Rick Zeron has been talkin’ the talk and Atlanta has certainly been walkin’ the walk. On Monday (May 28), the three-year-old daughter of Chapter Seven continued her path to a ‘Hambo Day’ assignment, as she lowered a Vernon Downs track record during her division of the Empire Breeders Classic.

With Scott Zeron at her controls, Atlanta raced like a monster in her $238,613 EBC final.

Bet down to 30 cents on the dollar, the three-year-old filly left from Post 4 and fought overland for the lead through a snappy :26.4 opening quarter. After clearing in the second panel, Zeron let his bay trot down to the half in :55.3.

The duo then threw a :28.2 third quarter at their rivals, as they passed the third station in 1:24. The reinsman in blue and white then let his charge trot home, and she was more than up to the task. The bay out of Hemi Blue Chip dug in for more and cruised home with a businesslike :26.3 closing frame.

Atlanta stopped the clock in 1:50.3, which went down as a new track record for her division.

Plunge Blue Chip, who had chased from third with driver Ake Svanstedt, finished four and a half lengths back in second. Supergirl Riley finished well back in third for Marcus Miller.

Both Zerons praised the up and coming filly in their respective post-race interviews. Rick, who has conditioned more than his fair share of top trotting talent, lauded his trainee with quite an endorsement.

“I’ve trained great horses my whole career, but nothing like this,” Rick said.

“Scott and I will sit down and have a talk… we’ll talk about whether it’ll be the Oaks or the Hambletonian, but I’m not ruling anything out now. She’s a special filly.”

Atlanta, who returned $2.60 on a successful win wager, is owned by Rick Zeron Stables (of Oakville, Ont.), Holland Racing Stable (Niagara On The Lake, Ont.), Howard Taylor (Philadelphia, PA), and Brad Grant (Milton, Ont.).

More Canadian-connected horses found success during Vernon’s Memorial Day program.

The Blake Mcintosh-trained Courtly Choice ($4.10), who was hammered down to even-money at post time, broke stride off the starting gate, but still went down the road with a 1:48.4 wire-to-wire win in his $40,600 New York Sire Stakes division.

Courtly Choice, a three-year-old Art Major ridgling, diced the fractions in :26.3, :55.1 and 1:22.3. He finished things off with a :26.1 final quarter and nailed the wire almost three lengths the best. Hitman Hill (Brett Miller) chased for second and Real Surreal (Scott Zeron) finished third.

Macintosh (Cambridge, Ont.) co-owns Courtly Choice along with Hutt Racing Stable (Paoli, PA), Touch Stone Farms (Guelph, Ont.) and Daniel Plouffe (Bromont, Que.).

Six Pack (Ake Svanstedt) narrowly held off a late charge by Southwind Chrome (Scott Zeron) to win the $223,673 EBC Final for sophomore trotting colts.

Six Pack ($2.90) took over the lead from Clive Bigsby (Andrew McCarthy) just before hitting the first quarter mark in :26.2. Helpisontheway (Tim Tetrick) went first-over and pressured Six Pack all the way down the backstretch. Six Pack who is owned by Little E LLC, Stall Kalmer, and trainer Svanstedt , hit the halfway mark in :54. He shrugged off Helpisontheway and hit three-quarters in 1:22.2.

Six Pack slipped away and looked to be an easy winner, but Southwind Chrome (Scott Zeron) gobbled up ground with every stride in deep stretch before falling just short and settling for second . Clive Bigsby finished third.

Six Pack who is a three-year-old colt by Muscle Mass-Pleasing Lady, tied the track record for sophomore trotting colts set earlier in the day by The Veteran (Scott Zeron), winning in 1:51.2. It is the third time in the winner's circle in three starts this season and it was career win number seven.

The Veteran (Scott Zeron) won the EBC Consolation for trotting colts.

Owned by W. Donovan, S. Michaels, J. Winske and trainer George Ducharme, The Veteran ($4.90) went gate-to-wire to win in 1:51.2. Don (David Miller) was second best with Ronnie Goldstein (Kim Crawford) getting third money.

The Veteran is a three-year-old colt by Muscle Mass. It was his first win of the season and it was his third career victory. His time of 1:51.2 set the record that was later tied by Six Pack.

Lucky Ava (Ake Svanstedt) flew late down the stretch to beat her entrymate Fury Road (Andrew McCarthy) to win the EBC Consolation for sophomore trotting fillies.

Owned by Little E LLC, Van Camp Trotting Corp and trainer Svanstedt, Lucky Ava ($3.40) ran down Fury Road to win in 1:53.4. Mooshka Stride (Tim Tetrick) finished third.

The Miracle Mile also featured to more divisions of the New York Sire Stakes for three-year-old colt pacers.

The second division of the NYSS ($40,600) went to American History (Yannick Gingras).

American History ($3.00) took over before the half and cruised home to win in 1:49.1. Rock Lights (Scott Zeron) was second best with Heavenly Sound (Andrew McCarthy) finishing third.

American History is a three-year-old colt by American Ideal. He is owned by Brittany Farms LLC., Marvin Katz and American History Racing while trained by Tony Alana. It was his first win this season and it is career victory number four.

My Delight (Marcus Miller) charged late to win the final division of the NYSS ($40,600).

My Delight ($30.80) passed second place finisher Lyons Steel (Corey Callahan) to win in 1:49.4. Ostra Hanover (Jim Taggart, Jr.) was third best.

My Delight is a three-year-old colt by Betterthancheddar. Owned by Bay Pond Racing and trained by Homer Hochstetler, he won second time this season and the fourth time in his career.

(With files from Vernon Downs)