Grand Circuit action all week long

Harness Racing This Week: Dan Patch Invitational, Harrah’s Hoosier Park, Anderson, Ind.; Carl Milstein Memorial, MGM Northfield Park, Northfield, Ohio; Fox Stake, the Ralph Wilfong, the Horseman Stakes and the Hoosier Stakes, Indiana State Fair, Indianapolis, Ind.; and Gold Cup and Saucer trials, Red Shores Racetrack & Casino, Charlottetown, PEI.

Schedule of events: An extremely busy week of Grand Circuit action kicks off this Wednesday (Aug. 9) as The Indiana State Fair will host one day of Grand Circuit racing with the feature being the $50,780 Fox Stake for 2-year-old colt pacers. The co-featured event is the $42,679 Ralph Wilfong for 2-year-old colt trotters. The Hoosier Stakes for 2-year-olds will see two divisions in the $26,000 2-year-old colt trot and single divisions in the $26,697 2-year-old filly pace, the $23,196 2-year-old filly trot and the $21,857 2-year-old colt pace. The Horseman Stakes for 3-year-olds features single divisions in the $32,913 3-year-old colt trot, the $32,803 3-year-old filly trot, the $31,280 3-year-old colt pace, and the $29,217 3-year-old filly pace.

Friday night (Aug. 11) at Hoosier Park will feature the $300,000 Dan Patch Invitational for older pacing horses.

On Saturday (Aug. 12), Northfield Park will host the $300,000 Carl Milstein Memorial for 3-year-old pacers. Also on Saturday, Red Shores Racetrack & Casino will host two of three trials for the Gold Cup and Saucer for older pacers. The third trial will be held on Monday (Aug. 14).

Complete entries for the U.S. races are available here. Entries for the Red Shores Racetrack & Casino races are available here.

Last Time: The future of trotting is in the very capable hands of Scott Zeron and Nancy Takter. Both reached significant milestones Saturday (Aug. 5) as Tactical Approach won the $1 million Hambletonian at The Meadowlands.

Zeron, at the still tender age of 34, posted his third driving victory in the trotting classic. Takter, 42, took a major step in carrying on the family’s storied tradition with her first Hambletonian training win.

For Zeron, the post position draw removed all the pressure when Tactical Approach got post 10, the least advantageous starting spot, in the trotting classic for 3-year-olds. The 12-1 price on the toteboard at post time was also a sign of diminished expectations among the bettors.

Zeron, harness racing’s newest “Money Man,” overcame all obstacles as Tactical Approach slipped through at the pylons to win by one length.

“This was the least amount of pressure I’ve ever had, just because of having a bad post,” Zeron said. “I’ve had a lot of faith in this horse all year, but I over-drove him most of his starts. To give him a nice steer, a patient one, he respected it, and he thanked me.”

Takter watched anxiously as her colt started at the tail of the field.

“Scott was great; everything just worked out,” Takter said. “I was just hoping he was going to have room down the stretch. I always kept the faith. I’ve always loved this colt since the first moment I saw him. He was very immature last year.

“The partners were very easy to work with, and we just gave him the time that he needed. He came back this year so strong and Scott did an excellent job driving him, and today was the perfect proof of that.”

Zeron is rapidly climbing the Hambletonian ladder. Hall of Famer John Campbell holds the driving record with six. Zeron’s previous Hambletonian winners were Marion Marauder, in 2016, and Atlanta, in 2018. He is rapidly building a reputation as a cool hand in harness racing’s richest races.

Takter is doing what comes naturally. Her Hall of Fame father, Jimmy Takter, won the Hambletonian four times. She is the third woman to train a Hambletonian winner, joining Linda Toscano (Market Share, 2012) and Paula Wellwood (Marion Marauder).

It came down to a critical tactical decision by Zeron before the opening quarter.

“I just saw everyone protecting the two-wide path in the middle of the first turn,” Zeron said. “I just knew I was going to be fifth-over, sixth-over. I just elected to go left. For a million dollars, everyone is going to give their horse a chance. I was trying to under-drive mine and get a good portion of it. Turning for home, as close as I was, it was the best-case scenario.”

In the shadow of the wire, Oh Well looked poised to claim the trophy, but in a flash, Tactical Approach skimmed the pylons and was on his way to a last-to-first victory.

“The rail just kept opening up,” Takter said. “It worked out great. I was confident coming down the stretch that if he had enough room he was going to get it done.”

It was the sixth win in 14 starts for the colt, who earned $500,000 for owners Robert LeBlanc, John Fielding and Joe Sbrocco & JAF Racing.

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

Grand Circuit Standings: In In 2023, 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 2023 Grand Circuit awards.

Here are the leaders (through the races on 8-5-23):

Drivers: 1. Dexter Dunn – 505; 2. Yannick Gingras – 502; 3. Scott Zeron – 410; 4. Tim Tetrick – 391; 5. David Miller – 344.

Trainers: 1. Ron Burke – 607; 2. Ake Svanstedt – 422; 3. Nancy Takter – 293; 4. Linda Toscano – 252; 5. Marcus Melander – 231.

Owners: 1. Diamond Creek Racing – 165.9; 2. Burke Racing Stable – 114.2; 3. Hudson Standardbred Stable – 100; 4. Mark Ford – 98; 5. Ken Jacobs – 92.5.

Looking ahead: Grand Circuit action will be taking place next week at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, Red Shores Racetrack & Casino and Woodbine Mohawk Park. Pocono will host four events for 3-year-olds — the Earl Beal Memorial (colt and gelding trot), the Max C. Hempt Memorial (colt and gelding pace), the James Lynch Memorial (filly pace) and the Delmonica Hanover (filly trot). Red Shores has the Gold Cup and Saucer final for older pacers. Woodbine Mohawk Park has eliminations for the William Wellwood (2-year-old open trot) and Peaceful Way (2-year-old filly trot).

by Paul Ramlow, for The Grand Circuit