Grove City, OH – Travel Nurse will vie for a second straight Buckeye Stallion Series championship when MGM Northfield Park hosts four $75,000 divisions of trotters in the 2025 BSS finals on Saturday (Oct. 4).
The BSS filly trot champion as a 2-year-old in 2024, Travel Nurse (Luke Hanners) scored one win and two runner-up finishes in the series this year, which was good for 103 points and sixth place in the standings. Trained by Virgil Morgan Jr., the Enterprise filly has two wins, three seconds, and two thirds in 15 starts this year. She will leave from post five.
Her top competitors include Sweet Rose’ (Chris Lems), Up (Aaron Merriman), and Pretty Lil Penny (Trevor Smith), who finished as the top three in the sophomore filly trot standings this year with 154, 130, and 125 points, respectively. Sweet Rose’ and Pretty Lil Penny were both two-time winners in the series in 2025. Trained by Matthew Burkholder, Sweet Rose’ has hit the board in eight of 10 seasonal starts with four wins. The Marseille filly will leave from post seven alongside Pretty Lil Penny in the far outside of the eight-horse field. Pretty Little Penny has won four times in 11 seasonal starts and is trained by Jeremy Miller. Up, who posted a win and three runner-up finishes in the BSS, is trained by Burkholder. The Uncle Peter filly has three wins, four seconds, and one third in 13 seasonal starts and will leave from post six. Volstarita (Justin Irvine), a two-time BSS winner this year, is also in the field.
Judy’s Moni (Anthony MacDonald) headlines the freshman filly trot division as a three-time winner in the BSS this season. The Jason McGinnis trainee sits atop the standings with 180 points and will leave from post four. A Ready For Moni filly, Judy’s Moni posted a lifetime-best 1:57.2 in the opening leg and has hit the board in five of six starts on the year. Two-leg winners Readi Two (Sandy Beatty) and Hangtighthoney L (Hank LeVan) tied for second in the standings with 154 points and will leave from the rail and far outside, respectively. The Beatty-trained Readi Two has hit the board in all seven seasonal starts with five victories. Trained by LeVan, Hangtighthoney L has 10 wins, three seconds, and one third in 16 starts this year. The eight-horse field also includes two-leg winners Chasingstardust As (Austin Hanners), Chip Shot (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.), and Wild As Her As (Dan Noble).
In the sophomore colt trot division, Smoke One For Me (Noble) leads the BSS standings with 155 points thanks to two wins and a pair of runner-up finishes. His fifth-leg win came in a lifetime-best 1:55. Trained by Christi Noble, the Long Tom gelding has seven wins in 20 seasonal starts and will leave from the rail alongside Shoot Some Hoop (Chris Page) in post two. An Enterprise gelding trained by Ron Burke, Shoot Some Hoop is second in the standings with 138 points. He posted one win and three second-place finishes in the BSS this season.
Nelli Up (Kayne Kauffman) and Letsgotoparis (Kurt Sugg) tied for third in the standings with 121 points each and will leave from post three and six, respectively. Trained by Ryan Miller, Nelli Up is a Muscle Up The Goal gelding with six wins in 18 seasonal starts. Letsgotoparis is a Mister Anson gelding trained by Edward Miller. A two-time winner in the BSS in 2025, he has hit board in 13 of 17 starts on the year with nine victories. Fellow two-leg winners I Stand Alone As (Wrenn Jr.), Rose Run Ari (A. Hanners), and Royaltimestwo (Merriman) are also in the field.
Ready Made (Beatty), Eckert Hill Brady (Sam Widger), and Tom Largo (Lems) highlight the field of freshman male trotters as the top three in the standings with 122.5, 110, and 102 points, respectively. Ready Made and Tom Largo will leave side by side from posts five and six, while Eckert Hill Brady will leave from post three. Ready Made is a Ready For Moni gelding trained by Dustin Arledge. He has two wins on the season, both of which came in the BSS. His third-leg victory came in a lifetime-best 1:59.4. Eckert Hill Brady has hit the board in 12 of 14 seasonal starts with nine wins. Trained by Rosy Weaver, the In Range gelding has one win and two runner-up finishes in the BSS this year. Scott Cox trainee Tom Largo is a Long Tom gelding who has hit the board in five of eight seasonal starts with four wins, including two in the BSS. Also in the field is two-leg winner Okay One More (Merriman), who will leave from the rail.
Saturday’s 15-race card at MGM Northfield Park includes all eight divisions of the Buckeye Stallion Series finals. First-race post time is 6 p.m. The Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association will provide livestreaming coverage of the BSS finals as part of its “Saturday Night at the Races” program on the OHHA YouTube channel and Facebook page as well as HarnessRacingOhio.com beginning at 6:15 p.m.