Domenico Cecere might not be thrilled with the post position for Winners Bet in Saturday’s second of two $100,000 Hambletonian Stakes eliminations at The Meadowlands, but the trainer is quite pleased with the way his colt has returned to action this season as he heads to the sport’s premier event for three-year-old trotters.

Winners Bet, who won last year’s William Wellwood Memorial, is two-for-two this year for Cecere and driver Dexter Dunn. The son of Walner-Side Bet Hanover opened his campaign with a 1:52.2 victory in a division of the W.N. Reynolds Memorial on July 1 and followed it with a 1:51 triumph in a Stanley Dancer Memorial split two weeks later.

He captured both races at the Big M by a half-length, the first over Air Power, who is the 5-2 morning-line favourite in Saturday’s second Hambletonian elimination, and the other over 2022 Peter Haughton Memorial champ Kilmister.

Winners Bet will start his Hambo elimination from post 10 in the 10-horse field. He is 4-1 on the morning line, the third choice behind Air Power from post six with driver Orjan Kihlstrom and MGM Yonkers Trot winner Up Your Deo (7-2) from post three with trainer/driver Ake Svanstedt.

The top five finishers from each 10-horse elimination will advance to the $1 million Hambletonian final on Aug. 5. Elim winners draw for post positions one through five followed by the remaining finalists receiving their posts in an open draw.

“It’s not a great number, but somebody had to get that number, and he got it,” Cecere said, referring to the post position for Winners Bet. “Him and Dexter will figure it out together. Of course, we need a little bit of luck, but he’s ready. It’s a lot of good horses, and we respect all the horses in the field, but I’m sure [Winners Bet] will do his best and Dexter will do his best too.”

Winners Bet, whose family includes 2016 Trotting Triple Crown winner Marion Marauder, has hit the board in nine of 12 career races, with five wins and $518,425 in purses. He is owned by Lindy Farms of Connecticut and Robert Rudolph. Lindy Farms co-owner Frank “The Elder” Antonacci was inducted into the U.S. Harness Racing Hall of Fame earlier this month.

Lindy Farms and its affiliates have had four Hambletonian winners — Lindys Pride (1969), Probe (1989), Harmonious (1990) and Victory Dream (1994). Winners Bet will try to add his name to the list after an offseason of maturing in Florida.

“He’s a totally different horse,” said Cecere. “He’s bigger, stronger, more relaxed. Last year, he could get a little bit hot. We’re very happy with his mentality this year. That’s what you really need when you go into a race, a horse that is relaxed and smart. The whole package together.”

Cecere said the plan was to ease Winners Bet into this season as he prepared for the Hambletonian.

“We took it easy with him for his mentality and let him grow,” said Cecere. “It looks like it’s worked out well. It’s very exciting. This is the dream. If you don’t dream, you don’t get it. I’m very happy with how he is and how he’s handled the racing. This is the third start for him. Let’s go.”

Another horse that will look to overcome an outside starting spot is 2022 O’Brien Award winner and Breeders Crown champion Gaines Hanover (pictured above). The gelding will leave from post nine with driver Louis-Philippe Roy in the first Hambletonian elimination.

Gaines Hanover, trained in Canada by 10-time O’Brien Award-winning conditioner Richard Moreau and in the U.S. by Claude Cadieux, has hit the board in four of five races this year. He has one win, which came in his elimination of the Goodtimes Stakes at Woodbine Mohawk Park on June 9. He finished second in the final, beaten a nose by Southwind Coors.

For his career, Gaines Hanover has hit the board in 10 of 13 starts, with five victories and $575,746 in purses for owner Gestion J Y Blais Inc.

“He hasn’t changed much since last year,” said Roy. “He’s a relaxed guy that can race any way you want him to do it. He can fly home off a trip, he’ll give a good fight to anyone coming to him if he cut the mile, or he’ll even put in a nice effort if he has to work first-up.”

Gaines Hanover will try to join 2019 Hambletonian champ Forbidden Trade as a returning O’Brien Award winner to take home the Hambo trophy. He heads to his elimination off a ninth-place finish in a Dancer Memorial division two weeks ago, when he went off stride in a race for only the second time in his career.

“He just took one bad step,” said Roy. “That was very uncharacteristic.”

Oh Well, one of four horses in the Hambletonian elims for trainer Marcus Melander, is the 2-1 morning-line favourite in the first group. He heads to the race off a 1:51.2 win in his division of the Dancer and will start Saturday from post two with driver Tim Tetrick.

The Hambletonian is the second jewel in the Trotting Triple Crown, following the Yonkers Trot and ahead of October’s Kentucky Futurity.

Saturday’s card at The Meadowlands also includes two $40,000 eliminations for the Hambletonian Oaks for three-year-old female trotters.

Post positions for the Hambletonian and Oaks finals will be drawn on Tuesday, Aug. 1 at a press conference and luncheon hosted by Hogan Equine Clinic in Cream Ridge, New Jersey, beginning at 2 p.m.

Racing begins at 6:20 p.m. (EDT) at The Meadowlands. The Hambletonian eliminations are races six and nine. The Oaks eliminations are races seven and eight. Free TrackMaster past performances will be available on Meadowlands website at playmeadowlands.com.

The following are the fields for the Hambletonian eliminations.

Hambletonian Elimination #1 (Race 6)
Post – Horse – Listed Driver – Trainer – Morning Line Odds
1. Osceola – Doug McNair – Gregg McNair – 20-1
2. Oh Well – Tim Tetrick – Marcus Melander – 2-1
3. Ghostly Casper – David Miller – Benoit Baillargeon – 15-1
4. Djimon – Bob McClure – Mark Steacy – 30-1
5. Kierkegaard K – Ake Svanstedt – Ake Svanstedt – 7-2
6. Point Of Perfect – Yannick Gingras – Ron Burke – 8-1
7. Little Expensive – Andy Miller – Julie Miller – 10-1
8. Southwind Coors – James MacDonald – Matt Bax – 5-1
9. Gaines Hanover – Louis-Philippe Roy – Claude Cadieux – 9-2
10. Kilmister – Brian Sears – Marcus Melander – 12-1

Hambletonian Elimination #2 (Race 9)
Post – Horse – Listed Driver – Trainer – Morning Line Odds
1. Tuscan Prince – Louis-Philippe Roy – Luc Blais – 10-1
2. Crown – Brian Sears – Marcus Melander – 20-1
3. Up Your Deo – Ake Svanstedt – Ake Svanstedt – 7-2
4. French Wine – Andy Miller – Julie Miller – 15-1
5. Celebrity Bambino – Yannick Gingras – Ron Burke – 9-2
6. Air Power – Orjan Kihlstrom – Marcus Melander – 5-2
7. One Hundred Poof – Matt Kakaley – Jenny Melander – 30-1
8. Tactical Approach – Scott Zeron – Nancy Takter – 5-1
9. Excalibur Bi – Andrew McCarthy – Tom Cancelliere – 15-1
10. Winners Bet – Dexter Dunn – Domenico Cecere – 4-1

(With files from USTA)