A thrilling night of stakes harness racing action lit up the track at Ocean Downs on Monday, June 30, as the Maryland Sire Stakes Program presented Preliminary Leg No. 1 for three-year-old colts and geldings. With top-tier trotters and pacers featured in Races 1, 2, and 5, the evening was filled with speed, determination, and a historic performance that set the tone for the summer series.

The first stakes event of the night delivered a milestone moment, as Yall Keep Dreaming (Yall Beneath Me), driven by Johnathan Ahle and trained and bred by Richard Hans, trotted gate-to-wire in a dazzling 1:54.3, setting both a stakes and track record for three-year-old gelding trotters at Ocean Downs. Remarkably, Yall Keep Dreaming’s performance eclipsed the previous Maryland Sire Stakes record by a full two seconds, a mark previously held by EI EI O—a horse also owned, trained, and bred by the same connections. The son of Yall Beneath Me dominated from start to finish, pulling away by more than 20 lengths through fractions of 27.3, 55.3, and 1:24.2 while cruising to a fashionable victory. Swervingmervin and Roan Ridge followed in second and third, respectively, but the spotlight belonged to Yall Keep Dreaming, whose name now tops the record books in both stakes and track history.

Later in the evening, the first pacing division brought a dramatic showdown as Hungry Cougar, a gelding by Cougar Hall out of Lady Drama, dug in to win by a head over Don’t Say Maybe, stopping the timer in 1:57.3. Trained by Christopher Offutt and owned and bred by Joseph and Karen Offutt, Hungry Cougar set the pace through fractions of 28.0, 58.1, and 1:28.0 before fending off late pressure with a final quarter of 29.3. More Medhurst closed gamely to finish just a length behind the winner in third, pacing in 1:57.4 with a sharp 28.4 last quarter.

In the final Maryland Sire Stakes division of the night, Brooksforreal, driven by Jared Moyer, took command early and never relinquished the lead, pacing to a 1:56.4 victory and notching his 14th consecutive win. The son of Rusty’s For Real, recently acquired by CT Stables LLC for a six-figure sum via OnGait, is now trained by Ronald Short. Despite facing a strong challenge from Rusty’s Lancelot, who finished just a neck behind, Brooksforreal dug in gamely under urging to hold his ground. Classic Cougar also delivered a solid performance to round out the top three.

These three divisions marked Preliminary Leg No. 1 of the Maryland Sire Stakes series for three-year-old colts and geldings. All horses are eligible to return next Monday evening, July 7, 2025, for Leg No. 2 as the competition continues to build toward the championship finals later this summer on Wednesday, July 16th. The entry box for Leg No. 2 closes on Thursday, July 3 at 9 am.

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

From Ocean Downs