The Meadowlands hosted the Fall Four Stakes and FanDuel Championships on Saturday, Nov. 15 as Grand Circuit stars battled for more than $3.6 million in total stakes purses.

M Ms Dream won her Big M swan song in the $246,479 Grade 2 FanDuel Championship for trotting distaffs thanks to an assertive drive by Yannick Gingras, scoring over a fast track, which was downgraded to good after the following race, in 1:51.4. The win was the first of three in Grand Circuit competition trainer Ron Burke.

M Ms Dream left the gate swiftly to take the lead while Warrawee Michelle (Ake Svanstedt) found a spot second and Elista Hanover (Todd McCarthy) raced wide with nowhere to plant. She marched outside to try for the lead in a :27.1 first quarter but took a bad step and galloped out of contention, leaving M Ms Dream to command the field steadily to a :56.3 half. The group remained in alignment until Warrawee Michelle tipped off the pylons on the final turn to try her best to challenge for the lead. M Ms Dream kicked for home off three-quarters in 1:25.1 and sprinted strongly to handily defeat her peers with a 1:51.4 win by 1-3/4 lengths. Bravo Angel S (Bartlett) skimmed the pylons to finish second with Warrawee Michelle settling for third.

“I’ve driven her all year and she’s been tremendous,” Gingras said. “The last few starts, maybe she wasn’t quite as sharp as she was in the middle of the summer, but she surely showed up tonight. I’m happy for the connections.”

The win in the FanDuel Championship is the fifth on the year from 15 starts for M Ms Dream and her 37th victory from 69 lifetime starts. Burke trains the six-year-old mare by Swan For All-Trading Places for owners Hillside Stables and Frank Baldachino. She has now earned $2,622,177 in her career.

The Meadowlands hosted a retirement ceremony for the mare after the race. Co-owner Frank Baldachino said “She’s great. She just tries so hard. She’s just a great horse." His son, Joey Baldachino, also said “She’s been phenomenal her whole career and she loves this track, so she always gives a good effort here. It’s just special to have a horse like this.”

M Ms Dream, who paid $14.80 to win, has one start left in her career. She’ll close her campaign in a special race on Saturday, Nov. 22 at Harrah’s Hoosier Park. 

Shes A Bulldog broke her maiden with a 1:51.1 victory in the $502,817 Grade 1 Three Diamonds for two-year-old pacing fillies, snapping stablemate Loua Dipa’s five-race win streak.

Loua Dipa, the 1-5 favourite, marched forward from post 10 into a mid-pack spot entering the first turn before motoring after stablemate Seaside Shuffle (Gingras) through a :27.2 first quarter. Seaside Shuffle cleared to command from pylon-starter Perfect Thought (Scott Zeron) before yielding to Loua Dipa’s brush as driver Ronnie Wrenn Jr. finally settled the chalk onto pylons passing three-eighths. She carried the field by the half in :55.4, at which point Dunn pulled Shes A Bulldog out of fifth to charge uncovered for the lead into the far turn.

Shes A Bulldog rolled menacingly up the outside matched strides with Loua Dipa past three-quarters in 1:24. Shes A Bulldog then surged to command rounding for home and held her ground for a 1-3/4-length win as Loua Dipa gave futile chase in second. Perfect Thought saved ground for third.

“I was trying to slow her down to be honest,” Dexter Dunn said. “When I moved her at the half she was raring to go. Coming off that last turn, I really had a great hold of her. I had a lap full of horse, but when you’re coming up against champion horses it’s always tough. Obviously Loua Dipa is a fantastic filly, but this filly really turned up tonight.”

The maiden-breaking victory by Shes A Bulldog, in her ninth start, pushed her earnings to $540,483 for owner-breeder Brad Grant. The Bulldog Hanover-Band Stand filly, trained by Ron Burke, paid $17.80 to win.

Lexus Kody capped off a remarkable season as he and Gingras captured the $492,958 Grade 1 FanDuel Championship for trotters by 2-1/4 lengths over Periculum, completing the stakes triple for Burke.

Aetos Kronos S (Dunn) got the field to the opening quarter in :27.1, but Lexus Kody took control from there, reaching the half in :55.2 and three-quarters in 1:23.3 on their way to the comfortable victory in 1:51. Periculum (Zeron) closed for second with Logan Park (Doug McNair) third.

The triumph was Lexus Kody’s 11th in 21 races this season, and seventh in eight starts since early August. The Ron Burke trainee's only defeat during that span came in the Breeders Crown final on Oct. 25 at Woodbine Mohawk Park, where he was third.

“That’s an incredible mile tonight,” Burke said. “That’s [1]:48 in the summer. That’s as good as he’s been all year. We were a little bit disappointed in the Breeders Crown; he got a tough trip, but I thought he could have been better. [Tonight] is the horse he’s been the last three months, so I was very happy with him.”

