Grand Circuit heads to Hoosier, Big M

Harness Racing This Week: Carl Erskine, Monument Circle, Crossroads of America and USS Indianapolis, Hoosier Park, Anderson, Ind.; and Kindergarten Series leg, The Meadowlands, East Rutherford, N.J.

Schedule of events: The Grand Circuit heads to Harrah’s Hoosier Park on Friday (Nov. 1) as the Indiana oval will host the $180,000 Monument Circle for 3-year-old colt pacers, the $175,000 Carl Erskine for 3-year-old open trotters, the $110,000 Crossroads of America for 3-year-old filly trotters and the $100,000 USS Indianapolis for 3-year-old filly pacers.

Then on Saturday (Nov. 2), The Meadowlands will host a leg of the Kindergarten Series for 2-year-olds of both sexes and gaits with each of seven races going for $20,000. There will be a single division in the filly pace and two divisions each in the filly trot, colt trot and colt pace.

Complete entries for the races are available at this link.

Last time: Twin B Joe Fresh and driver Dexter Dunn capped off the Breeders Crown weekend in style at the Meadowlands.

Dunn picked up his record-setting sixth driving victory of the weekend when he guided Twin B Joe Fresh to a 1:49 win in Saturday’s (Oct. 26) $400,000 Mare Pace, the last of 12 Breeders Crown events hosted by the Big M over the weekend.

Twin B Joe Fresh, harness racing’s No. 1-ranked horse, defeated Kobe’s Gigi by 1-3/4 lengths, missing the stakes record by one-fifth of a second. Sylvia Hanover was third.

The triumph was the fourth of the night for Dunn and followed his two-victory performance Friday. His six wins set the Breeders Crown record for the most driving wins in a year, breaking the previous record of five set by David Miller in 2015 at Woodbine Racetrack.

Dunn, a New Zealand native who moved to the U.S. in 2018, has won 21 Breeders Crowns since his debut in the series in 2019. His total is the eighth most in the 41-year history of the event.

“It’s a thrill,” Dunn said. “Not in my wildest dreams did I think that this weekend would happen when I moved over here. I’ve had so much support, so many good horses to drive. It’s just been a great ride.”

Dunn won Friday with 2-year-old female pacer Miki And Minnie and 2-year-old male trotter Maryland, then added Saturday wins with 3-year-old female pacer My Girl EJ, 3-year-old male pacer Mirage Hanover, 4-year-old male trotter Winner’s Bet, and Twin B Joe Fresh.

“I had a lot of great horses to drive this weekend, but it’s Breeders Crown, it’s not easy,” Dunn said. “It’s tough racing. You saw it tonight, there were a lot of tough miles. But the trainers had them ready and they performed.”

Twin B Joe Fresh, owned by a group that includes Dunn and trainer Chris Ryder, performed much like she has all season. The 4-year-old daughter of Roll With Joe-Fresh Breeze notched her 10th win of the season in 12 starts and upped her seasonal earnings to $827,062.

She came into the Breeders Crown final off a second-place finish from post 10 in her elimination last week but left no doubt about Saturday’s outcome after taking the lead at the half and opening a 3-1/2 length lead in the stretch.

“She felt so good tonight,” Dunn said. “Going to the gate, she was up on her tippy toes and that’s a sign she was ready to rock and roll. Coming around the last turn, she just felt so good. I called on her and she changed gears and sprinted off well.”

Twin B Joe Fresh opened this season with a second-place finish against male foes before reeling off nine consecutive victories heading into her Breeders Crown elim. With her triumph in the Breeders Crown, she has won seven of the eight richest races of the season for pacing mares, including the Roses Are Red, Dayton Distaff Derby, and Milton Stakes.

“I’ve been trying to take it one race at a time,” Ryder said. “Dexter has been looking after her, we really haven’t bottomed her out. Basically, we wanted to keep her good for this week. We had a hiccup last week, but we got over that. I was pretty sure she was a hundred percent tonight.”

In addition to Dunn and Ryder, Twin B Joe Fresh is owned by longtime Ryder assistant Peter Trebotica and Barry Spak.

“It means a lot,” said Ryder, who won two Breeders Crowns over the weekend. “It’s been very exciting all year. We started out the year and we were pretty confident with her. Then she started winning and kept winning and it’s just been fantastic. She’s got a lot of support. I just didn’t want to disappoint tonight. It’s a big relief for me.”

Bred by Brittany Farms, Twin B Joe Fresh has won 29 of 39 races and hit the board a total of 37 times. She has banked $2.26 million lifetime.

Sent off as the 1-9 favorite in the Mare Pace, she paid $2.10 to win.

Complete recaps of all the races are available at the Grand Circuit website. For a list of 2024 race winners on the Grand Circuit, click here.

Grand Circuit Standings: In 2024, 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 2024 Grand Circuit awards.

Here are the leaders (through the races on 10-26-24):

Drivers: 1. Dexter Dunn – 1,675; 2. Yannick Gingras – 951.5; 3. David Miller – 750; 4. Scott Zeron – 706; 5. Todd McCarthy – 633.

Trainers: 1. Ron Burke – 1,208; 2. Ake Svanstedt – 896; 3. Marcus Melander – 585; 4. Nancy Takter – 579; 5. Noel Daley – 399.

Owners: 1. Burke Racing Stable – 280.6; 2. Weaver Bruscemi – 227.5; 3. Determination – 227; 4. Ake Svanstedt Inc. – 198.8; 5. Caviart Farms – 150.8.

Looking ahead: Grand Circuit action will take place next week at Bally’s Dover and The Meadowlands. Dover will feature the Matron Stakes for 3-year-olds of both sexes and gaits and The Meadowlands will card eight Kindergarten Series finals for 2- and 3-year-olds of both sexes and gaits.

by Paul Ramlow, for the Grand Circuit