The calendar has yet to turn to June and North American harness racing already has its first two-year-olds of 2024 on the track.

Ten sets of two-year-olds made their career debuts in stakes action at the Washington County Fair in Lebanon, Kentucky on Saturday, May 25 in the Kentucky Proud Series, with each division carrying a purse of $12,329.

Thosesummernights was North America’s first two-year-old race winner of the season as the bay pacing filly overtook pacesetter Princess Vanessa in the stretch and drew off by 4-3/4 lengths before stopping the clock in 2:01.1. Geremy Bobbit drove the JK Endofanera-Badwintercoming filly, who was a $6,000 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale purchase for trainer/owner Rodney Debeck of Nicholasville, Kentucky.

The fastest two-year-old winner of the first set was on the trot as the bay filly Volstarita (pictured above) was much the best in a 17-length romp, timed in 2:00.3, for trainer/driver Ronnie Gillespie. The Volstead-Southwind Magic miss, who sold for $55,000 at the Ohio Selected Jug Sale with her family including double millionaire Southwind Frank, is owned by M3 Racing Stable of Berlin, Ohio.

During the Tuesday, May 28 qualifiers at The Meadows, Spring Haven Farm’s pacing colt Fasting sprinted seven lengths clear at the end of his first charted mile in 1:57.1 with a :28.3 final frame to top the morning’s two-year-olds in rein to Jeremy Indof. Mitchell York trains the $18,000 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale colt by Stay Hungry out of Rachel Welch, a half sister to Grand Circuit stakes winner Big McDeal.

(Standardbred Canada)