Columbus, MN — The Minnesota harness racing community is mourning the loss of trotter Banker Volo, who died Tuesday (Aug. 25).

Banker Volo was a fan favorite at Running Aces when he stormed onto the scene in Minnesota in 2016 and began winning races and setting records immediately. Over his five years on the Minnesota track, he set or re-wrote track records six times, and still holds the record for older stallions.

Banker Volo, while recently warming up at Running Aces, with Daniel Roland in the bike. Dee Leftwich photo.

Banker Volo won 25 of his 52 races at Running Aces and was on the board in 40 of those 52 trips to the Aces starting gate, earning $191,452 at the Minnesota track. Overall, the son of Yankee Glide made 148 starts with 43 wins, 31 seconds and 15 thirds while bankrolling $489,752 lifetime.

He was owned since 2019 by Jeralene Roland of Grinnell, Iowa. In recent years he was trained by Angie Coleman when at Hawthorne, by Adam Short, Krista Harmon and Mel Owens when at Dayton, by Rick Magee when at The Meadows, and most recently by Jenni King when in Minnesota. His primary drivers at Running Aces have been Nick Roland, Luke Plano and Rick Magee.

He was bred by Kentuckiana Farms and Jorgen Jahre Jr., and as a youngster was part of the Erv Miller stable. He was unraced at two and took a sophomore mark of 1:52.3f at Pocono, which remained his overall career mark. At age five he suffered an injury that required rehabilitation and he was sold at the Harrisburg sale and wound up in the barn of Marcus Meander who subsequently sold him to Dan and Jeri Roland.

Banker Volo has served double duty as a stallion and racehorse since 2016. He stood his first year in Iowa and then switched to Minnesota in 2017, standing at Jenni King’s farm. His first Minnesota crops of 2- and 3-year-olds are now racing and winning at Running Aces. His legacy on the racetrack will not be forgotten, and his offspring will now carry his legacy far into the future.