Ranger Steck proves high school teacher wrong by making a career in harness racing

by Chris Lomon

It was a day that kept on getting better with each mile traveled.

When he set out to sit in the sulky on the final card of the Fayette County Fair in Washington Court House, OH, Ranger Steck was already enjoying the ride.

“The day started off great,” Steck said. “One of my family’s good friends, Lee Davenport, took me to the racetrack because my parents were busy that day. We had a good time heading down there. I knew that my first win would eventually come, but I had no idea that this day would be the one where it would happen.”

But that is exactly what was in store for the young reinsman on July 9 when he contested the Terry Holton Youth Driving Series pace.

At the controls of Big Bad Whamo, an 8-year-old son of Big Bad John out of the Village Jolt mare Another Wild Woman, Steck took to the track for the seventh race of the afternoon.

It was then that he first got a sense of what was to come.

“We went out on the track and warmed up, and the horse felt great,” Steck said. “We had switched headpoles on the inside because the horse was drifting in a bit.”

Leaving from the outside post 5, the newly equipped Big Bad Whamo, second choice on the tote board at 9-5, got away second.

Soon after the start, Steck, son of respected standardbred horseman Ron Steck, heard something he had not anticipated.

“Everybody knows my dad and my family, so when I came around the first turn, everyone was cheering and hollering at me,” Ranger said.

Those cheers would soon grow louder.

“If you watch the video, I was half-in and half-out, but once I got to the backside, I took him out of there and popped out of the 2-hole,” Ranger said. “As soon as I started turning him loose, I thought, ‘This is going to happen!’”

And it did.

At the wire, Big Bad Whamo, trained by Robert Brooks, and Ranger were 1¼ lengths clear of their closest rival. The final time was 2:00.2, the fastest mile of the day.

When the pair came back for the winner’s circle photo, a large welcome party was waiting for them.

“It was nice to have so many people there, some who I had never even met before,” Ranger said. “But they knew my dad. So, it was nice just having people having my back and supporting me. It was a good feeling. They wanted me to be successful. The win was nice, but the best part was to see the number of supporters I had.

“Driving home, getting the phone calls and texts – it was just awesome. It was so fulfilling. As a kid, I knew that driving was something I wanted to do, but I was never totally sure until I crossed the wire in front for the first time. I was ecstatic.”

Ranger, who drove in one race in 2024, has a mark of 4-4-3 from 21 starts this year.

His most recent win came in September, again with Big Bad Whamo, but this time trained by Ron Steck.

“Every day, my dad teaches something new,” the younger Steck said. “He is a big part of what I do. My mom, sister and dad inspire me every day and are always there for me. I would not be here if it weren’t for them.”

Others motivated Ranger, too, albeit in a much different way.

During his high school days, one assignment posed the question, “What do you want to do for a career?”

“Some kids told me that I would never make it in life if I chose horses as my career,” Ranger said. “I actually had a teacher in high school tell me that it wasn’t a career. We had a careers class, and we were asked to write about what we wanted to do when we were older. I wrote that I wanted to be a harness driver and he failed me, telling me that it wasn’t a career.”

His family told Ranger the opposite.

“My family were the ones who always told me I could be great, that I could succeed regardless of what other people think,” he said. “I am very grateful to have a loving and supportive family. Without them, I don’t know where I would be in this business.”

A naturally-gifted athlete — he excels on the basketball court and golf course — Ranger learned early on that horse racing is a completely different animal.

“I played basketball and golf in high school,” he said. “I never golfed until my freshman year and ended up being the No. 2 golfer on the team. Sometimes you think that you can pick something up quickly and do well, but in this horse business, it is different. You are going to fail or not meet expectations on certain days, but that only helps you.”

And it certainly has.

Where he began in 2025 and where he finds himself today feels much longer than it actually is.

Ranger sees that as a huge plus.

“At the beginning of the year, I was starting to get the hang of it,” he said. “I was jogging the babies — I broke a lot of them with my dad last year and we’re doing it again this year — and learning a lot. I thought when I came into the business that I was going to be an underdog. But I learned that if you go out there and try your best and have an open mind, you can find success. We all make mistakes. If you do make one, you learn from it and move on. You are not going to know everything. You have to fail and bounce back from those moments.

“You can get frustrated with yourself and ask, ‘What could I have done differently?’ but you need a short memory. You can’t let things bother you. If you get parked or mess up, you have to let it go.”

Ranger also kept the promise he made to himself at the beginning of the year.

“I tried to set my goals,” he said. “My main one was that no matter what happened, I wanted to be respectful. I want to be known — whether I win or come in last — as the same person. I want to be humble. That was the main thing I wanted – keeping myself grounded.”

He will lean on the same formula for 2026.

Ranger’s main objective for the new year is to earn his pari-mutuel driver’s license, something he is close to earning.

He intends to put it to good use.

“I would love to get my first pari-mutuel win in 2026,” he said. “That’s the big one. I love driving at the fairs – it is amazing. But I would love to have a big pari-mutuel year.”

For now, Ranger will continue to navigate a happy existence inside and outside of the barn.

“My girlfriend and I do a lot of things together,” he said. “My buddies live out of state, in Kentucky, so I like going to see them. I go there a lot. I snowboard in the wintertime. Other than that, I’m at the barn.”

Enjoying the good life, one that has many more miles to come.