Let’s be honest—the driving title was decided on Day One. Just as it has been for the past nine years. Aaron Merriman seized control immediately, and history took care of the rest. Everything that followed didn’t change the outcome; it merely delayed the announcement.
Author: by Kenny Livengood for MGM Northfield Park
Illinois Racing Board Temporarily Shuts Down Hawthorne Harness Meet, OTB Network
The Illinois Racing Board has ordered financially strapped Hawthorne Race Course in Stickney, Ill., to cease live horse racing and off-track betting operations – at least temporarily. The order, made late Friday afternoon, came after Standardbred horsemen at the current harness meet were issued a second round of checks with non-sufficient funds to cover purses and, according to communications within the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association board of directors, Hawthorne failed to secure required bonds for 2026
Aardie B Miki N dominant in Big M feature
Despite drawing post 10, Aardie B Miki N flaunted her back class in the Friday (Jan. 2) night feature at The Meadowlands, crushing her foes as the 1-5 favorite in the $17,500 high-end conditioned pace for fillies and mares.
Bright Bet & Barley A Lie Capture Dayton Co-Features
Bright Bet and Barley A Lie beat the strong winds and frigid temperatures to take the $18,000 co-featured condition claiming paces on Monday (Dec. 29) night at Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway.
Multiple carryovers Sunday Night at MGM Northfield Park
The Sunday night (Dec. 28) racing action will be triple packed with carryovers. Bettors can jump in early with the pick-4 beginning in race two which features a hefty $7,186 carryover and an estimated $50,000 pool up for grabs. The value comes right back in race four with a rare pick-3 carryover o $3,578 helping push an estimated pool of $25,000. Lastly there will be a pick-6 carryover of $4,075 in race eight.
Bettor Is Nice Takes Dayton Open
Bettor Is Nice received a confident drive from Tyler Smith and captured the final $28,000 Open Pace of the 2025 Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway meet in 1:51.1 on Saturday (Dec. 27).
Lou Hill upsets in Big M feature
On a night where the front end – or very close to it – was the place to be, Lou Hill found himself in a third-over flow at three-quarters before tipping in the stretch and sprinting home to gun down 4-5 favorite Pinny Tiger A in the Saturday (Dec. 27) night feature at The Meadowlands, the $30,000 Open Handicap for pacers.
Homicide Hunter wins 2025 SPHO Horse of the Year
Homicide Hunter, the active world-record holder for the fastest trotting mile in harness racing history, has once again reached the summit of competition, this time in a completely different arena. The iconic Standardbred has been named 2025 SPHO-NJ Horse of the Year, the highest honor awarded annually to the top nationally-pointed Standardbred in the show ring.
Net Weight captures Friday feature at chilly Philly
The Muscle Hill sophomore gelding Net Weight, in his first start in six months, was more than ready for the $12,000 trotting feature at Harrah’s Philadelphia on a sub-freezing Friday afternoon (Dec. 26), winning by two lengths in 1:59.3.
Dayton Raceway Feature to Robert Michael
Robert Michael used an aggressive three-wide brush down the backstretch and drew clear of the field of nine in the featured $18,000 conditioned claiming trot Monday evening (Dec. 22) at Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway.