The entire landscape of the 3-year-old trotting world will change starting May 4 when 46 diagonally-gaited combatants will square off in the elimination round for the Grade 1 $500,000 Oak Grove Trotting Derby and Grade 1 $300,000 Oak Grove Trotting Oaks at the similarly-named southern Kentucky five-eighths Standardbred oval. While the modern route for the elite sophomore trotters has been regional Sire Stakes or a light diet of Meadowlands races prior to the Grade 1 $1,000,000 Hambletonian at the Meadowlands, the inaugural rich stakes offerings by Oak Grove Racing provide an alternate path where the goal could be far from singular. Grand Circuit winners, as well as Sire Stakes champions from multiple regions in 2025, are in the lineup for both Derby events, and a true clash of the regional titans will take place in the third $50,000 Oak Grove Trotting Derby elimination where Kentucky (Endurance), New York (AI) and Ohio (Big Ranger) titleholders will battle with four others for three spots in the $500,000 final on May 16. The ultimate proof will be in which horses survive the eliminations and make serious noise in the final, but at least going in Endurance is the top dog in the 14th race (third elim) and perhaps of the 19 entrants for the Oak Grove Trotting Derby. The Chris Beaver trainee posted an impressive six wins in eight starts while earning $557,450 in 2025 and will make his seasonal debut on Monday off a 1:53 4/5 qualifying victory at Spring Garden Ranch in Florida. "I was really happy with him. I had to run up that day and race in the Hackett eliminations [at Miami Valley], but I got him warmed up and then I left, and I was able to watch it on video. I thought he looked like he did it really easy, and I got the same impression from [driver] Andrew [McCarthy]," said Beaver, who had already trained the son of Captain Corey in 1:55. "I knew he was ready for a mile around 1:54, and I told him to go somewhere in that range because I didn't want to have to worry about qualifying him again when I got in Ohio." ► Get FREE Past Performances & Full-Card Analysis for Monday’s stakes card at Oak Grove Endurance, who will start from post two with McCarthy again in the bike for owners Super Endurance Stable, Bill Manes, Leo Fleming and Mark Moger, won his Kentucky Sire Stakes championship at The Red Mile and finished second in the Grade 1 Mohawk Million at Woodbine Mohawk Park last year. He was scheduled to be one of the favorites in the Breeders Crown when a coffin bone bruise sidelined him for the rest of the year. "I didn't like how the season ended, but that seems to be 100% healed," said Beaver before noting the physical changes in Endurance. "He grew bigger. He was big last year, but he grew even more and that surprised me, and filled out proportionally, You're always worried when you put one away and they're injured. But, I said when I started back, if he had any problems along the way, we wouldn't be racing in this first race. We'd wait for later on. And, he really gave me no problems at all. "I've had good trotters, I've had millionaires, but, this is the first horse I've had that could be the best in his category." Although Beaver feels his horse is ready to win not only the elimination but also the final, he did express concern about the ability of 2025 Ohio Sire Stakes champion Big Ranger. Owned by Madison Global and trained and driven by Ronnie Gillespie, the colt from hot Buckeye State stallion In Range was an unstoppable seven-of-seven in his freshman year while racing exclusively in his home state versus regional foes. Now he takes on Grand Circuit competition in a new location. "We really don't know what [Big Ranger is] capable of when he behaves himself because he hasn't been tested, really. But, I feel pretty comfortable with everything else that I'm racing against, and I'd be I'd be surprised if my horse isn't very competitive with a Big Ranger as well," said Beaver. Beaver was referring to not only Big Ranger's unblemished record, but the fact that the colt broke in his 2026 opener in the $75,000 Hackett final at Miami Valley on April 23. Sent off as the 2-5 favorite, Big Ranger made the miscue heading to the gate and never recovered from the bad experience while finishing distanced from the field. For his part, Gillespie said he was caught off guard by the poor behavior from Big Ranger. The colt hadn't made a break since July 12, 2025, and was perfect from post one in his April 3 return qualifier this year. "He just got really aggressive and for the first time ever swelled up so much that I couldn't hold him. I was going to choke him down [shut off his airway] or I was going to hit the gate. He hit the gate and that was what made him break," said Gillespie, who added popout ear plugs – something he used on the colt only once in the Ohio Sire Stakes final last year – for a qualifying start two days later at Winner's Circle Training Center and watched from the bike as Big Ranger cruised to an easy 1:53 win. "He was perfect. I didn't even pull the plugs." ► Get FREE Past Performances & Full-Card Analysis for Monday’s stakes card at Oak Grove Gillespie has a challenge ahead of him on Monday since he drew the outside post seven and has to make sure he finishes in the top three to qualify for the final. While some drivers or trainers might play it conservatively looking to get into the final with a late move, the 54-year-old driver clearly has a plan. "I have to [leave the gate hard]. I have to finish in the top three. I'm at least going to have to get away close up if possible," said Gillespie. "I'm just hoping they don't push him hard. If they do, a hole has to open up somewhere. If I get behind the right horse, like Endurance, I don't mind sitting on his back and trying it down the lane." Certainly the road to the front for Big Ranger will be complicated by New York Sire Stakes final winner AI. The son of Chapter Seven, who won five times and earned $395,073 in 2025, drew post six just to the inside of the Ohio champ. AI had a good run against New York competition but struggled to get more than minor rewards versus Open stakes competition last year. So far in 2026 he has qualified twice, the most recent of which was a very sharp 1:54 3/5 winning mile at the Meadowlands with Yannick Gingras in the bike for trainer Ron Burke and owners Burke Racing Stable, Hatfield Stable, Knox Services and Weaver Bruscemi. "He qualified really good," said Gingras. "He's a bit of an overachiever. I think he surprised everybody from training down and then qualifying. He's just one of those that gradually got better and better and better. "I think he's just a very nice horse that likes to do his work and sometimes it's half the battle. He's definitely not as talented as like Apex and those horses, but he tries really hard and he's got a great attitude." AI did his best work on smaller tracks in 2025 and Gingras said that perhaps the Oak Grove five-eighths oval might suit his horse perfectly. "He was racing good on a half and maybe the mile track didn't step him up quite as much. Like I said, he's maybe not as fast as some of the others, but I think he'll like the five-eighths a lot," said Gingras. "In the qualifier he came home in 27 and change and he did it really easy. I thought last year maybe he didn't have those quick bursts of speed. That's the thing I think he's going to have to have this year if he's going to take the next step. And so far I think he showed that." Whichever horses from the big three in race 14 make it through to the May 16 final, they will certainly have to meet stiff competition from the finalists in the other two eliminations. The first Oak Grove Trotting Derby event is race six, and 2025 Breeders Crown 2-year-old colt trot winner Spencer Hanover is the horse to beat from post three with Jason Bartlett back in his usual sulky spot. The Marcus Melander trainee is off a second-place finish in his most recent qualifier at the Meadowlands as he makes his pari-mutuel debut on Monday. Also in race six is Gingras with the best from Massachusetts in Sire Stakes champion Geologic (post five). The son of Captain Corey won that final by almost 20 lengths last year and has a string of three qualifiers for trainer Paul Kelley leading up to Monday's race. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter "He is a nice horse but it is hard to tell how nice because of the competition he faced last year. He won the Sire Stakes by 20 lengths because everyone broke," said Gingras. "He's got the ability but you could tell he needed to mature a bit into his big body. From what I've heard from Paul, he's really happy with how he came back. Even some people that sat behind him in Florida or seen him training have said he looked like a different horse than he was last year. So, I'm hoping he matured well and hopefully he has a good season." Indiana is also represented in the sixth race in the form of champion Premier Bluebird. Co-owned and trained by Zachary Miller, the son of Pilot Discretion leaves from post one with Kyle Wilfong driving. The middle Oak Grove Trotting Derby elimination could be a showcase for Silverstein. Although he had to settle for third in both the Kentucky Sire Stakes final and Mohawk Million, the Matt Burkholder-trained charge was as consistent as they come in 2025 with 11 in-the-money finishes in 12 starts. Silverstein will be the likely favorite from post two with David Miller listed to drive. The 15-race Oak Grove Monday card also features three $30,000 nine-horse eliminations for the inaugural $300,000 Oak Grove Trotting Oaks. Sire Stakes winners are also highlighted in this series and cluttered in one field (Race 13). Pennsylvania champ Ginger Tree Lex (post eight), Kentucky's best Country Glide (post one) and Ohio leader Setyoursightshigh (post four) are set to do battle. The other elims are races seven and 10. Two more added attractions on the Monday card, which gets underway at 1:10 P.M. (CDT), are seven $50,000 legs of the Kentucky Sire Stakes for 4-year-olds and a pair of carryovers. The late Pick 5 (Races 6-10) has a $2,762 carryover and $12,500 guaranteed pool, while the late Pick 4 (Races 11-14) offers $1,563 in added money and a $10,000 promised pool.