CLARKSVILLE, Ohio – Farm houses, along with corn and soybean fields, dot the landscape as far as the eye can see as one drives north on Wilmington Road from I-71 just north of Clarksville. But four miles up the road from the interstate there is a break in the crops. To the left of the road rests several horse barns. To the right stands a half-mile practice track for Standardbreds.

Say hello to Hagemeyer Farms, a 160-acre, full-service boarding and breeding business for Standardbred enthusiasts, a farm that includes an impressive lineup of stallions, broodmares and long-legged babies with bright futures ahead of them.

“Crops have always been part of the equation, and still is today, but now crops are second to our boarding and breeding business,” said farm manager Scott Hagemeyer.

Seventy years ago, a pair of 200-foot long chicken houses stood along one side of Wilmington Road at this farm while fields of corn and soybeans lined the opposite side. The chicken houses have since been razed and the half-mile track replaced the crops.

Scott’s grandfather and family’s second-generation farmer, Maynard Hagemeyer, took over the family operations in Clarksville in 1947. Maynard had multiple ventures ongoing to keep the farm up and running, including excavating, pond building, running a feed mill in town, raising 6,000 chickens and selling their eggs.

In 1957, Maynard traded a few burrows for a stud pony and eventually for a Standardbred mare, Miss Windale. Miss Windale foaled some nice colts that propelled him further into harness racing. With that turn of fortune, Maynard built a half-mile exercise track where the corn and soybeans once stood. Also razed were the two chicken houses. Training and driving horses took center stage, and at his peak there were as many as 98 horses in training annually, including 30 yearlings. Maynard began breeding with his first stud, Billy Jo Byrd.

Maynard’s wife, Stella, helped manage the farm business and served 28 years as race secretary for the OCRA fair stakes. The two had four children: Mel, Fred, Della and Ted. All were involved in harness racing, either as grooms, trainers or drivers.

Mel retired in 2013 after serving as program director and general manager of Lebanon Raceway for 45 years.

Mel’s oldest son, Scott, is the current owner and manager of Hagemeyer Farms. Scott has been a groom, trainer, owner and breeder for more than 30 years. He has been on the board of directors of the Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association (OHHA) Board Breeders section since 2015.

Today, there are 77 horses roaming the premise, while several prominent pacing and trotting mares and stallions are stabled inside one of two barns. By May, Hagemeyer says there should be 120 horses on the grounds.

And the corn and soybeans? Yes, the Hagemeyers still tend to those crops.

While the Hagemeyers’ business has blossomed to a huge scale, others are discovering the profits of adding just a few race horses to their grounds and using the horses as their side business.

Dave Phipps and his brother, Don, train six of their own Standardbreds on their farm in Knox County. They also care for and train eight horses owned by other families. Dave, now 52, and Don, 48, have been at this business just eight years but have been farmers their entire lives. Fortunately, their wives and grown children help with the 116 acres of crops, which include corn, soybeans and wheat.

“Our father was looking for an additional source of income, something farm-related but not off the farm,” Dave said. “Eighteen years ago dad purchased two Standardbreds and had them racing at nearby Scioto Downs. That opened the doors for the family and allowed us to keep the crops as well. It’s certainly double the work, but rewarding, too.”

For both parties, harness racing has become an added source of income. Many are discovering that Ohio is a popular destination for Standardbred breeders and trainers.

“We have a lot of racing opportunities in Ohio that other states simply don’t have,” Hagemeyer said, “given there are roughly 470 live days of harness racing across Ohio’s four Standardbred pari-mutuel racetracks.”

The OHHA has about 35,000 members, with around 65 different venues for racing. The majority of those venues are county and independent fairs.

The Buckeye State has developed quite the nationwide reputation. Ohio is ranked No. 1 in the country for total number of Standardbred mares bred, Standardbred foals born and number of registered Standardbred owners. The state is home to more than 300,000 horses, with 70 percent in the racing and recreation sector.

Renee Mancino, executive director of the OHHA, says the state is also No. 1 for county fair harness racing. An impressive 67 of the state’s 88 counties offer country fair visitors the opportunity to watch these horses thunder down the track at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour.