Hambletonian leads big Grand Circuit card

Harness Racing This Week: Hambletonian, Hambletonian Oaks, John Cashman Memorial, Sam McKee Memorial, Lady Liberty, Dr. John Steele Memorial, Cane Pace, Shady Daisy, Peter Haughton Memorial, and Jim Doherty Memorial, Meadowlands Racetrack, East Rutherford, N.J.

Schedule of events: Grand Circuit action takes place this Saturday (Aug. 5) at the Meadowlands Racetrack with one of the biggest Grand Circuit cards of the season.

The afternoon program is led by the $1.2 million Hambletonian, the first leg of trotting's Triple Crown for 3-year-olds. Other major stakes races to be contested that day are the $500,000 Hambletonian Oaks for 3-year-old filly trotters, the $303,050 John Cashman Memorial for older trotters, the $224,400 Sam McKee Memorial for older pacers, the $202,900 Lady Liberty for older pacing mares, the $176,250 Dr. John Steele Memorial for older trotting mares, the $334,325 Cane Pace, the first leg of Pacing's Triple Crown for 3-year-olds, the $113,950 Shady Daisy for 3-year-old pacing fillies, the $360,650 Peter Haughton Memorial for 2-year-old colt trotters, and the $330,800 Jim Doherty Memorial for 2-year-old filly trotters.

Complete entries for the races are available at this link.

Last time: Fear The Dragon, harness racing's top-rated horse, cemented that position Saturday (July 29) at The Meadows when he wore down the sport's No. 2-ranked horse, Huntsville, with a prolonged, dramatic first-over move that brought him victory in the $400,000 final of the 51st Delvin Miller Adios Pace for the Orchids.

Heavy rains that had soaked The Meadows for the better part of two days stopped shortly before the card began, yielding to sunny, cool weather and a fast track for the highly anticipated battle of No. 1 and No. 2. Early on, it appeared that drama might not develop as Huntsville and Tim Tetrick got an easier lead than most observers anticipated.

Fear The Dragon was fifth down the backside when David Miller felt compelled to put the son of Dragon Again-Armbro Cinnamon into the race.
Fear The Dragon steadily erased the five length deficit until the final turn, when it briefly seemed he had hit the wall. But Fear The Dragon spurted again and caught Huntsville in the shadow of the wire, downing him by a half-length in 1:49.1, with RJP third.

It was the first Adios victory for trainer Brian Brown, the third for driver Miller, who won previously with Shadow Play (2008) and McWicked (2014). With the win, Fear The Dragon became a millionaire, boosting his career bankroll to $1,152,844 for Bruce Trogdon's Emerald Highlands Farm.

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

Grand Circuit Standings: In 2017, 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 2017 Grand Circuit awards.

Here are the leaders through and including the races on July 29.

Drivers: 1. Yannick Gingras – 503; 2. David Miller – 454; 3. Tim Tetrick – 353; 4. Scott Zeron – 290; 5. Jason Bartlett – 238.

Trainers: 1. Ron Burke – 480; 2. Jimmy Takter – 300; 3. Brian Brown – 190; 4. Ray Schnittker – 167; 5. Rene Allard – 159.

Owners: 1. Emerald Highlands Farm – 125; 2. Harry von Knoblauch Stable – 123.5; 3. Burke Racing Stable – 107; 4. Weaver Bruscemi – 85.4; 5. J&T Silva Stables – 83.

Looking ahead: Grand Circuit action will be taking place next week at Northfield Park with the Carl Milstein Memorial for 3-year-old pacers; at Hoosier Park with the Dan Patch for free for all pacers; at the Indiana State Fair with the Fox Stakes highlighting 10 stakes; and at Red Shores Racetrack with Gold Cup and Saucer eliminations.

Paul Ramlow