Always B Naughty was the Breeders Crown champion in the Open Mare Pace, scoring three wins for Ohio with driver Austin Hanners (Frankfort), trainer Todd Luther (Commercial Point) and owner Greg Luther Racing (Blacklick). The 5 year old Always B Miki mare won by five lengths in 1:48.1, setting a new stakes record and giving Hanners, Todd Luther and Greg Luther their first-ever Breeders Crown titles. She finished 2025 with six wins and earned $289,583 in 23 starts. She has 18 career wins and earnings of $901,212.
Miki and Minnie, bred and partly owned by Bob Mondillo of Delaware, Ohio, scored a second straight Breeders Crown title in 2025, in the 3-year-old Filly Pace division in a dead heat with The Last Martini in 1:49.2. It was only the second time in the 41-year history of the Breeders Crown that there was a dead heat for the win.
The Always B Miki filly gave Mondillo his first Breeders Crown trophy in 2024, and she became the 57th horse and 27th pacer to win two Breeders Crown titles. She reached the board in all 15 starts in 2025, recording 13 wins with two seconds to go with $1,123,824 in earnings on her way to being named Dan Patch 3-Year-Old Filly Pacer of the Year by the US Harness Writers Association. She has been on the board in all 26 career starts with 19 wins and earnings of $1,957,910.
Sippinonsearoc was the only Ohio-bred male to win a Breeders Crown title in 2025, with three-year-old Colt Pace running a record of 1:47.3. The Down on the coast Colt has several connections to the Buckeye State. He was co-bred by Alesha Binkley (Lebanon) and is partly owned by RAS Racing (Powell) and Knox Services (Mt. Vernon). He reached the board in 12 of 15 starts in 2025, posting seven wins and earning $792,375. He has 13 career wins and $1,360,375 in earnings.
The Special Recognition Award recipients, honored for their contributions to the advancement of harness racing in Ohio, will be recognized at the Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association Annual Awards Banquet on January 10 at the Renaissance Columbus-Westerville in Westerville, Ohio.
By Wes Mayberry for the Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association
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