BACK FOR MORE — Hit Show is shown winning the 2024 West Virginia Governor’s Stakes. - Coady Media

Hit Show, winner of multiple graded stakes since he captured the then-Grade III West Virginia Governor’s Stakes one year ago, is scheduled to return for the 2025 edition of the $200,000 race for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/16 miles Sunday at Mountaineer Casino, Resort & Races.

The Governor’s Stakes joins the $400,000 Grade III West Virginia Derby on a nine-race program that begins at 5 p.m. Probable post for the Governor’s Stakes is 7:40 p.m., with the Derby to follow at 8:15 p.m.

The 2025 Governor’s Stakes was the first of three consecutive graded-stakes victories for Hit Show, a 5-year-old Candy Ride horse trained by Brad Cox for Wathnan Racing, which owns the winner of more than $7.1 million. He was sold by his breeders, Gary and Mary West, after his Mountaineer victory.

Hit Show then won the Grade II Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs in September and the Grade II Fayette Stakes at Keeneland in October. In January, he captured the Grade III Louisiana Stakes at Fair Grounds and then finished third in the Grade I Santa Anita Derby.

When his connections decided to take a gamble and ship Hit Show to the United Arab Emirates for the $12 million Dubai World Cup in April, they were hoping for a safe trip and a piece of the purse. They ended up with a $6.96 million first-place payday.

Hit Show drew post 8 in a nine-horse field in the Governor’s Stakes and will be ridden by Florent Geroux, who was aboard at Mountaineer last year and for Hit Show’s four graded-stakes scores since then.

Heroic Move, who just missed winning the Grade III Cornhusker Handicap at Prairie Meadows in Iowa in his last start, finished a half-length behind Hit Show in the 2024 Governor’s Stakes. Trained by Robertino Diodoro for Arnold Bennewith, Rick Weist, Clayton Weist, Lana Weist, Randy Howg, R6 Stables, Gary Kropp and Norman Tremblay, Heroic Move has the outside post in Sunday’s race and will be ridden by Harry Hernandez.

Not This Boy, who finished second beaten a neck in the 2024 Ellis Park Derby in Kentucky and has three wins and three seconds in six career starts, drew post 1 in the Governor’s Stakes and will be ridden by Luis Saez, who is named aboard probable favorite East Avenue in the West Virginia Derby. The 4-year-old Not This Time gelding trained by Doug Cowans for Zimmer Ridge Ranch easily won a 1 1/16-mile allowance at Churchill in his last start.

Admission tickets for Aug. 3 are required for attendance and are available online at the Mountaineer website, at the Mountaineer gift shop, or at the gate the day of the event. Food trucks will be available beginning at 2 p.m., and there will be live entertainment from 2:30-4 p.m.