Matron Stakes headline Grand Circuit Thursday

Harness Racing This Week: Matron Stakes, Bally’s Dover, Dover, Del.

Schedule of events: The Grand Circuit returns to Dover this Thursday (Nov. 9) for four Matron Stakes for 3-year-olds of both sexes and gaits. The 3-year-old colt pace carries a purse of $170,850, the 3-year-old filly trotters will race for $141,450, the purse for the 3-year-old colt trot is $127,400 and the 3-year-old filly pacers will race for $117,550.

Complete entries for the races are available at this link.

Last time: A week removed from the 40th edition of the Breeders Crown, Harrah’s Hoosier Park once again played host to some of the sport’s brightest stars in a quartet of sophomore stakes on Friday (Nov. 3). The beat went on for the 2023 Hambletonian champion, Tactical Approach, who added yet another stakes score to his resume with a dominant performance in the $205,000 Carl Erskine.

Teaming up once again with Scott Zeron, Tactical Approach wasted little time getting to the lead from post eight in the field of 10, crossing over to the pylons in front through a hot opening quarter of :27. The Nancy Takter trainee maintained a solid pace on the engine, leading the field to the halfway point in :55.3 with Ponda Jet and Kyle Wilfong in hot pursuit from the pocket. Tactical Approach began to separate from the field rounding the far turn, putting three lengths between himself and Ponda Jet through three-quarters in 1:24.1 as French Wine and Andy Miller led the outer flow into third.

As the trotters turned for home, Tactical Approach maintained a measured lead as he trotted home in :28 to score by two lengths in 1:52.1. Jet Hill and Ronnie Wrenn Jr. navigated traffic in the stretch to rally for the place position, with Ponda Jet holding for third.

The victory was the 10th in 18 seasonal outings for Tactical Approach, who has now banked $1,422,239 on the year for owners Robert LeBlanc, John Fielding, and Joe Sbrocco & JAF Racing. Trainer Nancy Takter noted the Steve Stewart and Oakwood Farms-bred son of Tactical Approach-Sarcy is being pointed towards the $350,000 FanDuel Championship at the Meadowlands before heading to stud duty in Pennsylvania at Diamond Creek Farm in 2024.

Complete recaps of all the races are available at the Grand Circuit website. For a list of 2023 race winners on the Grand Circuit, click here.

Grand Circuit Standings: 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 11-4-23):

Drivers: 1. Yannick Gingras – 1,273; 2. Tim Tetrick – 1,120; 3. Dexter Dunn – 1,094; 4. David Miller – 1,037; 5. Scott Zeron – 950.

Trainers: 1. Ron Burke – 1,553; 2. Ake Svanstedt – 1,328; 3. Nancy Takter – 655; 4. Tony Alagna – 605; 5. Linda Toscano – 489.

Owners: 1. Diamond Creek Racing – 402.6; 2. Burke Racing Stable – 309.4; 3. Hudson Standardbred Stable – 210.8; 4. Weaver Bruscemi – 209.1; 5. Brad Grant – 187.4.

Looking ahead: Grand Circuit action will take place next week at The Meadowlands and Bally’s Dover. The Meadowlands will feature eliminations for the Fall Four stakes for 2-year-old pacers and trotters. Dover will host the Progress Pace eliminations for 3-year-old open pacers.

by Paul Ramlow, for the Grand Circuit