The post positions were drawn for the 101st edition of the Hambletonian Stakes for three-year-old trotters as well as the companion filly event, the 56th Hambletonian Oaks, at a luncheon on Tuesday, Aug. 4 at Chateau Grande in East Brunswick, New Jersey.

The Hambletonian and Oaks eliminations were held last Saturday to determine the starters for those Grade 1 stakes, which will be contested on Saturday, Aug. 8 at The Meadowlands.

Big Ranger is the 2-1 morning line favourite for the $1 million USD Hambletonian, sponsored by Winning Key Farm, and the elimination winner drew post position four for the final. The other elimination winner, Apex, drew post three and was installed as the 5-2 second choice on the morning line. Elimination winners drew for posts one through six followed by the remaining finalists in an open draw. 

Big Ranger, Ohio’s 2025 Horse of the Year, won his Hambletonian elimination by four lengths over It Could Be Worse in 1:50 this past Saturday at The Meadowlands. The son of In Ranger-Big Blue Bird has won 12 of 14 career races and earned $756,892 for the ownership group of Madison Global of Dundee, Ohio. Tim Tetrick will drive Big Ranger for trainer Anette Lorentzon.

The elimination was Big Ranger’s first trip to The Meadowlands and only his third race outside of Ohio.

“It didn’t really surprise me because he’s been doing everything so handy since we got him,” said Lorentzon, who began training Big Ranger in late May after he was previously with Ronnie Gillespie, about his elim. “It’s just a different thing when you’re going to a new track, a mile track and he hasn’t faced these kinds of horses since back in May, so you never know. I had faith in the horse, but everything had to go right, and it did.

“[The final] is a new race, but at least we got [the elimination] over with and he showed what kind of horse he is. I’m very happy.”

Apex, the 2025 Dan Patch Award winner for best two-year-old male trotter, won his Hambletonian elimination by a nose over Endurance in 1:50.4. The son of Walner-Mission Brief has hit the board in 12 of 13 career races, winning nine and earning $1.5 million for owners Jeff Snyder of New York City, New York, S R F Stable of Delray Beach, Florida and Steve Stewart of Paris, Kentucky. He is one of three finalists from the stable of trainer Marcus Melander.

“He hadn’t raced for a while and I was very happy with how he raced and fought Endurance off,” Melander said about Apex, who has three wins and a second in four stakes starts this year. “Our goal was to keep him in top [shape] and prepare him for the final. I’m happy with how he’s developed during the year. He’s raced great.”

Melander’s other finalists, Spencer Hanover and American Power, drew posts nine and 10, respectively.

Endurance will leave from post seven for driver Andrew McCarthy and trainer Chris Beaver. The son of Captain Corey-Love Session has 10 wins and three seconds in 14 career starts, with $1.2 million in earnings for owners Super Endurance Stable of Radner, Ohio, Bill Manes of Rockwood, Ont., Leo Fleming of Campbellville, Ont., and Mark Moger of Amelia Island, Florida. He is the 5-1 third choice on the morning line.

“The horse never really surprises me,” said Beaver. “He always comes up big.

“He’s raced on the front some because I was trying to keep him away from tough competition for part of the year, but his best race is when he’s coming off the pace. I think he’s got as big a set of lungs as any horse in the race and he loves a big track. I think as long as we can get into it, we have a good shot. It looks like Big Ranger wants to push the pace and that might work to our favour.”

Despite being defeated by Busy Miss Lissy S in her elimination last Saturday, 10-time winner Nezuko Kamado S has been installed the 2-1 morning line favourite for the $500,000 USD Hambletonian Oaks, sponsored by Winning Key Farm.

The Courant Inc. homebred leads a trio of three-year-old trotting fillies trained by Marcus Melander to compete in the Oaks and she looks to return to winning form after coming up a neck short to Busy Miss Lissy S in a 1:51.4 mile as the 3-10 favourite in the second of three Oaks eliminations. Despite coming up just short, Nezuko Kamado S earned ample praise from Melander for her performance.

"She raced very good; she came home in :26," said Melander. "I was very happy with her and how she raced. It was slow fractions and she couldn't go faster than she did [to finish]. I couldn't be happier with her. She's got a good attitude and gait, and she wants to chase horses down. Even if she's been winning her last couple starts on the lead, she's better from off the pace when she can chase other horses."

Nezuko Kamado S, who is the season's fastest three-year-old trotting filly to date by way of her 1:50.1 win in a division of the Grade 2 Del Miller Memorial on July 11 at The Meadowlands, drew post two. Scott Zeron will again drive the millionaire daughter of Chapter Seven-Zefira Kronos IT.

