Grand Circuit action this weekend

Harness Racing This Week: Graduate Series finals, Meadowlands Pace elimination, W. N. Reynolds Memorial, and Kindergarten Series, Meadowlands Racetrack, East Rutherford, N.J.; and Lawrence B. Sheppard eliminations, Yonkers Raceway, Yonkers, N.Y.

Schedule of events: Grand Circuit races will be contested this Friday (July 7) and Saturday (July 8) at the Meadowlands.

On Friday the Meadowlands will host two $10,000 divisions in the first leg of the Kindergarten Series for 2-year-old colt trotters and two $10,000 divisions in the first leg of the Kindergarten Series for 2-year-old filly trotters.

The stakes heavy Saturday card features the $240,000 Graduate Series finals for 4-year-old pacers and trotters; a single $50,000 Meadowlands Pace elimination for 3-year-olds; and the $41,880 W.N. Reynolds Memorial for 3-year-old filly trotters.

Also on Saturday, Yonkers Raceway will feature three $25,000 eliminations in the Lawrence B. Sheppard for 2-year-old colt and gelding pacers.

Complete entries for the races are available at this link.

Last time: This past weekend's Grand Circuit action was highlighted by four lucrative events on the Sun Stakes Saturday (July 1) program at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.

After losing for the first time this season in last week's Max C. Hempt Memorial eliminations for 3-year-old male pacers, Fear The Dragon was right back to winning form in Saturday's final, capturing the $500,000 event by three-quarters of a length over Funknwaffles in 1:49.3. Donttellmeagain finished third and Miso Fast was fourth.

Fear The Dragon has won seven of eight races this year, including the Pepsi North America Cup, and earned $711,953 for owner Bruce Trogdon's Emerald Highlands Farm. Last year, the colt won five of 11 races, hitting the board a total of 10 times, and earned $228,391.

Devious Man sneaked his way along the inside of the stretch after a pocket trip behind favorite Long Tom and won Saturday's $500,000 Earl Beal Jr. Memorial for 3-year-old trotters by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:52.4. Long Tom finished second and Ariana G, the first filly to ever compete in the Beal, was third after racing first over from prior to the half-mile point.

Devious Man, owned by Stroy Inc. and the Andy Miller Stable, and trained by Julie Miller, has won four of five races this year and earned $403,410. His wins this season also include the Empire Breeders Championship. He was second by a head in his Beal elimination.

For his career, the son of stallion Credit Winner out of the mare Miss Garland, has won 11 of 17 and earned $711,643. He was last season's New York Sire Stakes champion for 2-year-old male trotters.

French-Canadian driver Simon Allard, who knew the late Herve Filion well, paid tribute to his early idol after winning the $500,000 Ben Franklin Pacing Championship with Keystone Velocity in 1:49.1. He stood in the sulky a la Herve and Hot Hitter, then unzipped his colors to show a Superman T-shirt underneath on Saturday.

Keystone Velocity, the 2016 Pocono Horse of the Year, certainly raced like a Superhorse in the Franklin, quarter-moving in front of favorite Mel Mara then letting that one go to sit on his back. Through the stretch, Keystone Velocity went to the Pocono Pike and inch by inch gained on the chalk. He went past in the last few yards and won by a head.

Keystone Velocity now has a career bankroll of $1,158,971, with Rene Allard handling the training for Allard Racing Inc., Kapildeo Singh, Earl Hill Jr., and VIP Internet Stable.

Agent Q and driver David Miller made a sustained first-over drive pay off in Saturday's $300,000 James M. Lynch Memorial for 3-year-old female pacers, taking the lead coming off the final turn and pulling away from the field in the stretch to win by three lengths in 1:51. Caviart Ally, a 196-1 longshot, finished second and 14-1 Brazuca was third.

Agent Q, a daughter of Western Terror out of the mare Teenage Paige, has won four of seven races this year and earned $297,931. It was her first win in an open stakes final after second-place finishes in this year's Fan Hanover Stakes and Lismore Pace and last year's Breeders Crown and She's A Great Lady. The setbacks in the Fan Hanover and Breeders Crown were both by a nose.

For her career, Agent Q has won seven of 17 races, finished second nine times, and earned $736,635. She is owned by Martin Scharf, Rochetti Cassar Racing, and Robert Muscara. She is trained by Aaron Lambert.

Complete recaps of the weekend races are available at the Grand Circuit website.

Grand Circuit Standings: In 2017, the Grand Circuit leaders in three categories (driver, trainer and owner) will once again be tracked on a points system (20-10-5 for the top three finishers in divisions/finals and 10-5-2 for the top three finishers in eliminations/legs). Winbak Farms is the sponsor for the 2017 Grand Circuit awards.

Here are the leaders through and including the races on July 1.

Drivers: 1. Yannick Gingras – 288; 2. David Miller – 248; 3. Tim Tetrick – 174; 4. Matt Kakaley – 160; 5. Jason Bartlett – 150.

Trainers: 1. Ron Burke – 317; 2. Rene Allard – 159; 3. Peter Tritton – 132; 4. Brian Brown – 110; 5. Jimmy Takter – 91.

Owners: 1. Harry von Knoblauch Stable – 103.5; 2. Burke Racing Stable – 69.1; 3. J&T Silva Stables – 67.2; 4. Weaver Bruscemi – 57; 5. Emerald Highlands Farm – 55.

Looking ahead: Grand Circuit action will again be taking place next weekend at The Meadowlands and Yonkers Raceway. The July 14 Big M program will feature the opening leg of the Kindergarten Series for freshman pacers, while the massive July 15 Meadowlands card will offer the Meadowlands Pace final, the William Haughton Memorial, the Hambletonian Maturity, the Stanley Dancer Trot, the Del Miller Memorial, the Mistletoe Shalee, the Golden Girls and a leg of the Miss Versatilty. Yonkers will host the Lawrence B. Sheppard final for 2-year-old pacing colts, also on July 15.

Paul Ramlow

Grand Circuit Publicity Director