Battle of Lake Erie leads busy eekend

Harness Racing This Week: Battle of Lake Erie, Northfield Park, Northfield, Ohio; Graduate Series first leg, Meadowlands Racetrack, East Rutherford, N.J.; Currier & Ives, The Meadows, Washington, Pa.; Art Rooney elimination, Yonkers Raceway, Yonkers, N.Y.; and Miss Versatility first leg, Mohawk Racetrack, Campbellville, Ontario.

Schedule of events: A busy weekend of Grand Circuit racing will be highlighted by the $200,000 Battle of Lake Erie for older pacers on Saturday (May 21) at Northfield Park.

Also on Saturday, Meadowlands Racetrack will feature two $50,000 divisions of the first leg of the Graduate for 4-year-old trotters and a single $75,000 division in the Graduate for 4-year-old pacers.

The Meadows on Saturday will host a pair of divisions in the $116,304 Currier & Ives for 3-year-old male trotters and two divisions in the $70,500 Currier & Ives filly for 3-year-old female trotters.

Finally on Saturday, Yonkers Raceway will feature a single $40,000 elimination in the Art Rooney Pace for 3-year-olds. The top eight horses in the field of nine will advance to next week's final.

On Monday (May 23) Mohawk Racetrack will host two C$30,000 divisions in the opening leg of the Miss Versatility for older trotting mares.

Complete entries for the U.S. races are available at this link. The Mohawk races can be viewed at this link.

Last time: Rockin Ron and driver Yannick Gingras established a new track and Canadian record in winning the 38th edition of the $187,880 Confederation Cup on Sunday night (May 15) at Flamboro Downs. The streaking Ron Burke trainee held off reigning Horse of the Year Wiggle It Jiggleit, the 3-5 favored second tier starter, in 1:50.1 to set a new record for older pacers on a half-mile track.

Gingras left with Rockin Ron from post four as he indicated he would in a pre-race interview on the Flamboro Downs broadcast. Rockin In Heaven (Trevor Henry) also left from post seven and cleared to command heading to the first turn. However, Rockin Rock retook the lead into a :26.2 first quarter.

As the 4-5 second wagering choice led the field off the turn in front of the grandstand, his stablemate My Hero Ron (Matt Kakaley) tipped first over from fourth with Wiggle It Jiggleit (Montrell Teague) following his cover.

Rockin Ron raced past the half in :55.3 and headed to three-quarters in 1:23.3 while Teague fired Wiggle It Jiggleit three-wide down the backstretch to take over second place.

Wiggle It Jiggleit continued to chase the leader as they turned for home, but Rockin Ron maintained a one length advantage down the stretch as he sprinted home in :26.3 to score the 1:50.1 triumph, equaling his lifetime mark that he took at Miami Valley Raceway in his last start. Rodeo Romeo (Brett Miller) finished 2-1/2 lengths behind in third off a three-hole trip.

Rockin Rock has now won all 11 of his starts racing for the Burke stable, including 10 this year. The 4-year-old Real Desire gelding is owned by Burke Racing LLC, Weaver Bruscemi LLC and Rtc Stables Inc.

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

Grand Circuit Standings: In 2016, 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 Farm is the sponsor for the 2016 Grand Circuit awards.

Here are the leaders following the past weekend:

Drivers: 1. Jordan Stratton – 161.5; 2. Daniel Dube – 115; 3. George Brennan – 96; 4. Jason Bartlett – 90; 5. Tim Tetrick – 69.

Trainers: 1. Peter Tritton – 134.5; 2. Jeff Bamond Jr. – 128; 3. Ron Burke – 123; 4. Rene Allard – 120; 5. Richard Banca – 42.

Owners: 1. Harry von Knoblauch – 134.5; 2. Bamond Racing – 75; 3. Courant A B – 40; 4. Allard Racing – 39.55; 5. Durazzano Stable – 35.

Looking ahead: Grand Circuit action will take place next week at The Raceway at Western Fair District (Molson Pace for open pacers); Yonkers Raceway (Art Rooney final and Lismore for 3-year-old pacers); and Harrah's Philadelphia (Maxie Lee Memorial for open trotters, Dorothy Mullin Pace for open pacers, and Betsy Ross for pacing mares).

Paul Ramlow