2026 In The News

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Elphaba and Rick Magee overtake stablemate Too Much in the stretch for her first win in her first pari-mutuel start Sunday, Aug. 2 at Running Aces. Elphaba and Rick Magee turned in a wicked mile Sunday, August 2 to score their first win in the $5,000 Maiden conditioned event at Running Aces. It was the first race for the Indiana filly, who scored the victory in 1:56.3. Starting from post two, Elphaba was the heavy favorite, coming into her first pari-mutuel race off a Time Bar race in Wisconsin at the Mineral Point Matinee for Gabe Wand, who is part owner. She then transferred to the Quentin Schneider bar and won her qualifier in 1:58.3 by 13 lengths. Therefore, she was the tagged favorite of the field. Elphaba rallied out from the inside and got the first call out of the gate, but was quickly overtaken by Charlotto Jo and Nick Roland, who led the field through the quarter in :28.4. Too Much and Brady Jenson kept rolling on the outside of Elphaba. Charlotto Jo gapped off the inside slightly and Elphaba tried to move up the inside before Magee grabbed her up to keep her in place. Too Much finally got the lead heading into the second turn and passed by the half in :58.1. As the final turn approached, Elphaba was out and rolling, moving up to match strides with her stablemate Too Much in the final turn. At the head of the lane, the fillies fought off one another until Elphaba got the edge, moving out to a two and three-quarter length win at the wire with a final panel paced in :29.1. Too Much was second by a nose over Brandyoldfashioned and Casy Leonard. Elphaba paid $2.60 for the win. The Best in Show three-year-old is owned by Gabe Wand and Robert Wand and is part of the Quentin Schneider barn. She was bred by Nathan Miller of Middlebury, Ind. and was purchased by the Wands from the first crop of Best in Show under the name JN Wild Show at the Midwest Classic Mixed Sale for $6,500. She is a half sister to several solid racehorses, including Odds on Alpha Male, a winner in 1:50.3 with nearly $300,000 in earnings and still counting. Wand is very active on the Wisconsin harness racing circuit. He serves as a director for the state’s organization and has assisted with several youth events in that area. He has a small stable annually that races mainly on the Wisconsin fair circuit and the Chicago tracks and now at Running Aces. He has won several Driver of the Year titles in his home state and is the longtime packaging manager at Prairie Farms. He was also inducted into the Wisconsin Harness Horse Association Hall of Fame in 2021. He also serves as a director for his region with the U.S. Trotting Association. Wand is a big fan of Broadway and named the Indiana filly after a character in Wicked, played by Cynthia Erivo in the blockbuster movie.

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Dandy's Litl Bro and Atlee Bender slide by on the outside for the win in the final step, Friday, July 31 at Harrah's Hoosier Park. Photo by Dean Gillette  Dandy’s Litl Bro and Atlee Bender kept up the family tradition Friday, July 31 to close out the month of racing with a win in the $16,000 Indiana Sires Stakes eligibles event for two-year-old trotting colts and geldings. The youngster earned his first win in his fourth start in the event in a time of 1:57.1. Dandy’s Litl Bro was gapping off the gate at the start and slowly moved over to the inside, getting away next to last as Royal Rebuff and Marcus Miller moved out to take the early lead at the quarter in :29.0. Maxximillion and John DeLong moved out and to the lead before the half in :58.4 to keep the tempo brisk for the group of six freshman trotters. Heading into the final turn, Bender moved Dandy’s Litl Bro to the outside and was in third place on the outside before Royal Rebuff moved back out heading into the stretch. Dandy’s Litl Bro was widest of all and there were four horses across the track midway through the lane. Rollin Giannis and Trace Tetrick were between horses and also moving swiftly to the wire. Dandy’s Litl Bro got the edge in the last step, winning by a nose over Rollin Giannis. Maxximillion held his ground inside for third. Dandy’s Litl Bro paid $9.00 for the win. The Rebuff gelding is owned by Ervin Miller Stable and Red Barn Stable. Homestead Acres bred the two-year-old, who is trained by Erv Miller. He is a half brother to the standout three-year-old trotter Dan D Man Can, who picked up a new lifetime mark earlier this year of 1:52.4 and has more than $339,000 on his card and counting. Dandy’s Litl Bro sold as a ridgling last fall in the Midwest Standardbred Horse Sale under the name Melamaster. Bob Black signed the ticket for the horse for $13,000 and he joined the Erv Miller Stable, who also campaigns Dan D Man Can. So far, the older son of the mare Caramela Hanover is a perfect seven for seven for the Miller barn and scored his latest win the night before in Indiana Sires Stakes action. While the youngsters were in the spotlight, one older veteran scored a win on the Friday program with Shamwow and Trace Tetrick earning a gate to wire win in the upper conditioned pace. Trained by Walter Haynes Jr., Shamwow was a winner by four and a quarter lengths in 1:49.0, a final panel paced in :27.1. Howard Hughes N and Marcus Miller finished second with ER Rambo and Kevin Lambright rounding out the trifecta. Shamwow, now 10, paid $7.40 for the win. He is owned by Jeff Fought Racing and was a homebred for Fought from his Cornerstone Stock Farm. The Always a Virgin gelding now has 25 career wins and more than $538,000 on his card. He has paced under the 1:50 time barrier several times, but his win Friday was a new lifetime mark for the veteran.

