Quebec-owned Rebeka Bayama and driver Sylvain Filion followed their cover three-wide and then rallied home to win the 10th edition of the $218,850 Golden Girls for open mares during Friday night's stakes-filled harness racing card at Meadowlands Racetrack.

When the wings of the gate folded, Royal Cee Cee N (Corey Callahan) fired to command from post nine while the popular world champion Put On A Show (Jody Jamieson) made a costly break in stride taking herself out of contention. Royal Cee Cee N cleared to command early on, but her lead was short-lived as Anndrovette (Tim Tetrick) pulled the pocket and swept by at the :26.2 opening quarter mark.

Down the backstretch, the parked out Rocklamation (Ron Pierce) rolled up to apply heavy pressure to the new leader. The top two mares battled head-to-head to the half in :53.4 with Drop The Ball (Yannick Gingras) moving up into the second over spot and Rebeka Bayama spotted third over.

Drop The Ball angled three-wide as the field neared the 1:22.1 third quarter station with Rebeka Bayama following that move. As the mares entered the stretch, Drop The Ball took over command, but Rebeka Bayama collared her in the final strides to win in 1:49 flat. Rocklamation finished third.

Rebeka Bayama, who followed up her close runner-up effort in the Lady Liberty on Hambletonian Day with a career-best 1:48.3 victory in the Mares Invitational last week at the Big M, is now five-for-11 this year. The homebred five-year-old Leader Bayama mare is trained by Pat Lachance while racing in the U.S. for owner Bayama Farms Inc. of Saint-Andre-D'Argenteuil, Que. She now has 21 wins on her career record and boasts purse earnings totalling $560,978.

A few races later Golden Receiver cruised wire-to-wire in 1:48.2 to earn his second consecutive stakes trophy in the $431,400 William R. Haughton Memorial for open pacers.

After the field, which was scratched down to six starters, was led to post by the retiring $3.9 million earner Won The West, driver Andy Miller sent U.S. Pacing Championship winner Golden Receiver to the lead while outsider We Will See (Ron Pierce) slipped into the two-hole during a :25.4 opening panel. Golden Receiver then carved out middle splits of :54 and 1:21.2 while Foiled Again (Yannick Gingras) was flushed first up by Aracache Hanover (Doug McNair), who angled three-wide into the stretch for a late attack. But no one could catch Golden Receiver as he cruised home for his 48th lifetime score. We Will See finished second and Aracache Hanover was third.

Mark Harder trains the millionaire son of Village Jove, who is 12-for-19 this year thanks in part to sweeps of the Presidential Series and Spring Pacing Championship earlier in the year. The seven-year-old gelding is owned by Stable 45 of Florida and New York's Richard Taylor, Stephen Springer, and (breeder) Nina Simmonds.

Earlier on the card, three-year-old trotting filly Maven rebounded from her Hambletonian Oaks miscue and lowered Southwind Wasabi's Moni Maker stakes record to 1:52.3 in the $191,500 race with Yannick Gingras in the bike for trainer Jonas Czernyson and Florida owner W. J. Donovan. Jimmy Takter trainees Valdonna (Dave Palone) and Superstar Hanover (Takter) finished second and third, respectively.

Cedar Dove continued her perfect record in the Miss Versatility Series for trotting mares as she swept to command at the half in Friday's $40,000 third leg and cruised home to win by two lengths in 1:52.3, equalling her career mark. The four-year-old Andover Hall mare, also a winner of the Ima Lulu Series this year, was driven to victory by Ron Pierce for trainer Noel Daley. She is owned by the Adam Victor And Son Stable of New York and John Fielding of Toronto, Ont. Action Broadway (Brian Sears) and Pembroke Heat Wave (Tim Tetrick) were second and third.

The series will move to Tioga Downs next on August 26 before cumulating with a $100,000 (est.) final on Little Brown Jug Day, September 20 at the Delaware Ohio County Fair.

A quartet of $150,000 New Jersey Sire Stakes Championships for freshmen were also a part of the closing card line-up.

Johny Rock extended his winning streak to three, scoring a length and a half victory in the two-year-old pacing colts and geldings final. Johny Rock, with Tim Tetrick driving, paced a career best 1:51.1. The John Butenschoen trainee has never been worse than second in six career starts. Rocknmyjeans was second, and it was two and a half lengths to Wake Up Peter in third as sons of Rocknroll Hanover took the top three spots.

A $60,000 Lexington Selected Sale purchase, Johny Rock has earned $119,691 for the partnership of Jean Goehlen and Eugene Schick of Illinois and William Wiswell of Wisconsin.

Corky led the sweep of sons of Muscles Yankee in the final for two-year-old trotting colts and geldings. When Deadliest Catch by Chocolatier, the only non-Muscles Yankee finalist in the field of six, broke stride in the first turn, 1-5 Corky coasted to a three length victory over King Muscles in 1:57.3. It was three and a quarter lengths to Amalfi Coast in third.

Corky, driven by David Miller and trained by Jimmy Takter, picked up his third win with four seconds in seven starts. He won all of his New Jersey Sire Stakes starts and was second best by a neck in the Peter Haughton Memorial. A $100,000 Lexington Selected Sale purchase, Corky now has a bankroll of $227,297 for owners Christina Takter of New Jersey and Toronto brothers Jim and John Fielding.

Southwind Cocoa followed a third over path and peeled out five-wide in the stretch to nip Time To Kill by a nose and Shared Past by a neck in a three-horse photo finish in the two-year-old trotting filly championship. Southwind Cocoa, driven by Tim Tetrick, covered the mile in 1:55.3, equalling the stakes record set by Act Of Grace on July 18, 1995.

The Chocolatier filly, a $6,000 Lexington Selected Sale purchase, is from the same team of trainer Linda Toscano and owner Richard Gutnick of Pennsylvania, that combined to win this year’s Hambletonian with Market Share and the Nat Ray with Chapter Seven. Time To Kill is by Muscles Yankee and Shared Past is a daughter of Chocolatier.

Even-money favourite Authorize swept past Jerseylicious, tossing in a final quarter of :25.4, to win the final for two-year-old pacing fillies by half a length in 1:52.3. It was three-quarters of a length back to Miss Lauren in third.

Authorize, driven by Brian Sears and trained by Tony Alagna, extended her winning streak to four. Bred and owned by Brittany Farms of Kentucky and the Estate of Brian Monieson of Illinois, she has finished first or second in five of seven starts and banked $108,000. Authorize and Jerseylicious are both daughters of Western Ideal while Miss Lauren is by Cams Card Shark.

With a win and top three finishes in the designated Vernon/Meadowlands Drivers' Championship races amidst the stakes action, driver Dave Palone leads the way heading into the final leg of the driver competition, which will be held at Vernon Downs on Sunday, August 26. He earned a $10,000 cheque for the winning the first round.

In a $5,500 Racing Under Saddle exhibition race, Tina Duer rode Chinese Cuisine to a five and three-quarter length victory over Helene Gregory aboard Armbro Doyle. It was eight and a quarter lengths back to Dream Kid, ridden by Jennifer Connor, in third. The mile was trotted in 2:00.2. Chinese Cuisine, trained by John Duer, is a four-year-old gelding son of Revenue owned and bred by Kentucky's Peninsula Farm.

The Championship Meet wrapped up with driver Yannick Gingras and trainer Ron Burke earning their first Meadowlands meet titles. Burke Racing also won the owner’s race.

Live harness racing will return to The Meadowlands on December 28.

To view Friday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Friday Results - Meadowlands Racetrack.

(With files from SBOANJ & Meadowlands Racetrack)