Breeders Crown headlines Grand Circuit week

Harness Racing This Week: Breeders Crown eliminations, The Meadowlands, East Rutherford, N.J.; The Pegasus, Harrah’s Hoosier Park, Anderson, Ind.; and John Simpson Stakes, Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

Schedule of events: Breeders Crown eliminations at The Meadowlands will take place on Friday (Oct. 18) and Saturday (Oct. 19). Friday will see three $25,000 eliminations for 2-year-old filly trotters and two $25,000 eliminations each for 2-year-old male trotters, 2-year-old male pacers and 2-year-old filly pacers. Saturday features a single $25,000 Mare Pace elimination, and two $25,000 eliminations each for 3-year-old male pacers, 3-year-old filly pacers, 3-year-old male trotters, 3-year-old filly trotters, and older male pacers. The Open Trot and Mare Trot went straight to finals.

Also on Friday, Hoosier Park will host six Pegasus races for 3-year-olds of both sexes and gaits. There will be a single $42,000 division in the filly trot, a single $40,000 division in the colt trot, a pair of $25,000 divisions in the colt pace and two divisions (one for $20,300 and one for $20,000) in the filly pace.

Next Monday (Oct. 21) and Tuesday (Oct. 22), Pocono will host the John Simpson Stakes for 3-year-old filly pacers and trotters and 2-year-old colt pacers. Monday’s card will feature two $58,000 divisions in the 2-year-old colt pace and four $30,000 divisions in the 3-year-old filly trot. Tuesday’s card has a pair of divisions in the 3-year-old filly pace. The first division will go for $41,800 and the second division will go for $42,200.

Complete entries for all the races are available at this link.

Last time: There were no Grand Circuit races scheduled this past weekend.

Complete recaps of all the previous 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 10-7-24):

Drivers: 1. Dexter Dunn – 1,456; 2. Yannick Gingras – 919.5; 3. David Miller – 639; 4. Scott Zeron – 602; 5. Todd McCarthy – 536.

Trainers: 1. Ron Burke – 972; 2. Ake Svanstedt – 750; 3. Nancy Takter – 545; 4. Marcus Melander – 484; 5. Noel Daley – 352.

Owners: 1. Burke Racing Stable – 229.9; 2. Determination – 205; 3. Weaver Bruscemi – 182.4; 4. Ake Svanstedt Inc. – 146.3; 5. Hudson Standardbred Stable – 142.5.

Looking ahead: Grand Circuit action will take place next week at The Meadowlands, Harrah’s Hoosier Park and Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania. The Meadowlands will offer 12 Breeders Crown finals for 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds and older horses of both sexes and gaits, as well as the fourth leg of the Kindergarten Series for 2-year-olds of both sexes and gaits; Hoosier will host The Circle City for 3-year-olds of both sexes and gaits; and Pocono will card John Simpson Stakes for 2- and 3-year-olds of both sexes and gaits.

by Paul Ramlow, for the Grand Circuit