SUNBURY ON THAMES, England (AP) — Former Premier League manager Harry Redknapp was celebrating Friday after his horse The Jukebox Man raced to victory at the King George VI Chase at Kempton Park.
Priced at 7-1, The Jukebox Man, trained by Ben Pauling and ridden by Ben Jones, was called a nose in front of second-place finisher Banbridge after a photo finish.
“That’s a dream and to have a horse that good is unbelievable. I love the game, to come here on King George day and just run made me so proud, but to have the winner is special," said Redknapp, a former FA Cup-winning manager. “What a race he has run and he jumped unbelievable."
The Jukebox Man was behind pacesetter Il Est Francais for much of the race and took the lead before the final bend.
Four horses had the chance win at the final fence, including last year's winner Banbridge, Gaelic Warrior and Jango Baie.
“It really is the moment where you score the winning goal in the cup final with a minute to go," Pauling said. "It’s as tight as it gets and I had no idea how we got on. The cameras thought he won, but I didn’t want to believe it until I heard that tannoy. It’s something very special and Harry has been an exceptional owner for me and we’ve always had a huge amount of luck. I’ve always had huge faith in this horse and so has Harry as well."
Redknapp managed Premier League clubs including West Ham, Portsmouth and Tottenham during a long career. He won the FA Cup as manager of Portsmouth in 2008.
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Harry Redknapp, left, and Sandra Harris celebrate after their horse The Jukebox Man won the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase ridden by Jockey Ben Jones during day one of the Ladbrokes Christmas Festival at Kempton Park Racecourse, Sunbury-on-Thames, England, Friday Dec. 26, 2025. (John Walton/PA via AP)
The Jukebox Man ridden by Ben Jones, centre, on their way to winning the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase during day one of the Ladbrokes Christmas Festival at Kempton Park Racecourse, Sunbury-on-Thames, England, Friday Dec. 26, 2025. (John Walton/PA via AP)
Ben Jones, right, celebrates with Harry Redknapp after The Jukebox Man wins the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase during day one of the Ladbrokes Christmas Festival at Kempton Park Racecourse, Sunbury-on-Thames, England, Friday Dec. 26, 2025. (John Walton/PA via AP)
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Republican Vivek Ramaswamy has spent his campaign for Ohio governor focused on November's general election and finally gets the chance Tuesday to put the long primary season behind him, as the Trump-endorsed biotech entrepreneur positions for an expensive run against Dr. Amy Acton, the former state health director.
Contests on the ballots also will set the stage for Ohio's third competitive U.S. Senate race in the last four years, as well as a handful of U.S. House races that are expected to be closely fought in the fall.
Every statewide executive office is open this year due to term limits, but the governor's race has captured the bulk of the attention so far.
Ramaswamy, a 2024 GOP primary presidential candidate, swept onto the state's political scene early last year as a mad shuffle was taking place. Then-Sen. JD Vance was ascending to the vice presidency and front-running gubernatorial candidate Jon Husted was being appointed to replace him in Washington.
That opened a window of opportunity at the top of Republicans' statewide ticket.
Though he is a newcomer in state politics, Ramaswamy's national profile, tech industry connections and proximity to Trump landed him the Ohio Republican Party's endorsement. With it, he cleared a prospective field that included the sitting state attorney general, state treasurer and lieutenant governor.
But Democrats also saw opportunity with the open governors seat, even as the state, a former bellwether, has tipped convincingly toward Republicans during the Trump era. The president’s lagging approval ratings on the economy and dissatisfaction over the war in Iran are contributing to a competitive contest.
Acton, a physician and public health expert, emerged as their choice. She became a household name across Ohio in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic as she stood alongside Republican Gov. Mike DeWine during daily coronavirus broadcasts. Her comforting presence during the crisis made her a beloved figure with many Ohioans.
But the administration's aggressive actions — including shuttering businesses, closing schools and canceling an election — also earned Acton plenty of enemies and made her the occasional target of people upset about pandemic policies, with some armed protesters showing up outside her home.
Ramaswamy's campaign has sought to capitalize on the lingering anger over pandemic restrictions with attacks on Acton's role early in the crisis. Ramaswamy was advising the lieutenant governor at the time — Husted — on virus-related economic issues and he founded a company that profited off its role developing vaccines.
Acton is unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Ramaswamy faces a long-shot challenge from Casey Putsch. The engineer and car designer is a YouTube provocateur who has trolled Ramaswamy incessantly over his Indian heritage and Hindu faith and painted him as an out-of-touch billionaire “tech bro.”
Husted is unopposed in the GOP primary for Senate, a special election to fill the remainder of the six-year Senate term Vance won in 2022. Husted's likely opponent will be Democrat Sherrod Brown, a former three-term senator who lost a reelection bid against Republican Bernie Moreno in 2024, a contest where spending hit $500 million. Brown faces a minor primary challenge from first-time candidate Ron Kincaid.
Early voting began April 7 under some new election laws, including citizenship checks and elimination of the four-day grace period for receiving mailed ballots. There have been no reports so far of any widespread problems for voters related to the changes.
In the wake of a new round of redistricting that slightly favored Republicans, the state also has numerous partisan congressional primaries.
The most heated GOP primary is in the Toledo area’s 9th District for the chance to take on Democratic U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, the longest-serving woman in Congress.
The five-way contest includes former state Rep. Derek Merrin, whom Kaptur defeated by less than a percentage point in 2024, as well as an Air National Guard veteran, a healthcare industry worker, a sitting state representative and the former deputy director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Madison Sheahan.
In Democratic U.S. Rep. Greg Landsman's Cincinnati-area district, which his party considers a “must-hold,” the three-way Republican primary includes Eric Conroy, a CIA and Air Force veteran who has been endorsed by Trump, Vance and Moreno.
Landsman also faces a primary challenge from Damon Lynch IV, the grandson of a prominent civil rights leader. Lynch has criticized Landsman for his initial vote against a war powers resolution on the war in Iran, which Landsman later followed up with a favorable vote.
In the Akron area's 13th District, five Republicans including business owner Neil Patel, a 2022 U.S. Senate candidate, are vying for the opportunity to face Democratic U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes.
As a Trump-backed national effort to remake congressional maps in Republicans' favor was underway, Ohio Democrats took a could-have-been-worse approach and passed the map they were given unanimously.
Now party candidates are crowding congressional primaries across the state for the chance to take on sitting Republican representatives, who hold 10 of Ohio's 15 seats.
The newly redrawn 7th District in the Cleveland area has attracted eight Democrats hoping to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Max Miller, a former senior Trump adviser, in November. Among them is former Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, the Democratic nominee for governor in 2014.
In northeast Ohio's 14th District, former state Supreme Court Justice William O'Neill is among three Democrats seeking to take on Republican U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce. Joyce also has two primary challengers.
Meanwhile six Democrats are on the ballot in the Dayton-area 10th District of Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Turner. There are seven in GOP U.S. Rep. Michael Rulli's 6th District along the Ohio River and five in the 5th District of Republican U.S. Rep. Bob Latta.
Former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown speaks during a campaign event ahead of primary elections at the Paladin Brewery in Austintown, Ohio, Thursday, April, 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Phil Long)
FILE - Amy Acton, Democratic candidate for Governor of Ohio, gestures as she speaks with a reporter in Columbus, Ohio April 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
Republican Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks to supporters before the Warren County Republicans Lincoln Day Dinner at the Great Wolf Lodge in Mason, Ohio, Friday, April 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
