The 2026 Miami Valley race meet came to a close on Saturday afternoon, highlighted by eight divisions, two of each sex/gait, of 3-year-old Ohio Sires Stakes and the $100,000 Grade 3 Pacey Mindlin Memorial Invitational. The final two Opens of the meet were also contested and swept by Aaron Merriman with Meadows invaders Timeisonmyside (trained by Tim Twaddle) and Lou Grant (trained by Rick Hercules). Timeisonmyside used a quarter-pole move to brush to the front and never looked back, winning the Open II in 1:50 1/5. In the Open I, Merriman used the exact same move with Lou Grant to take the final Open of 2026 in 1:50 4/5.  The first of two divisions of the Ohio Sires Stakes for filly trotters went to the Nancy Takter-trained Godusa. Before the wings of the gate folded, Godusa's main two rivals in the race, Charlies Moni and Speedbewithyou, both went off-stride. With the main challengers erased, David Miller was able to place Godusa into a pocket trip. He pulled Godusa just before three- quarters and battled around the final turn before Godusa away in the stretch to win by 2 1/4 lengths in 1:55 4/5. Sarah's Mission was second with Seven Lick Range coming home third.  In the second division for that group, Faster Horses found herself in a familiar position for Merriman - on the front and in control throughout. The only hiccup was having to navigate two geese that found themselves on the rail and four-path in the middle of the backstretch during the third quarter. Merriman and the rest of the skilled drivers expertly navigated the geese obstacle course without any trouble as Faster Horses went on to win by a length and a quarter in a lifetime-best of 1:55 4/5. Ranger Rosie was second, while Rose Run Brooke rounded out the trifecta.  In the first division of filly pacers, Merriman had Vanna By The River (trained by Cory Stratton) on the front and in control, but late, she had to hold off a host of closers as challengers were coming at her from all sides. She held on, though, defeating a hard-charging Rodeo Dancer by a nose a two others by a head and neck in winning in a lifetime mark of 1:53 4/5. She'safirewoman finished third. It was just Vanna By The River's second lifetime win.   The other race for filly pacers saw Tyler Smith and 26-1 longshot Sassy By The Sea (trained by Herman Hagerman) sit fourth, patiently waiting and saving ground. Around the final turn, she popped out and got shot out of a cannon to cruise by everyone in the stretch and win by a measured length in a lifetime-best of 1:52 1/5. Seaside Charm was second and Kb Wrecking Ball, last week's Hackett winner, finished third. Sassy By The Sea is now two-for-two in 2026.  Rose Run Banker (trained by Ron Burke) and Chris Page settled in third in the first grouping for trotting colts and geldings and used the cover provided by David Miller and Grape Crush to draft along for three-quarters before eventually popping out in the stretch and going right on by to win by a length and a quarter in a new lifetime mark of 1:53 3/5. Grape Crush held second while Water Slide ended up third. Rose Run Banker is now three-for-three on the year after sweeping the Hackett Memorial elim and final.  Chris Lems and heavy favorite Tom Largo (trained by Scott Cox) would go coast-to-coast in the other test for colt and gelding trotters without ever being challenged and cruised home a winner by three lengths in 1:54 4/5. Max The Mighty was second and Rose Run Boom was third. Last year's Ohio Sires Stakes runner-up and Buckeye Stallion Series champion, Tom Largo looks to take aim at the top series in 2026.  ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter Trevor Smith and Pet Project (trained by Kim Dailey) would work out a perfect pocket trip behind Backninebar and Chris Page in the opening division for pacing colts and geldings before they popped out on the exit of the final turn to slowly reel in Backninebar and beat him by a neck in the final strides in 1:53 1/5. Fire Run rallied up for third. It was the fifth lifetime win in just ten starts for Pet Project.  Austin Hanners and Prolific Blend (trained by Todd Luther) would draft along in the pocket behind Hackett Memorial winner Crocodile Station through a stiff half of 54 3/5 in the other colt and gelding pace showdown. After Yacht Rock tired from his first-over journey, Prolific Blend popped out of the two-hole at the top of the stretch and blew right on by Crocodile Station to win by three lengths in 1:51 2/5. Caillou Hanover would finish third. It was the third lifetime win for Prolific Blend.  