Horses are named long before their careers commence, but on occasion humans hit the bullseye and Aperfect Annie’s team threw the perfect dart. The filly will take on nine rivals on Saturday (Aug. 2) at The Meadowlands in the $500,000 USD Hambletonian Oaks and demonstrate her prowess.

“She is just so laid back,” said trainer/co-owner Carter Pinske. “She makes me look good as a trainer.”

The sophomore daughter of Googoo Gaagaa-Asixpakfromperfect will leave from post position seven with Todd McCarthy at the controls in Saturday’s classic event for her age, gait and division. The filly is 20-1 on the morning line after finishing third in her $68,493 Hambletonian Oaks elimination behind favoured Conversano (Andrew McCarthy) and R Charm (Scott Zeron).

“She may not have the ability to sprint, but she is a grinder, and she always shows up,” Pinske said. “We always have confidence in her.”

Aperfect Annie is the 10th foal from her dam and the fourth of that mare’s offspring to earn more than $100,000 in purse money. She is a half-sibling to 2012 Peter Haughton Memorial victor Aperfectyankee ($588,017), A Perfect Gem ($192,986) and A Perfect Helen ($187,530).

The filly was selected by Pinske, Melvin Hartman and Andray Farm for $70,000 at the 2023 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale. She was bred by Robert Detweiler.

After collecting $387,860, with a resume of 14-5-4-1 including a state championship and a berth in the Hambletonian Oaks, it appears that cheque returned a significant return on its investment.

“I think maybe the mare (Asixpakfromperfect) was a little older and she had not thrown a really big-name horse,” Pinske said. “But this filly comes from a very solid family, and we were pleased to get her.”

And rightly so.

Aperfect Annie finished second in her first two Kentucky Sire Stakes events at Oak Grove Racing, Gaming and Hotel in July of last year. The filly, however, broke her maiden in style after a change of scenery in the Kentucky Championship Series at The Red Mile.

She upset the previously undefeated Kentucky Sire Stakes competitor, Yo Tillie, by a neck on Aug. 12, 2024, and came home first over that foe in the 2024 Championship Series Final on Sept. 15.

Aperfect Annie kicked off 2025 with two triumphs at the aforementioned Oak Grove prior to an eighth-placed-seventh finish in the Delvin Miller Memorial at The Meadowlands on July 12.

“We found out she was sick and maybe may have bled a little, so we treated her,” Pinske said. “She was much better in the Oaks elimination, and we think after working on her she will be sitting on a big mile for the final.

“It’s also nice to be a little under the radar coming into the race. It takes some of the pressure off.”

If Aperfect Annie hits the line in front it would be the first Hambletonian Oaks trophy for her trainer, who also has Go Dog Go in the $1 million USD Hambletonian, starting from post position 10. The son of Greenshoe-Primary Target is 10-1 on the morning line.

Pinske is no stranger to Grand Circuit triumphs with fillies as he conditioned 2023 Kentucky Futurity Filly winner Mommamia Volo and was co-owner on dual Breeders Crown victor Amigo Volo, who also captured the 2020 Kentucky Futurity.

“We are just pleased for the opportunity,” Pinske said. “All you can do is get them ready and place them in the race. The horses do all the rest.”

John Fodera has gone to the winner’s circle twice as an owner of a Hambletonian Stakes champion. He hopes on Saturday to make that trip again, this time following the Hambletonian Oaks.

Fodera is among the owners of Miss Belmar, the 5-2 morning-line favorite in the $500,000 USD Hambletonian Oaks. He was part of the ownership groups of 2023 Hambletonian champ Tactical Approach, as well as 2020 winner Ramona Hill.

“Now, we’d love to put a Hambletonian Oaks right next to (them),” Fodera said after Miss Belmar won her Oaks elimination last week by a half-length over Deja Blu in 1:52.3 for her third victory in her past four starts for trainer Noel Daley.

“I couldn’t be more excited, it’s Hambletonian Day. It’s just been a blessing to get her this far this year. Right now, Noel has her at her peak, so we’re looking forward to (the final).”

Miss Belmar was winless in seven races in 2024 but still earned $277,573 thanks in part to her second-place finish in the Breeders Crown final for freshman trotting fillies. After beginning this season with setbacks in her first two starts, she has won three times, including a career-best 1:52.1 triumph in a division of the Tompkins-Geers Stakes the week prior to her Oaks elim.

Andy McCarthy will drive Miss Belmar, leaving from post one on Saturday.

“I’ve always thought highly of her, but even in her first few starts, she would do silly things,” Daley said. “(The Tompkins-Geers) was the best she had been. She was focused; she was on a mission there. She’s focused now, she’s got a big heart, and she’s showed that she wants to do it.

“She’s the one to beat if she’s all right. I think if she has a good day, she’s as tough as any of them.”

Miss Belmar is a daughter of Muscle Hill-Chapter Too and was bred by Belmar Racing and Breeding – the breeder of 2022 Hambletonian winner Cool Papa Bell. Joining Fodera in ownership of the filly are Allister Stables, Dean Ehrgott, Joe Sbrocco, and Zei Zei Racing.

“It’s been a great ride, and I have some great partners,” said Allister Stables’ Dave Offenberg. “It doesn’t come any better than this. These are the big races that you shoot for when you buy yearlings. We’re getting there this year, and it’s just a thrill.”

