Bythemissal, Desperate Man lead stacked Battle of Lake Erie field

The 39th edition of the “War on the Shore,” the $200,000 Grade 2 Battle of Lake Erie at MGM Northfield Park, drew the who’s who in the sport of harness racing, with nine of the sport’s top older pacers taking center stage on Saturday (June 7).

“Top to bottom, this is one of the greatest fields to race in Northfield Park’s long standing stakes event,” said Director of Racing Dave Bianconi. “It is truly a wide open field, with all nine horses well deserving of an invitation.”

With over $2.4 million in career earnings, Bythemissal returns to the “Home of the Flying Turns,” a racetrack where he has had a lot of success throughout his career.

With victories in some of the sport’s top races including the Carl Milstein Memorial, the Little Brown Jug and the Breeders Crown, the nation’s leading trainer Ron Burke is looking forward to trying to add the Battle of Lake Erie to Bythemissal’s resume.

“Missal has won just about everything there is to win at Northfield Park, but this race has eluded him,” said Burke. “In the Auger last week, he really had to work hard to fight off Spring Inhis Step A and Mossdale Ben N. He showed he has the heart of a champion.”

After a lightly raced 5-year-old campaign in 2024, the Burke trainee is yet to miss the board in 2025, with a third-place finish in the $100,000 Pacey Mindlin Memorial at Miami Valley Gaming and with victories against Open company at Scioto Downs and the $100,000 Joe Auger Memorial at Harrah’s Philadelphia.

While the connections of Bythemissal are looking forward to Saturday, they know he will have a tall task in front of him.

“The Battle historically is one of the toughest races of the year, and this year is no different,” said Burke. “It is a loaded field, with some of the sport’s best. It’s going to be tough to win.”

In 2024, nothing went Desperate Man’s way, and that included the Battle of Lake Erie. Desperate Man made a miscue in the first turn causing him to go off stride, but the talented son sired by Shadow Play dug in late making up a lot of ground finishing third only beaten by three-quarters of a length.

Desperate Man rebounded nicely to finish the year with victories in the $100,000 Robert J. Kane Memorial at Batavia Downs Gaming and the $250,000 Aria Invitational at MGM Yonkers Raceway.

The talented field also features the $516,000 MGM Borgata Pacing Series champion Mossdale Ben N, who earned a spot in the field with his victory in the Grade 1 event at Yonkers Raceway.

Mossdale Ben N took a couple weeks off following that performance and followed it up with a third-place effort in the $100,000 Joe Auger Memorial at Harrah’s Philadelphia.

“I would’ve liked to be a little closer in the Auger,” said trainer Peter Tritton. “I wasn’t expecting much out of him in that race, but I was very happy with how it ended up.”

Tritton, who won the 2018 Battle of Lake Erie with Bit Of A Legend N, would love to win the storied event once again.

“We’d like to keep it in the family,” laughed Tritton, referring to his son Shane and daughter-in-law Lauren winning the 2023 edition with Lochinvar Art A.

“It would be amazing to win again. Bit Of A Legend N won from post five, the draw (also post five) fits Mossdale Ben N very well.”

Little Rocket Man will try to do what only Jaguar Spur (1988, 1989) and Peruvian Hanover (2002, 2003) have done and that is win the Battle of Lake Erie in back-to-back seasons.

While defending Battle of Lake Erie champion Little Rocket Man drew post eight in this year’s event, he has proven his ability to win from the outside. He came from out of the clouds in 2024, with a four-wide sweeping move around the final turn storming home to win by a half-length in 1:52.4.

Also competing in Saturday’s Battle of Lake Erie is local favorite and earner of over $769,000 Dunkin’, Breeders Crown and Little Brown Jug runner-up Seven Colors, Pennsylvania-based speedster Ken Hanover, $1.3 million earner Chase H Hanover, and New Zealand import Helium N.

Post time on Saturday is 6 p.m. (EDT).