Two divisions of the Bruce Nickells H.O.F. Pace for fillies and mares were the featured event on the Friday, Oct. 2 program at Harrah’s Hoosier Park. A new invader into Indiana was a strong winner in the second division as Brooke’s Ocean and Brandon Bates rallied home for the win in 1:52.3. With an outside […]
Indiana horses score on Hawthorne’s closing card
It might have been Hawthorne’s closing weekend filled with Illinois stakes but it was Indiana connections that earned a lot of wins on the three-night weekend. Driver Kyle Wilfong collected five wins on the closing night card Sunday, Sept. 20 and nine over the three-day closing weekend. One of his biggest wins on the final […]
Family Recipe cooks up Sires Stakes win
Family Recipe and trainer-driver LeWayne Miller had all the right ingredients for an upset win in Indiana Sires Stakes action at Harrah’s Hoosier Park Friday, Aug. 21. The sophomore son of Always a Virgin scored the fastest of two divisions on the card, winning in a new career best time of 1:49.4. Family Recipe drew […]
Brandon Bates scores win 1,000
Brandon Bates earned win number 1,000 Sunday, July 26 at Hawthorne Racecourse. Bates guided Fox Valley Extacy to victory in the evening’s seventh race, a division of the $15,000 Beulah Dygert Champions Series for Illinois three-year-old filly trotters. Bates got Fox Valley Extacy out of the gate quickly from the center of the track and […]
Island of the Sea making waves
Island of the Sea is quickly establishing himself as one of the top three-year-old colts and geldings in Indiana this season. The Always a Virgin gelding rolled home to a convincing win Friday, June 26 at Harrah’s Hoosier Park, stopping the timer in 1:50.4 in the first division of the $20,000 Star Destroyer. Driven by […]
Trio of Indiana horses kick off Hawthorne program with wins
Hawthorne Racecourse hosted it’s second program of 2020 Sunday, June 7 with three Indiana sired horses winning the first three races. Sweet Sally Sue and Clifton Bell kicked off the night with a win followed by Pine Dream and Brandon Bates in the second and Americanboy and Travis Seekman to sweep the early races. Trained […]
The premium speed of Priceless
Priceless, the uber-fast freshman from Indiana, appears to be ready for another stellar season. The three-year-old daughter of Rockin Image rocked her first qualifier of the year Friday, June 5 at Harrah’s Hoosier Park. Driven by trainer Brandon Bates, Priceless left the gate with just enough speed to get to the inside path behind Comaneci […]
Dolenski living out dream in racing
John Dolenski has been a longtime fan of Standardbred racing. He was a frequent visitor to Harrah’s Hoosier Park where he would stand trackside during the races. That position eventually led to a job in the business and now he is thriving as a groom for the Brandon Bates Stable. “I first met John outside […]
Priceless prepping for 2020
Priceless, Indiana’s top two-year-old pacing filly of 2020, is back on track in Indiana. The Rockin Image filly spent 100 days turned out in warmer weather, spending the winter in Hawkinsville, Ga. After coming back and starting out the year under trainer Jeff Edwards at the Hawkinsville Training Center, Priceless shipped home to Indiana April […]
Priceless ranked among top five heading into 2020
It was an invaluable season for Priceless in 2019. The Rockin Image filly won seven of 11 starts, earned in excess of $347,000, and took a career best time of 1:50.2, the third fastest for the sophomore class heading into 2020. As a result, Priceless is among the top five fillies for this season highlighted […]