'A Huge Blessing'
Big Ranger Beats the Odds to be Named Ohio's 2025 Horse of the Year
By Wes Mayberry
When Big Ranger won the 2025 Ohio Sires Stakes Scarlet Championship to complete the Ohio Triple Crown, Ronnie Gillespie told everyone that the horse had beaten the odds.
“I say Big Ranger beat the odds because there was so much tragedy going on with me, and he had some things going on with him, and he still did what he did,” he said.
“So much tragedy” is an understatement to the losses Gillespie experienced as he began training and driving Big Ranger. But through it all, Gillespie persevered. The horse, meanwhile, delivered a dream season for his connections — seven starts, seven wins, an Ohio Triple Crown title, and earnings of $370,610. With such impressive stats, it was perhaps no surprise that he was named Ohio’s 2-Year-Old Colt Trotter of the Year.
“I thought he had a pretty good shot at being the 2-Year-Old Colt Trotter of the Year based on the season that he had,” said Anthony Miller.
Miller, the corresponding officer for Big Ranger ownership group Madison Global, was much less certain about his horse’s chances of being named Ohio Horse of the Year. But the son of In Range out of Big Blue Bird joined 3-Year-Old Filly Trotter of the Year Jailhouse Pearl and 3-Year-Old Colt Pacer of the Year Sippinonsearoc as a finalist for the top honor.
“I thought he might be in the mix, but to see him as a finalist was pretty amazing and unreal to me,” Miller said.
After the finalists were announced at the awards banquet, Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association Board President Scott Mogan opened the envelope containing the name of the night’s big winner and made the announcement…Big Ranger. Surprise? Not to Gillespie.
“They were all nervous, but I wasn’t,” Gillespie said, referencing the horse’s other connections during his acceptance speech. “The horse overcame a lot. He’s a tough horse.”
Big Ranger wasn’t the only one whose grit and determination led to that prestigious honor, however. Earlier that evening, Gillespie shared just how much he had overcome to be on that stage.
Tragedy & Triumph
Looking back on the 2025 season, Madison Global’s Wes Beachy knows none of it would have been possible without Gillespie.
“I can’t say enough to show my gratitude for Ronnie and everything he did and how he handled the whole season,” he said. “Everything that he’s been through, he’s just been a cornerstone for us. If we needed anything, he always had thoughtful answers. He did a phenomenal job.”
In accepting Big Ranger’s 2-Year-Old Colt Trotter of the Year award, Gillespie displayed raw emotion as he reflected on his personal journey. Before explaining to the crowd why he continues to say Big Ranger beat the odds, though, the Mississippi native set the mood with a little humor.
“I drove 12 hours in the rain to get here, so be patient with me,” he said.
Gillespie then told of how he lost his son to gun violence in 2020 and his daughter to a blood clot just two years later. It was around that time that he was driving Sugar Instead, who went on to be named the Ohio Horse of the Year in 2024 and has over $1 million in career earnings.
“People were saying that Sugar Instead was a once-in-a-lifetime horse and that I wouldn’t come across another horse that good,” Gillespie said. “I said, ‘Well, I must not be a good trainer then because there’s another one coming.’”
That confidence proved prescient. But tragedy struck yet again before he was able to truly devote his attention to Big Ranger. On Jan. 20, 2025, Gillespie’s brother passed away.
“That was a big blow because we were very close,” he said.
While still grieving, Gillespie got to work training Big Ranger. He was not impressed at first.
“He was a lazy horse, and I didn’t think much of him,” he said.
But it wasn’t long before he started to see Big Ranger’s true potential as a racehorse. A few months later, just as things were looking up for the colt, Gillespie received even more tragic news — his 19-year-old nephew, the son of his deceased brother, was killed in a four-wheeler accident.
With tragedy impacting so many loved ones in such a short time frame, it would have been understandable if Gilliespie had wanted to press pause on his professional duties. But he saw something special in Big Ranger and was excited for the horse’s freshman season. That excitement was well placed, as the colt won his first purse start, taking the Next Generation at Eldorado Scioto Downs on July 5 in a stakes and track record 1:54. He went on to win three legs of the Ohio Sires Stakes as well as the Ohio State Fair Stakes, Ohio Breeders Championship, and OSS Scarlet Championship to finish as the only horse to capture the Ohio Triple Crown in 2025. His season-best mark of 1:53.4 came in the Scarlet Championship at Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway on Sept. 27, setting a track record.
It wasn’t always smooth sailing, though, as Big Ranger was scratched from the second leg of the OSS on July 23 due to an abscess. He pushed through the adversity thanks to his calm, tough demeanor.
“Even if he wasn’t a hundred percent, it didn’t seem to bother him on the track,” Miller said.
That trademark toughness was evident at an early age, according to Senena Esty, of breeder Spring Haven Farm.
“I knew he was a special colt when he was about 3-and-a-half months old and one of the broodmares kicked him into the water tank,” she said. “We saw it from our living room window and ran out and rescued him from drowning.”
From surviving that early scare to being named the 2025 Ohio Horse of the Year, Big Ranger has certainly proven to be a special horse. Even weeks after the awards banquet, his owners were still in shock at all their good fortune.
“I’m really honored,” Miller said. “I never thought I would have a shot at having a Horse of the Year, so it was kind of a shock to me.”
Beachy agreed.
“It was amazing to be a part of it,” he said. “It was very surreal, especially with this being my first year of being involved in having horses on the track. I honestly felt quite undeserving.”
Madison Global purchased Big Ranger for $25,000 at the Ohio Selected Jug Sale in 2024 and have since been making memories that will last a lifetime. Both Miller and Beachy pointed to the Ohio Breeders Championship and the OSS Scarlet Championship as standout moments from 2025 and are grateful for everything they’ve experienced thus far.
“We received so many warm welcomes and congratulations this year, and it’s humbling,” Beachy said. “I’m just extremely thankful to be a part of it, and I hope that we can continue to support and help out this industry.”
As for what Big Ranger’s future holds, Miller is cautiously optimistic.
“You never know how they’re going to come back as 3-year-olds,” he said. “Hopefully he’ll be able to come back strong and lower his record by a couple seconds, but that remains to be seen. I think he definitely has the talent to do it, but we’re still a long way from there. So I guess we’ll find out when we get there.”
No matter what 2026 has in store, Beachy is unequivocal in describing the special impact the colt has already had on his connections.
“He’s a huge blessing,” he said. “He has connected a lot of deserving people.”
Gillespie is perhaps foremost among them.
“I can honestly say I’m the most happy for Ronnie,” Beachy said. “With where Ronnie has his sights set, this is a great horse for him to have in his barn.”
This story appeared in the February 2026 issue of The Buckeye Harness Horseman magazine.