Zeron has ‘Bestfriend’ for Hambletonian Maturity

Harness racing driver Scott Zeron is uncertain how Saturday’s $425,000 E.T. Gerry Jr. Hambletonian Maturity for 4-year-old trotters will play out at The Meadowlands, with 12 horses going the extended distance of 1-1/8 miles, but he does feel good about one aspect of the race.

“I just know I have a very talented horse,” Zeron said.

Zeron will drive Bestfriend Volo (Walner– Bank Of Newport) for trainer Nancy Takter in the Maturity. The gelding has won five of seven races this season and 11 of 20 lifetime, good for $266,370 in purses. Zeron will be behind Bestfriend Volo for the first time in a race since winning a division of the Circle City last year, but qualified the horse in 1:51 last week at the Big M.

Bestfriend Volo, who joined Takter’s stable in July 2023, is owned by Takter, Christina Takter, 3 Brothers Stables, and Deja Blu. He hit the board once in his first three starts for his new connections, then reeled off nine wins, a second and a third in his next 11 races. His victories included a Kentucky Sire Stakes final at Cumberland Run last November and a Kentucky Sire Stakes final at Oak Grove in May.

“I drove him when Nancy acquired him, and he started getting better week by week,” said Zeron, who had five starts with Bestfriend Volo last season. “He was well managed toward the end of the year, staying at Cumberland and succeeding over there. This year, he just seems bigger and stronger. Last week’s qualifier was exceptional. He’s certainly sharp and he’s been prepped for this race.”

Bestfriend Volo will leave from post four in the Maturity and is 5-1 on the morning line. He is one of three Takter horses in the race, with 5-2 favorite Winner’s Bet and 9-2 Hasty Bid.

Winner’s Bet, who is undefeated in three starts this year and won the Graduate Series final last week in 1:50.4 at The Meadowlands, will leave from post 11 in the second tier with driver Dexter Dunn. Hasty Bid, who won two preliminary divisions of the Graduate, goes from post five with James MacDonald.

Special Way, one of two females in the field, is the 3-1 second choice after missing by a nose in last week’s Graduate final. She will leave from post seven with Tim Tetrick in the sulky for trainer Ake Svanstedt.

“I can’t speak much about how that race will go,” Zeron said. “With Winner’s Bet being a trailer, we’re going to have a little head start. It’s going to be about how the race unfolds and where I’m going to be sitting.”

Zeron will be busy Saturday night, with his 12 drives also including Dame Good Time in a $135,000 division of the Stanley Dancer Memorial for 3-year-old male trotters, Tactical Mounds in the $40,000 fourth leg of the Miss Versatility Series for older female trotters, and Captain Luke in the $650,000 Meadowlands Pace for 3-year-old pacers.

Dame Good Time, who won the Dr. Harry M. Zweig Memorial his last time out on July 4, has won three of five races this year for trainer Travis Alexander. Last year, he won a division of the Bluegrass Stakes and finished second to Karl in the Kentucky Sire Stakes Championship Series final. He is ranked No. 6 in Meadowlands announcer/analyst Ken Warkentin’s Road to the Hambletonian. Karl, the 1-5 favorite in Dame Good Time’s Dancer division, is No. 1.

“I liked (Dame Good Time) a lot last year, but he was a little temperamental, interfered a little bit,” said Zeron, who has been the gelding’s regular driver. “Coming back this year, he’s grown up, been stronger, nicer to handle. Last year, if I started him up, he wouldn’t slow down for me. This year, he’s just like a little racecar.

“He definitely flew under the radar, but he showed his ability last week in the Zweig.”

Dame Good Time, a son of Chapter Seven-Dame Du Lac, is the 6-1 second choice in his Dancer division, the first of two splits for the boys. T C I is the 6-5 favorite in the second group, which also includes Goodtimes Stakes winner Highland Kismet at 8-5.

In the six-mare Miss Versatility, Tactical Mounds is the 7-2 second choice behind 3-5 favorite M-M’s Dream. Tactical Mounds finished third in the Six Pack Stakes on June 29 at the Big M while M-M’s Dream was second behind winner Jiggy Jog S.

Tactical Mounds, a 4-year-old daughter of Tactical Landing-Mounds, has won four of nine races this year for trainer Megan Scran, including a previous round of the Miss Versatility, and 13 of 36 in her career.

“She’s coming into it great,” Zeron said. “She’s been exceptional her last few starts, so we have a lot of forward momentum. It looks like M-M’s Dream, as usual, is our top competition in there.

“(Tactical Mounds) has a little better gate speed now, which has really been helping us get in the races where we’re not giving up too many lengths turning for home. That’s helped the most. She’s really nice to handle, does everything right, and she’s got a big set of lungs.”

In the Meadowlands Pace, Zeron and Captain Luke will leave from post eight after a fourth-place finish in their elimination last week. He is 15-1 on the morning line.

Captain Luke also started from post eight in his elim, when Zeron had the son of Captaintreacherous-Bodacious Hanover in front in a :25.4 opening quarter but was seventh by the time the field reached three-quarters.

“I kind of got the ‘Meadowlands Shuffle,’ to say the least,” Zeron said with a laugh. “At the half I was thinking what was even the point of going up front, but he certainly finished strong. I think he’s coming into it great. It’s just going to be about positioning and how he feels on that given day. There’s no pressure because he’s well underestimated.”

Racing begins at 6:20 p.m. (EDT) at The Meadowlands. For free TrackMaster programs for the Big M, click here.

Post time for the Meadowlands Pace, which is race 11 on the program, is 10:43 p.m. The race will air on Fox Sports 2 (FS2) as part of a show beginning at 8 p.m.

by Ken Weingartner, for the USTA