of 1:51 as a 4-year-old, Shady Daisy added another double-digit win season in 1993. [More...]

Speed In Action had a successful career both on the track and as a stallion. A trotting World Champion, he recorded his lifetime-best of 1:57 as a 4-year-old in Du Quoin, Illinois, in August 1978.

The son of Speedy Scot out of Dolly Mir, Speed In Action raced from 1976 to 1978, earning a total of $334,519. He hit the board in 23 of 25 starts as a 2-year-old in 1976, winning 12, and added seven victories in 17 starts as a 3-year-old. [More...]

The daughter of 1998 Ohio Harness Racing Hall of Fame inductee Falcon Almahurst out of Margaux, Stienam packed many accomplishments into just two years of racing before going on to serve as a productive broodmare.

Bred by ACA Stables in Wilmington, Ohio, and foaled in Hilliard, Ohio, in April 1982, Stienam began her racing career as a 2-year-old in 1984. That season, she hit the board in 17 of 19 starts, posting nine wins and eight seconds, and earning $662,155.

As a sophomore, in what would prove to be her final season in 1985, Stienam hit the board in 18 of 21 starts with eight wins, nine seconds, and one third to go with $693,319 in earnings. She recorded her lifetime best of 1:53.4 at The Meadowlands that year and won the Breeders Crown final for sophomore pacing fillies in a track record 1:55.4 at Northlands Park in Edmonton, Canada, with Buddy Gilmour driving. [More...]

Entering the Ohio Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 2008, Striking Sahbra became one of the sport’s leading trotting sires after a successful two-year career on the track.

Striking Sahbra was foaled in April 1990 on Marvin Gross’ farm in Streetsboro, Ohio. The son of Supergill out of Supreme Sahbra, he had a promising start to his racing career. As a 2-year-old, he hit the board in all 11 starts, winning 10 of them, and earned $102,533. [More...]

Yankee Cruiser was the son of Artiscape and A Yankee Classic and was bred by Yankeeland Farm. He was purchased as a yearling by the Pinske Stable for $23,000 at the Kentucky Standardbred Sale.

During his racing career, Yankee Cruiser recorded 14 wins including the 2003 North America Cup – earning a combined $1.1 million.

As a stallion, Yankee Cruiser produced the triple millionaire Sweet Lou, fellow Ohio Hall of Famer Dancin Yankee and Jugette champion Darena Hanover.