Grove City, OH — Ronnie Gillespie was emotional as he was interviewed in the winner’s circle at Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway on Saturday (Sept. 27). The trainer and driver of Big Ranger had just won the 2025 Ohio Sires Stakes Scarlet Championship for freshman colt trotters, completing an Ohio Triple Crown-winning season.
“I’m a little emotional because I beat the odds as a trainer and driver,” Gillespie said. “To have a horse that good at the beginning of the season and maintain him to the end of the season takes a lot of work.”
Four horses entered Saturday looking to complete the Ohio Triple Crown, but Big Ranger was the only one to achieve the feat. A perfect 7-for-7 on the season with $370,610 in earnings, the In Range colt won the Next Generation and three legs of the OSS this season in addition to scoring victories in each of the first two legs of the Triple Crown in the Ohio State Fair Stakes at Eldorado Scioto Downs and the Ohio Breeders Championship at Delaware. The final piece of that Triple Crown puzzle was Saturday’s OSS Scarlet Championships, and he led wire to wire en route to winning by more than eight lengths in 1:53.4 for owner Madison Global. That marked a lifetime best and set new track and stakes records as Gillespie claimed his first OSS championship as a trainer. Rose Run Banker (Chris Page) was second followed by Max The Mighty (Andrew McCarthy) in third.
That was one of four $300,000 trotting divisions of the OSS Scarlet Championships at Dayton Raceway on Saturday.
Jailhouse Pearl (Austin Hanners) recorded the fastest mile among those four divisions, winning the sophomore filly trot championship in a lifetime-best 1:52.2, setting new track and stakes records. It was the first career OSS Scarlet Championships win for Hanners. Aunt Laura (Dexter Dunn), the 2024 OSS champion as a 2-year-old, led the field past the first three calls in :26.4, :55, and 1:23.1. On the outside of Aunt Laura, Jailhouse Pearl edged in front by half a length entering the final stretch and won by two lengths over Pelican Hanover (Brett Miller) in second with Mega Money (Aaron Merriman) in third. Mocha Hill (Page), vying to complete the Triple Crown, was fourth.
“This was a great way to start the night,” Hanners said after the race. “That filly has been awesome for me all year. The tempo was so quick, and when they came back to me, I was like, ‘I’m just going to go now,’ and she did the rest. She’s put out efforts like that all year, so I expected that when she cleared.”
Trained by Eric Nesselroad for owner Casey Clemens, Jailhouse Pearl entered Saturday with two OSS wins on the season, hitting the board in 12 of 14 starts with five victories overall. The Long Tom filly has hit the board in 27 of 29 lifetime starts with 15 wins and $372,694 in earnings.
Lt Loverboy (Miller), the 2024 2-year-old Colt Trotter of the Year and OSS champion, scored a repeat title. The Long Tom gelding won this year’s sophomore colt trot championship in 1:53.2, equaling the track record. Trained by Daren Harvey, he entered with wins in three of the five legs of the OSS this season and has now hit the board in 18 of 21 lifetime starts with 11 victories and $619,734 in earnings. Back in the pack as the leader crossed the quarter pole in :26.2 and halfway mark in :55.3, Lt Loverboy moved up the field on the outside and led by a nose at the three-quarters in 1:24. He then pulled away to win by three lengths over Vekna (Kayne Kauffman) with Jet Wings (Dunn) in third.
“He’s just a class horse,” Harvey said of Lt Loverboy after the race. “We were fighting him throughout the year trying to keep him together for tonight, and we got here, and he didn’t disappoint.”
Owned by Wayne Mast Jr. and Callam Racing, Lt Loverboy put together a solid performance after leaving from post eight.
“It’s a great feeling, and this is a great horse,” said Walt Callam, of Callam Racing, of the win. “All the credit in the world goes to Daren and Brett.”
Setyoursightshigh (Dunn) won the freshman filly trot championship in a track-record 1:54.1. The In Range filly was in third place as Demonic Niko (Yannick Gingras) led at the quarter pole in :28.3 but was in front the rest of the way, posting fractions of :57.1 and 1:25.2 en route to winning by more than six lengths over Rose Run Brooke (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.). Looking to complete the Triple Crown, Demonic Niko finished third. Trained by Marcus Melander for owners Heights Stable, Mantorp LLC, AMG Stable, and K Kjellgren Livs AB, Setyoursightshigh entered Saturday with two OSS wins on the season. She has hit the board in all nine seasonal starts with seven wins and two seconds and has $515,000 in earnings.
“She’s a great filly. She’s been doing everything right the entire year,” Melander said. “It’s been a long season for her, but she’s still going strong.”