The owners of Delaney Hanover, the 3-1 second choice in the Oaks final, are enjoying the thrill as well. Delaney Hanover, a daughter of Muscle Hill-Danielle Hanover, out of the family of 2007 Hambletonian winner Donato Hanover, won her elim by 1-1/4 lengths over Champagne Problems in 1:52.3.

Scott Zeron will drive the filly from post five for trainer Lucas Wallin.

“There is nothing like it,” said Jon Wiesman of Wiesman Farms, which shares ownership of Delaney Hanover, as well as Hambletonian finalist Go Dog Go. “It’s the pinnacle of the sport.”

Delaney Hanover has raced three times this season, with a win and a third. For her career, she has hit the board in six of 10 starts, winning three.

“I wouldn’t say we had a ton of expectations; we took it slow with her this year,” said Colby Wiesman, Jon’s son. “We just wanted to do the right thing for the filly, give her a slow start, and I think she’s coming into top shape at the right time.”

Colby’s father spent more than four decades in the sport overseeing breeding operations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Kentucky. Nine years ago, Colby and Jon bought their first horse together and launched their own endeavor as breeders and racehorse owners.

Joining Wiesman Farms in ownership of Delaney Hanover are Wallin Racing Stable and Shermay Stables, which combines the names of owner Andrew Steinberg’s late parents, Sherman and May.

Sherman, who passed away in 2010, owned an industrial paint manufacturing company, but his love was horses. He operated Plumsted Farm in central New Jersey and enjoyed working with Standardbreds as a breeder and trainer.

Among his breeding successes was millionaire Giant Force, who won the 1993 International Trot at Yonkers Raceway. As a trainer, Sherman won a Breeders Crown elimination in 2000 with two-year-old female trotter Golda Plumsted and finished fourth in the final.

“It’s emotional because my father started the business and we had 20 horses a year, but nothing like this,” Steinberg said. “My dad is in the sky looking upon us, and I’m just very emotional. I hope he’s proud of me today.

“(Delaney Hanover) is an all-star. We’re ready and I’m excited. This is what I wait for, this is my expensive therapy, and right now I’m feeling good.”

Juan Cano has worked as a caretaker and assistant for several trainers over the years, including Hambletonian-winner Tony Alagna. On Saturday, Cano will get to experience his own Hambletonian Day moment as the trainer of Oaks finalist Conversano.

Conversano won her elimination last week by a nose over R Charm in 1:52.4. The daughter of Muscle Hill-Celebrity Ruth will start the final from post six with James MacDonald in the sulky and is 9-2 on the morning line.

“I’ve never been happier than I am right now,” said Cano, who started his own stable in 2019. “I never dreamed this would be my life. I don’t have words to say. I just say thank God and thank the owner (Hot Lead Farm) for giving me the opportunity.”

Conversano has six wins, one second and one third in eight races this year. She won the New Jersey Sire Stakes championship in June and has earned $320,730 in 2025, the most of all three-year-old female trotters this season.

“I’m crossing my fingers, but I believe she is a horse that can get it done,” Cano said. “I like everything about her. I’m comfortable. I trust my girl. You never know about races, but I’m sticking by my horse, and I know she will be OK.”

Kevin Oscarsson will drive Sound Judgement (20-1) for his father, trainer Jim Oscarsson, after advancing to the Oaks final with a third-place finish last week. It was Oscarsson’s first time driving in the U.S. since the 2016 International Trot at Yonkers, where he was fifth with his dad’s Explosive De Vie.

Last week also marked the first time the 30-year-old Oscarsson, who trains a stable of 50 horses in Sweden, drove in a purse race at The Meadowlands.

“It’s big,” Oscarsson said about being in the Oaks final. “Everything around it. The Meadowlands is special, and it’s just a special feeling to come here and to even just warm up. And then to get drive races against those horses and those drivers, it’s all special.”

Sound Judgement will leave from post three.

Nancy Takter will send out three Hambletonian Oaks finalists: Deja Blu (5-1), Champagne Problems (6-1) and Torrisi (20-1).

Takter won the 2020 Oaks with Sorella and has two Hambletonian trophies, with Tactical Approach in 2023 and Karl in 2024. Only four trainers have won at least two Hambletonians and two Oaks in their careers: Jim Campbell, Billy Haughton, Joe O’Brien, and Jimmy Takter.

Champagne Problems, last year’s Dan Patch Award winner for best two-year-old trotting filly, and Deja Blu both finished second in their eliminations. Champagne Problems, a daughter of Tactical Landing-Miss Caviar, will leave from post nine with driver Dexter Dunn. Deja Blu, a daughter of two Hambletonian winners, Muscle Hill and Atlanta, goes from post two with Yannick Gingras.

Torrisi, a daughter of Walner-Barn Girl, finished fourth in her elim and leaves from post 10 with Tim Tetrick, who won the Oaks in back-to-back years from post 10 (Fashion Schooner in 2022 and Heaven Hanover in 2023).

Racing begins at 12 noon on Saturday at The Meadowlands. The Hambletonian Oaks is race 10, with a post time of 3:37 p.m. and the Hambletonian is race 12, with a post time of 4:47 p.m. Coverage of Hambletonian Day will air on FOX Sports from 3-6 p.m.

For free program pages for Saturday's card at The Meadowlands, click here.

(USTA and Hambletonian Society)