Burke Racing Stable LLC, Weaver Bruscemi LLC and Phil Collura own Lexus Kody, who pushed his seasonal earnings to more than $2,557,876 with his FanDuel Championship win. For his career, the seven-year-old son of Archangel-Lexus Helios has won 37 of 90 races and $2,557,876. His other victories this season include the MGM Yonkers International Trot (G1) and Maple Leaf Trot (G1). He paid $6.60 to win.

Burke and Gingras also won a division of the New Jersey Standardbred Development Fund (NJSDF) for two-year-old pacing fillies with Whoa Black Betty ($6.80) in 1:54.1 for four wins each on the card. 

Chris Ryder’s superstar sophomore filly Miki And Minnie trounced older competition as the heavy favourite in the $246,479 Grade 2 FanDuel Championship for pacing fillies and mares, torching a dampened track with a 1:49.2 effort.

Stonecoldtreachery (Lauren Tritton) flashed early speed from the pylons to capture the lead off the gate. Another quick early move put Kobes Gigi (Yannick Gingras) second with Miki And Minnie taking back into third through a flashy :26.3 first quarter. Kobes Gigi charged on the outside and got the top over Stonecoldtreachery, but Miki And Minnie soon made a move for the front and took over the lead with some encouragement from Dexter Dunn through a :55 half.  

Breeders Crown winner Always B Naughty (Austin Hanners) followed Miki And Minnie’s brush and was left uncovered to challenge for the lead into the final turn. Miki And Minnie cruised to three-quarters in 1:23.1 and easily repelled Always B Naughty turning for home before drawing away from the competition for a 3-1/2-length win. Talk Curdy To Me (Louis-Philippe Roy) powered past tiring horses to grab second, and Aardie B Miki N (Jason Bartlett) also charged home to take third.

“Once she gets [to the lead] she’s good as gold,” Dunn said. “Just clearing with her sometimes, you have to tell her to do it. Once she got there she really grabbed onto the bit strong in the last turn and she was feeling super coming off it.”

Miki And Minnie tallied her 13th victory in 15 starts this year and her 19th in 26 career outings for the daughter of Always B Miki-Thats The Ticket. Miki And Minnie, a homebred for Craig Henderson, Robert Mondillo and Lawrence Minowitz, has earned $2,705,984. She paid $3.20 to win.

Maximus Miki and Zeron won the $492,958 Grade 1 FanDuel Championship for pacers by 1-3/4 lengths over Ken Hanover in a stakes-record-equalling 1:47.3.

Maximus Miki took the field to the first quarter in :26 before eventually yielding to Ken Hanover (Dave Miller) on their way to the half in :53.4. Ken Hanover remained in front to three-quarters in 1:21 but was unable to hold off Maximus Miki, who sprinted home in :26.2 on the way to his seventh victory of the year in 16 starts. Ken Hanover was second followed by Coaches Corner (Bartlett).

Maximus Miki is owned by John Cancelliere and trained by Tom Cancelliere. The six-year-old son of Always B Miki-Beach Gal has won 28 of 63 races lifetime and has earned more than $1,473,324.

“It had nothing to do with me, it all had to do with Tommy,” John Cancelliere said. “He said all along that I was going to love this horse, and I actually love him. I knew that Tommy and his crew would have him ready to go, and I knew that Scotty Z would be more than ready to go.”

Maximus Miki has won five graded stakes this season, with triumphs in the Canadian Pacing Derby (G1), Hoosier Park Pacing Derby (G2), a division of the William R. Haughton Memorial (G2) and Potomac Pace (G3) joining the FanDuel.

When asked where he thought Maximus Miki stacked up in the race for Dan Patch Award divisional honours, John Cancelliere said “That’s up to other people, that’s not up to me. In my book, he’s top dog. I had ($2.8 million-earner) Bettor Sweet, and he was beautiful, and this guy rates right up there with him. We can only hope for the best.”

Sent off at odds of 5-1, Maximus Miki paid $12.40 to win.

Following the race, 2024 Dan Patch Award-winner Abuckabett Hanover, who was fifth in the FanDuel Championship for pacers, was honoured as he heads to retirement. “Bucky” won 24 of 91 career races and earned more than $2.6 million in his career. He has been owned by Bill Pollock, Bruce Areman and trainer Andrew Harris since 2023.

“It’s a little tough,” Pollock said. “He’s the first horse I ever owned with Andrew and Bruce, and he races his heart out and gives you everything he’s got. He really was great last year. It’s always sad when one of your first ones is gone and you’re not going to really see him again. He’s [going to stand as a stallion at Tara Hills Stud] in Canada, so I’m not going to see him. But he worked hard and gave us everything he could.”

Regally bred Gentlemans Club persisted on the point and outlasted his rivals in a stretch sprint to take the $470,422 Grade 1 Governor’s Cup for rookie male pacers in a 1:50.2 effort.

