Harness: Hank LeVan is furthering his family name in the Buckeye State

Haughton. Tetrick. Takter. These family names are nearly dynastic in our sport nationally. Here in Ohio we have Irvine, Miller and Hanners. One name that you don’t hear much about outside of the Buckeye State is LeVan. Their iconic family colors, maroon with a large white circle and a maroon script L on the back, may be the most easily recognizable in all of Ohio.

It started with Vic LeVan, who trained a few Standardbreds on his Woodstock, Ohio farm, which was better known for its cattle. He named the spread LeVanderosa after the ranch on the beloved TV show Bonanza. Vic’s son Herb LeVan was a fixture on the Ohio circuit for many years and campaigned the gritty Caramel Dumpling from ages 2 through 14. Louis LeVan followed in his footsteps and today Hank LeVan keeps up the tradition as a fourth-generation horseman. Although if you had asked him several years ago, he would not have thought so.

“It was an afterthought,” he said. “I grew up showing cattle and was very active in livestock judging. I attended Blackhawk East Junior College in Kewanee, IL and earned my Associates Degree and then got my degree from Western Illinois Macomb, both in Animal Science. I earned my Masters at the Ohio State University in Agricultural Education with a focus on Youth leadership. I coached the Ohio State Livestock Judging team and taught in the Ag science program.”

When young, Hank spent the summers going to the fairs with his grandpa Herb, where he would help out and maybe “warm one up once,” he recalled. “My first real interest level came before my junior year of college. It wasn’t a money thing, but that fall I purchased my first horse – a yearling.”

This year, 19 of the 35 horses in his barn are yearlings. There are eight 2-year-olds and the rest are older. As Hank points out, “Ask anybody who knows me, I don’t do real good just dabbling. It was four or five the first year; then eight, then 12-15. If you do all the work it would be unrealistic to not succeed.”

I interviewed him while he was making the five hour round-trip to race at Northfield, so yes, he definitely puts in the work.

“We built a 20-stall barn. Then, we added 15 more stalls this year and we are at 35. I don’t see us as having 100 horses, but that is up in the air. We’ll see what happens,” said LeVan. “It’s a good opportunity if you are willing to get out of bed and put the work in. I am young enough. I give every opportunity to my owners to succeed. We have 16 owners. We retain a piece of most of them, but we do have a few pay horses.”

Asked about his best horses, he mentioned Sandis Commando L immediately. The 6-year-old daughter of Break The Bank K has banked over $400,000 in her career. Megan and Rosemary LeVan share title with LeVan Stables and Max Perry. His 3-year-old pacing filly Legendary L qualified for both the Buckeye Stallion Series Final and the Ohio Fairs Final.

The Covid outbreak turned LeVan to training full-time, since Ag science involves a lot of hands- on, and with schooling being remote, he decided to take the plunge. 2025 has been Hank’s best year, with over 100 wins and a UDRS of over 300, both as a driver and trainer. He finished second in wins on the Ohio Fair circuit in both categories and his trainees banked over $800,000.

“I drive almost all of my own horses,” said LeVan.

On Saturday, October 4 he raced three at Northfield in the $75,000 Buckeye Stallion Series Finals and the next day was at Dayton for a noon first post to race 11 in the Montgomery County Fair stakes. The following Saturday he was at Northfield for the $50,000 Ohio Fair Finals where he raced six, with six more qualifying for the consolation finals.

LeVan is no Weaver Bruscemi or “Team Luther” when it comes to buying yearlings, even though he is buying a lot of them.

“I am looking at individual conformation and value. I spent between $6,000-21,000 this year. Pedigree is important, but we don’t pay $60,000-70,000. There’s a lot of nice ones between $10,000-20,000. I try to look at the big picture and say can I make this work,” he said. “We try the Sires Stakes, but we stake everywhere. You find a level that’s a good fit. Certain fairs we go to each year. Summertime, my life revolves around The Huff’s Guide. It’s open on the dining room table all the time. We typically stake to all Ohio Colt Racing Association Fairs and some Home Talent Fairs. Maybe a few Southern Valley circuit fairs. We need to with the number we want to be able to keep them all racing. It’s one reason we have as many as we do.”

LeVan is serving his first term on the Board of Directors of the Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association. He fittingly sits on the Fairs Committee and also is on the Banquet Committee.

“Steve Bateson approached me,” he explained. “He thought they could use some younger people on the board for a different perspective.”

He doesn’t do it alone. LeVan has six full-time employees and several part-timers, depending on the time of year. His wife, Megan, is the expert Huff’s Guide reader in the family. Soon their three kids – Perry, age 5; Scarlet, age 2; and Henry, age 1 – will be mucking stalls. Who knows which one will carry on the LeVan tradition?

“The kids have ponies. It will be up to the kids. All three have the horse bug. If they do decide to do it, I want them to be able to walk into something successful. No expectation, but if they want to that’s perfectly fine too,” said LeVan.

That’s it for this time. Now go cash. Maybe on a horse that ends with an “L”.