Breeders Crown finals top Grand Circuit weekend

Harness Racing This Week: Breeders Crown finals and The Pegasus, Harrah’s Hoosier Park, Anderson, Ind. and Kindergarten Classic Series leg, The Meadowlands, East Rutherford, N.J.

Schedule of events: Breeders Crown finals at Hoosier will take place on Friday (Oct. 27) and Saturday (Oct. 28). Friday will feature the $700,000 finals for 2-year-olds of both sexes and gaits. Saturday features the $672,000 3-year-old colt trot, $600,000 3-year-old filly trot, $600,000 3-year-old colt pace, $600,000 3-year-old filly pace, $600,000 Open Trot, $600,000 Open Pace, $400,000 Open Mare Pace and $400,000 Open Mare Trot.

Also on Friday, Hoosier will have $60,000 Pegasus events for 3-year-old filly pacers and trotters and on Saturday, $60,000 Pegasus events for 3-year-old colt pacers and trotters.

The Meadowlands on Friday 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 colt trot, two divisions in the filly trot and three divisions in the colt pace.

Complete entries for the races are available at this link.

Last time: Confederate continued his winning ways, racing from off the pace and soaring past rivals in the late stages to capture the first of three $25,000 Breeders Crown eliminations for 3-year-old colt and gelding pacers at Harrah’s Hoosier Park on Saturday (Oct. 21). Driven by Tim Tetrick, Confederate posted a 1:49.4 mile in outsprinting a gutsy Stockade Seelster to the wire with Huntinthelastdolar third across the wire.

Tetrick left for position early but was content as Doug McNair and Huntinthelastdolar moved to the front in the early stages ahead of Buzzsaw Russ. Huntinthelastdolar hit the quarter in :26.3 but felt immediate pressure from Stockade Seelster with David Miller as that pair remained parked from the outset and assumed command well before the :54.4 half-mile was reached.

Stockade Seelster slowed the pace a bit during the third quarter and that prompted Tetrick to get a move on with the 1-20 favorite and Confederate moved with purpose to get near the leaders before three-quarters were completed. McNair also saw the opportunity to tackle the leader with Huntinthelastdolar and pulled the pocket briefly forcing Confederate a little wider in early stretch. With three-quarters timed in 1:23.2 the field went into full sprint mode and Confederate was widest of all with Tetrick urging him sufficiently in deep stretch to get his attention and prompt him to pass the leaders. Stockade Seelster was resolute in his fight with the remainder and held off Huntinthelastdolar as those two were eye-to-eye through the homestretch.

Owned and bred by Diamond Creek Farm, Confederate, now a winner in 11 of 12 starts this year, is trained by Brett Pelling. As the heavy chalk Confederate paid the minimum $2.10 to win.

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

For Breeders Crown free race programs, click here.

by Paul Ramlow, for The Grand Circuit