Driver Andrew McCarthy sent Gentlemans Club forward, leading briefly before Ubrute (Gingras) barrelled to the top out of post 10. Ubrute crossed to the lead nearing a :26.3 first quarter, but McCarthy promptly circled Gentlemans Club back to the front early in the backstretch. Fragment (Bartlett), the 2-5 favourite, raced third and moved first-up heading into a :54.4 half but stalled when pressing Gentlemans Club through the far turn.

Fragment folded past three-quarters in 1:22 as Gentlemans Club straightened and set down for the finish. Ubrute swung out of the pocket to take a late shot while stablemate Melillo (Wrenn) zipped through a seam at the pylons with a fierce lunge. Gentlemans Club withstood the push at his flanks and paced sturdily to the line for a neck win over Melillo while Ubrute settled for third.

“I was pretty excited to get back on this horse on a big track – I gave him a rattle there last week and he raced huge, so I was quite confident going into tonight,” Andrew McCarthy said. “I just knew [trainer] Aaron [Lambert] had this horse ready. He did a fine job getting him to finish the year off like this.”

A colt by Downbytheseaside out of champion mare See You At Peelers, Gentlemans Club bagged his fifth win from 10 starts and has now amassed $347,271 for owner Tony Licastro. The Aaron Lambert trainee returned $28.60 to win.  

In the Grade 1 $592,958 Valley Victory, for two-year-old male trotters, Diabolic Hill ceded control mid-race to Spencer Hanover before getting the better of him in a stretch-long duel, prevailing in 1:53.3.

Diabolic Hill and driver Todd McCarthy followed AI (Gingras) in a two-wide tow on the first turn through a :28.3 first quarter before pushing clear with five eighths to go and immediately yielding to Spencer Hanover (Bartlett) to sit the pocket past a :56.3 half. McCarthy was quickly back out and moving with Diabolic Hill, and the Muscle Hill-Crysti Dream colt stuck a head in front past three-quarters in 1:25.3. Spencer Hanover fought back on the inside at the eighth pole, but Diabolic Hill countered his rival's move and reached the winning post a head in front. Nix Nacken (Dunn) finished third, beaten 3-1/4 lengths.

"He's just phenomenal — the way he fought down the stretch, you can't ask for more from a horse," said trainer Annie Stoebe, who co-owns Diabolic Hill with Mazza Racing Stables LLC. "Him going on the road really helped (with his maturity); he's just a smart boy. It's so rewarding to have an animal that powerful perform like that."

Now a five-time winner from 10 starts with $714,965 in earnings, Diabolic Hill paid $4.20 to win as the even-money favourite.

After being just upended by Busy Miss Lissy S in the Kindergarten Series Final two weeks ago, All Time Trot S turned the tables in the $650,704 Grade 1 Goldsmith Maid, for rookie trotting fillies, drafting in the pocket behind her fellow Svanstedt trainee before unleashing a :27.3 stretch push to reel her in and also hold off runner-up Nezuko Kamado S for a lifetime-best 1:54 score.

In line to Gingras, All Time Trot S secured a two-hole ride behind another stablemate in Isabella Bi (Svanstedt) through a :27.4 quarter before briefly taking over with five-eighths to go and then releasing Busy Miss Lissy S (Johnathan Ahle), who forged off cover to clear to the front before a :57.1 half. The Googoo Gaagaa-Gorgeous Am filly enjoyed clear sailing from the pocket through three-quarters in 1:26.1 before switching off the pegs at the eighth pole.

It took a few strides for All Time Trot S to switch gears, but she collared Busy Miss Lissy S with a 1/16th of a mile to go and outlasted a late charge from 9-5 favourite Nezuko Kamado S (Zeron) by a half-length. Busy Miss Lissy S finished a game third.

"You've got to respect the others, but I thought I had [Ahle] beat before I pulled," said Gingras of his mid-stretch move with All Time Trot S. "I had a handful of trot, but I could tell Åke had a little trot behind me, too, so I was biding my time and not trying to pull too early.

"She deserves it; she's a top filly."

Now a three-time winner from seven starts, All Time Trot S increased her earnings to $410,987 with the biggest win of her career. Robert Lindstrom's Midnight Sun Partners Inc. owns All Time Trot S, who paid $8.40 to win.

Azrael Blue Chip, driven by Andrew McCarthy for Besim Odza, won the NJSDF second leg for two-year-old male pacers in 1:51.3.

 A 20-cent Pick-6 double carryover of $9,241 motivated players to pour $59,479 of new money into the pot, and after Dance Partner scored in the 12th race at odds of 30-1, that set up three players to cash in for $19,929.72 after even-money favourite Like A Shadow scored in the 13th. All-source handle on the 14-race card totalled $3,443,597, which represented an increase of $116,217 over the corresponding card from last year. Racing resumes on Thursday at 6:20 p.m.

(With files from The Meadowlands; photos clockwise from top left of M Ms Dream, Miki And Minnie, All Time Trot S, Shes A Bulldog, Diabolic Hill, Lexus Kody, Gentlemans Club and Maximus Miki)