The battle lines are drawn between Ohio-connected Big Ranger and Endurance and New Jersey and Kentucky’s Apex. Among the favorites, the Midwest will be rooting for Ohio’s own Big Ranger and Endurance; the former is a son of the Buckeye State’s In Range while the latter is co-owned and trained there. Big Ranger, the 2025 Ohio Horse of the Year, was installed as the 2-1 morning-line favorite off an ultra-impressive clocking of 1:50 in his Hambletonian elimination last week. Under the tutelage of Lorentzon and her husband Tony Hall, Big Ranger raced twice at Scioto Downs in Ohio before heading to New Jersey. By virtue of winning his Hambletonian elim, Big Ranger was able to draw for a post between 1 and 6 and drew 4.