Last but certainly not least, The $100,000 Pacey "The Wizard" Mindlin Memorial Invitational closed out the card. The star- studded field of 10 pacers included Ardens Ace N, a regular Open winner from Hoosier Park, Lou Hill, on a two-race win streak from the winners over at Pocono, Carbine, a regular at MVG and last week's Open winner, Prince Hal Hanover, a millionaire and last year's Milstein and Adios winner and Meadowlands Pace runner-up who was making his 4-year-old debut, Surreal Ideal, defending a 12-race win streak, For Once Inmy Life, coming in on a four race win streak with back-to-back wins in the Plainridge Open, Little Rocket Man, a multi-millionaire and last year's defending champion; Charlie May, another multi-millionaire and MVG regular, Bythemissal, a multi-millionaire and too many to name Grade 1 stakes winner and Oakwood Heymiki Ir, an Irish import and multi-time Open winner at MVG.  As the wings of the Mike Woebkenberg starting gate folded, Lou Hill would be fastest of all, crossing over quickly to take early command on the way to the 26 3/5 quarter. Carbine would slide in behind him with Ardens Ace N in third. Up on the outside, Prince Hal Hanover sat patiently waiting for things to settle and then pressed on around the turn towards the front as the quarter. Meanwhile, Surreal Ideal would get away in fifth with For Once Inmy Life sixth. Little Rocket Man would be parked out in seventh, Oakwood Heymiki Ir inside eighth, Charlie May parked out ninth and Bythemissal in last.  Prince Hal Hanover continued to press on and cleared for the lead passing the grandstands for the first time. As they neared the half, Ardens Ace N was flushed out first-over by Surreal Ideal with the still parked-out Little Rocket Man and Charlie May on his back. Prince Hal Hanover would lead them past a half in 54 1/5. As they turned up the backside, Prince Hal Hanover continued to show the way with Lou Hill in second. Ardens Ace N slowly closed in from third with Carbine to his inside and Surreal Ideal perfectly placed second-over. The order remained the same as they passed three-quarters in 1:22 1/5.  Around the final turn, Prince Hal Hanover still had the lead with Lou Hill waiting for racing room in second. Ardens Ace N started to fade as the first-over trip took its toll, and Surreal Ideal flipped three-wide to begin his attack and quest for 13 in-a-row. At the top of the stretch, Prince Hal Hanover led by a length while Lou Hill angled out of the pocket and Surreal Ideal kept on closing from the outside. In deep stretch, Prince Hal Hanover continued to defend his lead while Lou Hill just kept getting closer.  At the wire, Prince Hal Hanover held on by a neck to win in 1:50 1/5. Lou Hill was a game second while Surreal Ideal, his win streak snapped, held to finish third. For the Dr. Ian Moore trained Prince Hal Hanover, it was his 11th lifetime win in 32 starts. Merriman led all drivers on the closing card with five wins. Leading driver David Miller would make three trips to the winner's circle.  Speaking of the leading driver, David Miller (161) returned home and won his first Miami Valley title, defeating Chris Page (153) by eight wins. During the meet, Miller became the all-time winningest driver by wins and earnings as he continues to add to that record. The rest of the top ten in order were: Brett Miller (117), Luke Hanners (115), Tyler Smith (93), Trace Tetrick (79), Trevor Smith (77), Kayne Kauffman (51), Austin Hanners (48) and Jeremy Smith (33).  Ron Burke (79) won the trainers' title by 29 wins over Virgil Morgan, Jr (50). The rest of the top ten in order were: Heather France (48), Steve Carter (43), Mike Hitchcock (35), Adam Short (22), Anette Lorentzon & Deb Swartz (20), Ken Rucker & Antonia Storer (19).  The 2026 Miami Valley meet has come to an end, and we want to thank every owner, trainer, driver, and groom who participated and helped make it a successful meet. We also want to thank the tireless staff for all their support and dedication, working every day and night to make sure we can put on these top tier races. Thank you to the fans for watching and betting and we'll see everyone in 2027! --press release (Miami Valley)--