There are horses who have careers that burn bright and there are horses who have careers that burn long. And then, there is that horse that stands out among the rest and does both. For seven straight years, every year of his racing career to date, Big Box Hanover has had one of those careers that burn bright and long, earning over $100,000 every single season. Bred by Hanover Shoe Farms Inc., the 9-year-old gelded son of Uncle Peter and the Donerail mare Box Of Dreams was foaled in Hanover, PA. In 2018, he was sold through the Ohio Select Sale for $13,000 and trainer Dalton Walls handled the conditioning for his first 17 months of racing. As a 2-year-old, Big Box Hanover had just seven starts, yielding over $140,000 including a second-place finish in the Ohio Sire Stakes Final for 2-year-old colts and geldings. The following year, Big Box Hanover competed in a range of classes from trying his hand in conditioned trots to the Buckeye Stallion Series to the Ohio Fair Stakes, leading to just over $100,000 banked as a sophomore. In October 2020, Keith Kash Jr. took over the training of Big Box Hanover until the end of July 2021 when Shane Tritton was his conditioner. He earned just shy of $120,000 during his 4-year-old campaign in 2021. In November of that year, Big Box Hanover moved to Larry Stalbaum’s barn in Saratoga Springs, New York and that became his forever home, where he would become a stable star. Becoming a stable star in the Stalbaum barn is no easy feat. Stalbaum, a veteran reinsman and trainer, has over 1,500 training wins and nearly $9 million earned. The past three seasons, Stalbaum’s students have reined in over $1 million each year. He has a healthy lineup of trotters and pacers, with Rocknroll Runa A [9; 145: 40-23-18; $799,929], Mr Huggins [4; 46: 8-13-8; $138,407], Blazing Home N [7; 72: 22-13-6; $332,042], and SS Superstar [5; 57: 17-6-9; $140,550] among the group. “He’s unbelievable,” Stalbaum said of Big Box Hanover. “I thought he was done earlier [in 2025]. He had a couple hiccups and then he came back as good as ever. He’s just phenomenal. Everyone that has ever had him has loved him. If there’s ever a horse that deserves something written up about him to say how unbelievable he is, it’s him. He’s not the soundest horse in the world and he just keeps overcoming everything every year.” Big Box Hanover wasted little time becoming comfortable in his new home. Piloted by Stalbaum, he excelled over his $100,000 mark competing in the Open at Saratoga. “I love all my horses to death but he’s one of my favorite horses in the world,” Stalbaum explained. “He can do anything you want him to do. He can leave, he can come from behind. He likes being up in the hunt more than dragging off the gate, but still he’ll do anything. He is such a great horse. I’ve had many great horses, but if there’s ever a horse, if I’m never going to race again and I want a horse just to hang out with, it would be him. “He has so much personality and he loves me to death. I yell his name and he talks right back to me. He knows me. He’s just a special, special horse.” Big Box Hanover stands tall and proud with a sleek and shiny brown coat complete with an unmistakable white blaze and a pair of white ankles behind. On the track, he wears the trademark Stalbaum uniform with a white bridle and buxton to compliment his blaze. In the barn, Big Box reserves the first stall, as most barn favorites do. “He’s in the first stall as soon as you walk in the barn. He has a window that he hangs his head out. When I walk up every morning, I yell out his name and he just starts talking,” Stalbaum said. “He always talks to me. When we’re in the paddock, like at Plainridge, I’ll yell his name. Even if he can’t see me, I could be clear across the paddock and yell his name and he’ll start nickering.” In 2023, Stalbaum shipped a few more starts to Plainridge than the previous year with Big Box Hanover and he showed up, winning the $25,000 Open Trot on one of those occasions. The majority of his 6-year-old campaign’s starts, though, were home at Saratoga, where he tallied up half-a-dozen wins in the top class and overall produced his fifth straight year over $100,000 earned. In 2024, Big Box Hanover had a career year with over $143,000 earned. Besides his ongoing and climbing record, Big Box Hanover showed up in a way that Stalbaum didn’t realize he had needed, when, in the fall of 2024, Stalbaum was involved in a near-fatal accident at Saratoga, one that sidelined and hospitalized him for months. While Stalbaum was recovering from numerous broken bones and internal injuries, Big Box Hanover continued to race and provide therapy in a way. “It was extra special last year because after Larry’s accident, he won three Open Trots at Plainridge. It was like he knew,” Larry’s girlfriend and Big Box’s caretaker Brittany said. When Stalbaum was released from the hospital, his first stop was his barn to see his horses. The first horse he walked up to was Big Box Hanover, who was excited to see his friend back again as captured in an emotional video. Big Box Hanover and Stalbaum both came back in 2025 even stronger. Stalbaum piloted about half of his 38 starts and the then 8-year-old gelding finished the year with a record of 9-6-5 and $146,875 earned. He also took his career mark of 1:52 3/5 at Plainridge in the Open Trot. “When he’s brave, it’s unbelievable what he can do. When Big Box Hanover gets beat, he gets mad. He wants to fight. He wants to race. I know him so well. “If there’s ever a horse that can make over $100,000 every year until he’s 14, it’s him. He takes such good care of himself. He doesn’t take a lot of work. He’s had a lot of issues in his life and he’s overcome all of them. He’s just phenomenal. If he was ever a 100% sound horse, I never would have been able to own him, he’d have millions of dollars earned. He’s a total freak and he’s just such a great horse.” If there’s ever a horse that has a career that burns bright and burns long, it’s Big Box Hanover.