Drivers tied, Trainers title close, and a mare takes on the Open

Plainville, MA — The 2025 live harness racing meet at Plainridge Park is winding down with only eight days of action left this year, however the competition at the track is as heated as ever.

For the second straight year, drivers Brett Beckwith and Bruce Ranger are at the top of the list for dash wins this meet. In 2024, the pair ended in a statistical tie for first place with 166 wins apiece. As we head into the final two weeks of this season, that dynamic duo is tied again with 136 wins each.

When Beckwith left to compete in the World Driving Championships in New Zealand on October 30, he had a commanding 15 win bulge over Ranger. But in the two weeks he was gone, Ranger closed that gap in short order and after posting a triple in the bike on Friday, made his way back into a tie for first place, and last year’s battle to the finish is on once again.

If last year was any indicator, these two will be duking it out, race by race, until the final race of the meet.

The training title is far from over as well with three consummate conditioners very much in the race.

Gretchen Athearn is the current leader with 49 wins ahead of last year’s champion, Jimmy Nickerson, who is in second with 45 wins. And Domenico Cecere is breathing right down Nickerson’s neck, only one behind him in third with 44 wins.

All of the above named racing participants will be in action to continue jockeying for their respective titles at Plainridge starting at 1 p.m. on Monday

Gretchen Athearn is having a career year and to this point, has posted lifetime highs for wins (64) and earnings ($914,665) in 2025, while boasting a sharp .316 UTR over her 355 starts this year.

And standing at the forefront of her stellar stable of high percentage earners stands Always Bstunning N, who has proven to be a generational talent that Athearn has masterfully brought along since importing her from New Zealand earlier this year.

Always Bstunning N made her North American debut at Plainridge in May and has raced exclusively in the Commonwealth ever since. In her 17 starts this year, she has won 10 races while finishing second four times and third once, and those performances have put $147,500 in the bank account of her owner, Richard Poillucci, who also owned another pacing mare most racegoers are familiar with, the great Shartin N.

Always Bstunning N took a lifetime mark of 1:49.3 at The Ridge in August, which was the fastest non-stake win time by a distaff pacer all year. Only the great Sylvia Hanover went faster when she set a new world record of 1:47.2 in the $100,000 Clara Barton Pace.

This year, Always Bstunning N is far and away the winningest and richest overnight competitor at Plainridge Park and those efforts place her almost peerless among the resident distaff class.

And as the weekly Open for the ladies did not fill this week, a new challenge lies ahead for Always Bstunning N as she steps up to the plate and takes on the boys in the featured race of the week, the $25,000 Open Handicap pace on Monday.

This is something that hasn’t happened at Plainridge in recent history at this level and with the high caliber of talent lining up for this event, this is a race no one will want to miss.

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

by Tim Bojarski, for Plainridge Park