Plainville, MA — The 2025 live harness racing meeting at Plainridge Park is coming to a close with only eight days of action left this year, but the competition on the track is as fierce as ever.
For the second year in a row, drivers Brett Beckwith and Bruce Ranger top the list for sprint wins this race. In 2024, the pair finished in a statistical tie for first place with 166 wins each. As we head into the final two weeks of this season, that dynamic duo is once again tied for the lead with 136 wins each.
When Beckwith left to compete in the World Driving Championships in New Zealand on October 30, he had an impressive 15 victories over Ranger. But in the two weeks he was away, Ranger closed that gap in short order, and after posting a triple on the bike Friday, he moved back into a tie for first place, and last year’s battle to the finish has begun again.
If last year was any indication, these two will battle it out race by race until the final race of the meet.
The training title is also far from over with three perfect conditioners fully in the race.
Gretchen Athearn is the current leader with 49 wins, ahead of last year’s champion, Jimmy Nickerson, who is second with 45 wins. And Domenico Cecere is breathing down Nickerson’s neck, just one behind him in third place with 44 wins.
All of the above race participants will be in action on Monday from 1pm to continue jockeying for their respective titles in Plainridge.
Gretchen Athearn is having a career year, setting all-time highs for wins (64) and earnings ($914,665) so far in 2025, while boasting a sharp .316 UTR across her 355 starts this year.
And at the forefront of her stellar high-income stable is 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 been racing exclusively in the Commonwealth since. In her 17 starts this year, she has won 10 races while finishing second four times and third once, and those performances have brought $147,500 into the bank account of her owner, Richard Poillucci, who also owned another mare most racegoers know, the great Shartin N.
Always Bstunning N achieved a lifetime score of 1:49.3 at The Ridge in August, which was the fastest non-stakes winning time by a distaff pacer all year. Only the great Sylvia Hanover went faster as she set a new world record of 1:47.2 in the $100,000 Clara Barton Pace.
This year, Always Bstunning N is by far the winningest and richest competitor at Plainridge Park, and those efforts place her almost unrivaled in the distaff class.
And with the women’s weekly Open not full this week, a new challenge lies ahead for Always Bstunning N when she takes on the boys in the featured race of the week, the $25,000 Open Handicap pace on Monday.
This is something that has not happened at this level at Plainridge in recent history and with the great talent lined up for this event, this is a race no one will want to miss.
For full race results, click here: American trotting results.
Through Tim Boyarskifor Plainridge Park
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