Her stablemate Setyoursightshigh, who dug deep to fend off ferocious sub-:26 charges from Leading Lady and Custom for a 1:53.1 win in the third elimination, is the 6-1 fourth choice and will start from post four with Dexter Dunn nominated to drive.

"She's in good form," said Melander of the In Range-Special Interest filly, whom he plans to race barefoot in the final. "Her year has been a little mixed, but lately it's going in the right direction."

Also a 10-time winner and millionaire thus far, Setyoursightshigh took her mark of 1:51.4 in the Grade 2 Zweig Memorial filly division on July 19 at Vernon Downs.

Carve, who was the fastest elimination winner with a 1:51.1 win in the first split, is the 7-2 second choice, and will start from post six with Andy McCarthy aboard for trainer Noel Daley.

"She's good enough to win [the Hambletonian Oaks] because she's quick; she's always going to put herself in the race," said Daley of the Captain Corey-Alpine filly, who rallied up the pegs with a :26.1 closing quarter to post her fifth career victory. "She can win it; it just depends on the trip. She's not a superstar, but she is very handy."

The aforementioned Busy Miss Lissy S, whom trainer Åke Svanstedt drove to a 1:51.4 score in the second elimination, drew the pole and has been made the 4-1 third choice for the final.

"I've said all along that I'm so impressed with her every time she hits the track because she is very small, but she has the biggest heart that I have seen," said assistant trainer Sarah Svanstedt of the Calgary Games-Hills Angel S filly, who races as a homebred for Panamera Racing. "Her instinct to know where the wire is and want to win has come a very long way."

Busy Miss Lissy S also won a division of the Grade 3 New York New York Mile at MGM Yonkers Raceway, which she won by 7-3/4 lengths in 1:54.1.

Hambletonian Day at The Meadowlands will feature a stakes-packed 16-race card with an early post time of 12 noon. The Hambletonian Oaks is carded as the ninth race with an approximate post time of 3:36 p.m. and the Hambletonian will be race 11 with an approximate post time of 4:51 p.m. The Hambletonian will be broadcast live as part of Fox Sports 2's (FS2) coverage of Saturday's stakes action at The Meadowlands from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. as well as Prime Time Racing's all-day coverage on Game+.

The fields for the main events are below, with listed drivers and trainers. Elimination winners (*) drew for posts one through six. Final driver changes are due by Thursday, Aug. 6 at 10 a.m.

$1 million USD Hambletonian Stakes (Grade 1)
Post - Horse - Listed Driver - Trainer - Morning Line Odds
1. Minoan - Andrew McCarthy - Noel Daley - 25-1
2. It Could Be Worse - Scott Zeron - Linda Toscano - 8-1
3. Apex* - Dexter Dunn - Marcus Melander - 5-2
4. Big Ranger* - Tim Tetrick - Anette Lorentzon - 2-1
5. Captain Naughty - Jason Bartlett - Per Engblom - 15-1
6. AI - Ronnie Wrenn Jr. - Ron Burke - 12-1
7. Endurance - Andrew McCarthy - Chris Beaver - 5-1
8. Magic Punk - Yannick Gingras - Ake Svanstedt - 15-1
9. Spencer Hanover - Jason Bartlett - Marcus Melander - 20-1
10. American Power - James MacDonald - Marcus Melander - 10-1

$500,000 USD Hambletonian Oaks (Grade 1)
Post - Horse - Listed Driver - Trainer - Morning Line Odds
1. Busy Miss Lissy S* - Ake Svanstedt - Ake Svanstedt - 4-1
2. Nezuko Kamado S - Scott Zeron - Marcus Melander - 2-1
3. Custom - Jason Bartlett - Per Engblom - 8-1
4. Setyoursightshigh* - Dexter Dunn - Marcus Melander - 6-1
5. Lainey W - Dexter Dunn - Marcus Melander - 12-1
6. Carve* - Andrew McCarthy - Noel Daley - 7-2
7. Leading Lady - Matt Kakaley - Nancy Takter - 10-1
8. Storybook Love - Todd Ratchford - Matt Bax - 25-1
9. Frattina Diablo S - Tim Tetrick - Tony Alagna - 25-1
10. Madam Cheval - Tim Tetrick - Nancy Takter - 25-1

A replay of the Hambletonian and Oaks post draw is available below.

(With files from Meadowlands Racetrack)