Buckeye Stallion Series kicks off at Northfield

Grove City, OH – Driver Dan Noble found plenty of harness racing success Sunday (May 18) as MGM Northfield Park hosted the first Buckeye Stallion Series races of the year featuring six divisions of 3-year-old filly pacers, each with a $20,000 purse. Noble-driven entries hit the board in five of the six races, including one victory.

Noble drove the favored Four Carat Rock (Rockin Amadeus) to victory in 1:55.4 in the fourth Buckeye Stallion Series race of the evening. Trained by Ben Davis, Four Carat Rock covered the opening quarter-mile in :28 and the half in :57.4. The filly hit the three-quarter mark in 1:26.2 and held off a late charge from longshot Our Honor Defend (Case Bateson) to win by three-quarters of a length. Sunonmybuns (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) finished third. Four Carat Rock has hit the board in four of five starts in 2025 with two wins and two second-place finishes. The filly, by Rockin Amadeus, has five wins in 17 lifetime starts and $49,387 in earnings.

FOUR CARAT ROCK REPLAY

Noble also notched four runner-up finishes Sunday, driving Mandys Rottenapple, Sectionline Flame, Spinal Cracker, and Burning Sole to second place in their respective races.

The favored Bubblles Out (Chris Page) opened Sunday’s Buckeye Stallion Series slate with a victory over Noble’s longshot Mandys Rottenapple in 1:53.1. Bubblles Out completed the first quarter in :27.4 and pulled away to hold the lead the rest of the way, hitting the half in :56.4 and three-quarters in 1:24.4. Seven Sisters (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) finished third. Trained by Trish Foulk, the Downbytheseaside filly has three wins in six starts this season and $27,720 in earnings.

BUBBLES OUT REPLAY

Pink Jammies (Justin Irvine) took the victory in a lifetime-best 1:56.1 as the favorite in the second division over Sectionline Flame (Noble) and second choice Trunk Bay Hanover (Austin Hanners). She led at :27.3, :57.3, and 1:26.2 en route to the victory. Sectionline Flame posed a strong challenge over the final quarter, but Pink Jammies held on to win by a neck. The daughter of Fear The Dragon has now hit the board in her three starts this season, including two victories. Trained by Rosy Weaver, Pink Jammies has 11 wins in 22 lifetime starts with $104,700 in earnings.

PINK JAMMIES REPLAY

Driver Cameron McCown guided 4-1 second choice Guard The Fire to the win in 1:55.2 in the third division. My Hare Legend (Irvine), the 2024 Buckeye Stallion Series 2-year-old filly pacing champion, entered as the favorite and led after the first three calls in :28.2, :58, and 1:26.3. Guard The Fire rallied from fifth after the first quarter-mile to trail by just a nose at the three-quarter pole. The Catch The Fire filly pulled away to win by four-and-a-half lengths over longshot Spinal Cracker (Noble) and My Hare Legend. The win marked the first in two starts this season for the Brian Brown-trained filly, increasing her lifetime win total to four and earnings to $48,360 in 12 starts.

GUARD THE FIRE REPLAY

Making her fourth start of the season Sunday, the 9-1 fourth choice Maddie’s Delite (Merriman) won the fifth division in 1:54 over Lorna Dune (Page) and third choice Survivin Fire (Brett Miller). Putting her speed on display, the favored Anna Loves Bananas (Noble) led at the opening quarter in :26.2 and at the half-mile mark in :55. Survivin Fire caught Anna Loves Bananas at the three-quarter mark in 1:24, and Maddie’s Delite made it three wide from third place and sped away down the stretch for the three-and-a-quarter-length victory. Trained by Steve Carter, the Lather Up filly has 14 wins and $103,749 in earnings in 19 lifetime starts.

MADDIES DELITE REPLAY

Another Carter trainee, Euphoria Rising (Miller) capped Sunday’s BSS slate with a win in the sixth division in 1:54.2 as the favorite over Burning Sole (Noble) and second choice Foxy Seaside (Anthony MacDonald). Euphoria Rising led at every call with times of :28.1, :54.6, and 1:25.4 en route to the three-length victory. The battle down the stretch was for second, as Burning Sole came from fourth to edge Foxy Seaside at the wire. Euphoria Rising, by Domethatagain, has now hit the board in five of eight starts this season with two wins and $24,325 in earnings.

Other Sunday night action on the 16-race card at Northfield included the $19,500 Open Handicap with Page driving Predator And Prey to victory in 1:55.1 and the $19,000 Open with Irvine driving Lake Charles to the win in 1:51.4. Page scored four total victories while Merriman and Wrenn Jr. won three each.

The 2025 Buckeye Stallion series continues on Tuesday with five divisions of 3-year-old filly trotters at MGM Northfield Park. Each division carries a purse of $20,000. The 16-race card begins at 6 p.m.

For complete race results, click here: US Trotting results.

From Wes Mayberry for the Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association