Warrawee Needy matched the fastest race mile in the sport of harness racing with a breath-taking 1:46.4 victory in the first William R. Haughton Memorial Pace elimination for the father-son, trainer-driver team of Carl and Jody Jamieson on Saturday night at Meadowlands Racetrack.

Warrawee Needy rallied home off cover and wore down the leading Golden Receiver (Corey Callahan) for the record victory. Harness racing's richest pacer Foiled Again (Yannick Gingras) finished third with Razzle Dazzle (John Campbell) fourth and Hugadragon (David Miller) fifth.

When the wings of the gate closed, outside post nine starter Foiled Again worked his way to the lead ahead of his fellow Ron Burke stablemate Hugadragon to take over command past the :26-second opening quarter mark with Golden Receiver hot on his heels after getting away in the top three.

Golden Receiver cleared to command during the second panel and reached the half in :52.3. Meanwhile, A Rocknroll Dance (Ron Pierce) and Warrawee Needy began to advance first and second over from mid-pack chasing Golden Receiver past the 1:20.2 third quarter mark.

Golden Receiver continued to lead the field into the stretch, but Warrawee Needy kicked off cover and was quickly closing in with a :26-second final quarter. The top two battled down the lane with Warrawee Needy eventually drawing clear for the historic victory.

The time of the mile equalled Holborn Hanover's world record, originally set in the 2006 U.S. Pacing Championship at The Meadowlands. The 1:46.4 clocking was also matched by Somebeachsomewhere in the 2008 Bluegrass Series at The Red Mile.

"This horse has showed week in and week out that off a helmet he can be vicious," noted Jody Jamieson after the victory. "And how about Golden Receiver? I thought I was by him about three times in the stretch and he was still right there.

"He's just an amazing horse," continued the winning reinsman. "I can't tell how fast we're going at The Meadowlands. I saw :52.3 flash up and I thought it must have been an illusion or something. It's just a huge half and a huge three-quarters. I knew we were going fast down by the wire and I gave him a couple of little flicks of the tail to keep going and he deserves that mark."

Bred by Warrawee Farms of Rockwood, Ont., the four-year-old son of E Dees Cam is owned by his 2013 Canadian Horse Racing Hall Of Fame trainer along with Dr. Michael Wilson of Rockwood, Ont., Thomas Kyron of Toronto and Floyd Marshall of Jarvis, Ont.

The victory pushed Warrawee Needy's career bankroll over the $1 million mark.

Sweet Lou, another Burke trainee driven by Yannick Gingras, captured the second elimination in 1:48.4 defeating favourite Pet Rock (David Miller) in a stretch duel. Bolt The Duer (Mark MacDonald) was third with Warrawee Needy's stablemate Up The Credit (Jody Jamieson) also qualifying for the Haughton after finishing fourth. Fifth-place finisher Aracache Hanover (John Campbell) secured the last spot in the final.

Bolt The Duer established the early lead over Aracache Hanover during a :27-second opening panel, but Pet Rock quickly swept to command from fourth as the field moved into the backstretch.

Sweet Lou made his move before the :55 half-mile mark, advancing first over from mid-pack with Up The Credit on his back. The four-year-old son of Yankee Cruiser rolled up alongside the popular leader as they reached the third quarter mark in 1:23.1 and turned for home.

The duel last the length of the stretch with Sweet Lou eventually edging by at the wire for the mild 8-1 upset.

“At the top of the stretch he was loaded with pace,” noted Gingras in a post-race interview. “He was waiting for me to call on him around the last turn. He felt really strong. I didn’t want to get to David’s wheel too fast for him to get going -- I was just riding there, sitting chilling -- but the minute I called on him he responded real good."

Sweet Lou is owned by Burke Racing Stable LLC of Fredericktown, Pennsylvania, Weaver Bruscemi LLC of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, Lawrence Karr of Randolph, New Jersey, and Phillip Collura of Mountain Top, Pennsylvania.

“Foiled Again raced very good,” added Gingras. “He’s not really used to getting used that much early -- :26, :52 -- it’s a little much on the old man, but he raced really good. He probably paced the fastest mile in his life and finished third.”

The top five finishers in each Haughton elimination advance to next weekend's final with the winning connections earning the chance to pick their post positions.

Saturday's card also featured a single elimination for the Meadowlands Pace with favourite Sunshine Beach prevailing in a career-best 1:48 in rein to George Brennan for Lansdowne, Ont. trainer Mark Steacy.

The top seven finishers will join a trio of colts, including Captaintreacherous, Twilight Bonfire and Wake Up Peter, who received byes based on their money-earnings in next weekend's final. The second through seventh-place finishers were Odds On Equuleus (John Campbell), Resistance Futile (Ron Pierce), Rockin Amadeus (Yannick Gingras), Beach Memories (David Miller), Johny Rock (Andy Miller), and Sir Carys Z Tam (Pat Lachance).

Johny Rock (Andy Miller) was the first the front, putting up a :26.4 opening quarter, but Beach Memories and Sunshine Beach were on the move early and rolled by the early leader.

Beach Memories cleared first with Sunshine Beach edging out in front by the :53 half-mile mark. The new leader proceeded the three-quarter in 1:21 with Odds On Equuleus on the attack.

But Sunshine Beach was still clear on top entering the stretch and held off a final surge by Odds On Equuleus, earning his connections a chance to pick their post position in next week's big-money event.

The Somebeachsomewhere colt is owned by Hudson Standardbred Stable Inc. of Hudson, Que., Conrad Leber of Montreal, Que., and Diane Bertrand of Edmonton, Alta.

"He just was growthy and never found himself last year," said Steacy. "He got a little steppy a couple of times and needed to fill out so we just shut him down early. I knew the talent was there and we've just been biding our time and sure enough he's starting to come around now."

Saturday's program also included four divisions of New Jersey Sires Stakes for two-year-old pacers ahead of next weekend’s $150,000 finals. The filly winners were Rockingcam Park and Fiyonce while Western Vintage and In The Clear won the colt divisions.

Rockingcam Park surged past Bolt of Thunder by two and a half lengths to stay perfect in two starts with Andy Miller aboard for trainer Ron Coyne Jr. Fiyonce edged Ideal Helen, the 1-5 favourite, by a head in 1:52.4 with Gingras in the sulky for Burke.

Western Vintage is now two-for-two following the 1:52.1 three and a half length score over Sweet Rock with Gingras at the lines for trainer Nancy Johansson. In The Clear held off Shark Leap Hanover by three-quarters of a length in 1:53.4. Andrew McCarthy drove for trainer Aaron Lambert.

The post draws were conducted during the card for the Haughton, Meadowlands Pace and Merrie Annabelle, which did not require eliminations. The fields will line up as follows:

William R. Haughton Memorial

1. Hugadragon
2. Warrawee Needy
3. Sweet Lou
4. Razzle Dazzle
5. Golden Receiver
6. Foiled Again
7. Bolt The Duer
8. Aracache Hanover
9. Pet Rock
10. Up The Credit

Meadowlands Pace

1. Odds On Equuleus
2. Sunshine Beach
3. Resistance Futile
4. Twilight Bonfire
5. Captaintreacherous
6. Sir Carys Z Tam
7. Johny Rock
8. Beach Memories
9. Wake Up Peter
10. Rockin Amadeus

Mistletoe Shalee

1. Novascotia Hanover
2. I Luv The Nitelife
3. Shebestingin
4. Jerseylicious
5. Acquavella
6. Nikki Beach
7. Charisma Hanover

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