Photo of Brookview Glider and Jordan Ross by Dean Gillette It’s been a big year for Brookview Farm as many of their horses have earned a lot of wins. One more of the horses from their farm has now stepped up his game as Brookview Glider and Jordan Ross turned into a flying machine Thursday, July 30 at Harrah’s Hoosier Park. Starting from post eight didn’t deter Brookview Glider from leaving the gate with speed, settling in third as King Tellit and Jay Cross held down the top spot through the quarter in :26.4. The field remained in single file through the half in :56.1 before the pace picked up in the final turn. King Tellit had a couple lengths on the field heading into the stretch. In the lane, Ross found the room he needed to scoot Brookview Glider out and advance, getting the to wire just in time for the win by a neck over King Tellit. Brookview Glider paced home in :26.2 for the win in 1:51.0, a new lifetime mark. Rock My Memory and LeWayne Miller finished third. Brookview Glider paid $48.80 for the win. The three-year-old son of Rockin Image is owned by Brian Code, James Nellinger, and Ernie Gaskin Stables. Gaskin trains the gelding, who now has four wins in 2026. After not winning as a two-year-old, he has come to life this year, earning more than half of his $80,000 bankroll. Gaskin signed the ticket for Brookview Glider at the Hoosier Classic Yearling Sale for $23,000. He is the first foal of the Captaintreacherous mare Significant Other, who raced in Pennsylvania before becoming a brood mare. She is a half sister to the tough racehorse Bettor Again, a winner in 1:48.2 with more than $350,000 in earnings. Earlier in the card, veteran trotter Meadowbrook Mark moved out in the lane and scored a victory in 1:55.0 in claiming action. The seven-year-old son of Dover Dan was driven to victory by Atlee Bender for Trainer Nikki Hauck. The gelding paid $9.40 for the win with Jailhouse Dance and Marcus Miller finishing second over Rock Party and John DeLong for third. Meadowbrook Mark is owned by Haucks Racing Stables and was bred by Karl Miller. He now has 16 career wins with his best time of 1:54.3 taken as a five-year-old. Overall, he has earned more than $140,000.

PHOTO - Kevin Detweiler guides Brookview Holiday to victory, one of eight wins on the card Wednesday, July 29 at the Fayette County Fairgrounds to sweep the day's races on the ISFC. There isn’t 100 percent certainty, but the number of drivers who have swept an entire racing program in horse racing history is pretty low. Kevin Detweiler did just that Wednesday, July 29 at the Fayette County Fairgrounds when he guided winners in all eight races. The program was postponed from the previous day due to weather and track conditions, but the 18-year-old Detweiler was ready for action when the program began in Connersville. Detweiler’s first win was his closest. Guiding two-year-old trotting filly Sassytemper, the duo went straight to the lead from the start, fending off Mike Peterson and Misty Springs in the final strides for the win by a neck in 2:05.4. Wizards Temptation and Robert Taylor finished third. Sassytemper, a daughter of Temporal Hanover, is owned and trained by Joseph Wagler. She was bred by Gary Miller. The win was her sixth in nine starts this year. She leads the way among freshman trotting fillies by points in the Quest for the Governor’s Cup. Detweiler’s next win was in the two-year-old colt and gelding trot as Brookview Holiday, also the leader on the ISFC this season, got back on track with a win. The Temporal Hanover gelding, also owned and trained by Wagler of Milroy, Ind., had to delay a push to the top with a second tier start. After getting away third, he rolled to the outside heading to the three-quarter pole and took over around the final turn, picking up the win by two and one-half lengths in 2:08.3 over the good track. Impel Dan and Robert Taylor finished second with Keep It Fifty and Travis Williams finishing third. Brookview Holiday, a product of Brookview Farms, has been driven by Detweiler in all of his starts. His quickest win was at Frankfort this summer in 2:04.1. Other wins on the card for Detweiler were Bests Swans Rocker in two-year-old colt/gelding trotting action, Rita’s Girl and Velgetthisstraight in three-year-old filly pacing action, and Vel Im Good, Vel Big Shocker, and Vel See You Later in three-year-old colt and gelding pacing action. Ironically, trainer Joseph Wagler won the first four races with Larry King winning the last four. This is the second year of driving for Detweiler, who hails from Milroy, Ind. He won 35 races last year from 237 starts mainly on the ISFC. He earned his first career pari-mutuel win earlier this year before the ISFC got underway. To date, Detweiler has 69 wins in 2026 with a tally of 104 career wins from 503 starts. This season has been a breakout year for the young driver as he’s batting .439 as a driver in 2026. The ISFC heads back to Converse next week for two straight days with racing set for Saturday, August 8 at Portland. One more stop is slated on the ISFC before the finalists in the Governor’s Cup Championships at the Indiana State Fair. All ISFC contenders are required to have seven starts to advance to the $25,000 Championships. The top eight will compete in the championships while the next eight will race in the $10,000 consolations.

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After experiencing her first loss in her last start on the Indiana Sired Fair Circuit, Bella Notte and trainer-driver Joe Putnam were back on track Monday, July 27 at the Fayette County Fairgrounds in Connersville, Ind. The freshman pacing filly kicked off the 12 th session of the ISFC with a win. Bella Notte began from post three in the six-filly lineup and Putnam took his time with the homebred filly. They got away in third but were gapping by several lengths off the top two with Velmissfoxyshooter and Clint Coy leading the way to the quarter in :30.0 followed closely by Kobe’s BB and Kevin Detweiler. As the field passed by the grandstand for the first time, Bella Notte had caught up to the leaders and moved to the outside at the half in 1:02.2. At this point, she challenged Velmissfoxyshooter on the outside for the remainder of the race. Velmissfoxyshooter was not going away quietly, but Bella Notte kept her composure and stayed focus through the final turn before finally taking over. Once on the lead, she pulled away for the win by two lengths in 2:01.3, a final quarter in :29.1. Kobe’s BB finished second over Velmissfoxyshooter. Bella Notte is now six for seven in her young career. The daughter of Capt Midnight is owned by Joey Putnam and Lyndar Stables. Lyndar Stables and Rocco Ruffolo bred the filly, who is out of Putnam’s race mare U’ll Learn, who was one of the first horses Joey Putnam drove when he began his driving career. The younger Putnam, who has driven her to four of her wins, was in Kentucky driving for the day, so Joe Putnam took the driving duties and is now two for two behind the filly. She retook control of the leaderboard headed to the Governor’s Cup Championships with 307 points. Her career best time of 1:59.0 was taken at Frankfort in early July. One of the closest finishes on the day was recorded in a division of the three-year-old trotting fillies as Strong ABC and Michael Detweiler fended off KC Macy and Kevin Detweiler at the finish line. Strong ABC led the field gate to wire in the win by a nose over KC Macy in 2:07.4. Bluebird Sappy and Mike Peterson finished third. Strong ABC is trained and leased by William Wagler. Darrell Swartzentruber bred the Strong Opponent three-year-old filly, who earned her second win of 2026. Michael Detweiler was a late driver change on the filly and he is now two for two on the ISFC with her this season. The ISFC is split into two locations Tuesday, July 28 with a return to the Fayette County Fairgrounds for action along with a second session scheduled for the Elkhart County Fairgrounds in Goshen, Ind. The Fayette County Fairgrounds has eight races slated with the Elkhart County Fairgrounds showcasing 12 on their card. Both programs begin at 11 a.m.