The Breeders Crown eliminations wrapped up on Saturday night at Meadowlands Racetrack filling the remaining spots left in the $5.4 million championships that will take place next weekend.

Two-Year-Old Colt Trot

After making the lead early on, Pinkman ($4.40) was shuffled to third, but came back on down the stretch to win the first $25,000 elimination in 1:54.1 with Yannick Gingras in the sulky.

Winning trainer Jimmy Takter also qualified The Bank, who stormed home outside of Pinkman for the runner-up role, and fifth-place finisher Walter White.

Habitat took over the lead after the :27.3 opening quarter mark and reached the half in :57 before being confronted by Guess Whos Back. Those two battled past three-quarters in 1:26.3 and were inseparable at the wire, finishing third in a dead-heat.

Pinkman already boasts victories in the Valley Victory and International Stallion Stakes on his freshman record. Takter's wife Christina co-owns the Explosive Matter-Margie Seelster gelding with Joyce McClelland, Herb Liverman and Toronto's John and Jim Fielding.

Takter swept the two-year-old colt trot eliminations with Kindergarten Classic and Champlain Stakes winner French Laundry ($9.80) and Brett Miller closing off cover to prevail in 1:55.1.

The Muscles Yankee-Creamy Mimi colt is also owned by Christina Takter and the Fielding brothers, along with breeders Marvin Katz of Toronto and Al Libfeld of Pickering, Ont.

Uncle Lasse worked his way to the lead from his outer post during the :28-second opening panel, but the parked and pressing Whataworkout took over into the backstretch. As the new leader trotted past middle splits of :56.4 and 1:27.1, French Laundry followed Stonebridge Force's cover then surged by in the stretch and held off fellow late-closer Muscle Diamond by a head. Suit And Tie and Piercewave Hanover came on for third and fourth while Uncle Lasse, another Takter trainee, finished fifth for the remaining spot in the final.

Three-Year-Old Colt Pace

Supplemental entry and 3-5 favourite Always B Miki made a backstretch brush to take the lead under the guidance of driver David Miller and held off a wall of closers at the wire to win his elimination in 1:50 flat.

Jk Endofanera protected his pylon position off the gate forcing a leaving Luck Be Withyou into the pocket spot and led the way through a :27 first quarter before Always B Miki made his move. Down the backstretch, Always B Miki rushed up from fourth and cleared to command just before the :55 half-mile mark. He kept first over Hes Watching at bay through three-quarters in 1:23.1 and paced strong to the wire to prevail by a neck over Jk Endofanera, Lets Drink On It, Somesizesomestyle, who spread across the track in second through fourth. Luck Be Withyou finished fifth.

"He's been real sharp. He raced great again tonight," said Miller of the sophomore colt, who has won nine of his last 10 starts.

The Indiana Sires Stakes star boasts victories in the Somebeachsomewhere Stakes, Bluegrass Series, Tattersalls Pace and Monument Circle, and was impressive in his second-place effort in the Meadowlands Pace that Miller describes as "probably the biggest mile I've ever seen him go."

Joe Holloway trains the son of the sire he campaigned, Always A Virgin.

Roll The Dice Stable's Joseph Hurley bred Always B Miki and shares ownership with Bluewood Stable and Val Dor Farms. After the elimination, he described the feeling of heading into the Breeders Crown finals with the horse to beat as "ecstasy" and noted it's "pretty impressive for Always A Virgin, for an Indiana sire" to have the favourite in both three-year-old divisions. (Sophomore filly Colors A Virgin, also sired by Always A Virgin, won her Friday night elimination.)

Limelight Beach overcame his outside post eight and went wire-to-wire to win the second elimination in 1:49.3 as the 4-5 favourite.

Hustled off the gate by driver Yannick Gingras, the Ron Burke-trained Limelight Beach led through fractions of :26.2, :54.3, 1:23 and unleashed a :26.3 final kicker to fend off first over attacker McWicked for the half-length victory.

"He sure did give me a good run in the stretch," Gingras said of runner-up McWicked. "I was really confident my horse had a good last quarter left in him, but he definitely gave me a little scare."

Doo Wop Hanover finished third while the winner's stablemate, Somestarsomewhere, was fourth and pocket-sitter Capital Account earned the remaining spot in the final.

After the victory, Gingras commented on the Little Brown Jug and Bluegrass champion's late-season success. "Just before he won the Jug he had some seconds and thirds. He kept getting better and better and since then the only hiccup was Chicago -- he jumped something -- but he would have been right there that night too," he said.

The Somebeachsomewhere-Benear gelding is owned by Burke Racing Stable LLC, Weaver Bruscemi LLC, M1 Stable LLC and the Wingfield Brothers.

Two-Year-Old Colt Pace

Go Daddy Go ($7.20) persevered in a stretch duel with Lost For Words to win his elimination in 1:51.1.

Driver John Campbell sent Go Daddy Go from fourth to first after the :27-second opening quarter and the action continued in the second panel as even-money favourite Lost For Words followed that move and took over command by the :54.2 half-mile mark. Go Daddy Go was flushed back out of the pocket nearing the 1:23 third quarter mark and engaged the leader in a battle that lasted the length of the stretch. In the end, Go Daddy Go prevailed over Lost For Words by a neck with Franzo closing along the pylons for third. Sicily finished fourth and Soto was fifth.

"He's been a nice colt from day one," said Hall of Fame horseman Bob McIntosh, who trains, bred and co-owns the chestnut colt with Dave Boyle of Bowmanville, Ont. "I campaigned Ponder, his sire, and he was just double tough. This colt, he's incredible for the long year he's had. He's feeling better now than he has anytime this year. He's just really tough."

When asked to describe his level of confidence heading into the Breeders Crown with the Battle Of Waterloo champion, McIntosh laughed and said, "After tonight I feel pretty good!"

Traceur Hanover survived a first over journey and pulled off a 22-1 upset in the second elimination for his Canadian connections of trainer Corey Johnson and owner Richard Berthiaume of Pointe-Aux-Trembles, Que.

Driven by Andy Miller, Traceur Hanover went first up from fifth at the half and overtook favourite In The Arsenal in the stretch for the 1:50.3 victory. Pocket-sitter Lyons Levis Lewis edged out In The Arsenal, who had blasted to the lead from post 10 and laid down fractions of :26.3, :54.3 and 1:23 to three-quarters. Cooperstown and Tomy Terror finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

The Nassagaweya Stakes winner shaved three full seconds off his lifetime mark and paid $46.30 to win.

"Corey told me he thought his best couple of starts were coming into this week and next week. He said he felt really good and he thought he had a shot," said Miller, who drove the Western Ideal-Transference colt for the first time. "He felt good [scoring down], he just went around there and went about his business and felt really good."

While the first-up trip wasn't what Miller expected, he said Traceur Hanover carried him up alongside the leader and dug in. "I think if he races back like he did tonight he's got a big shot," he said.

Recently returning to the race bike after recovering from injuries sustained in an accident back in April, Miller noted, "A win helps a lot, it makes me feel better!"

Open Trot

After making headlines for topping the Harrisburg Sale last week, trotting mare Maven beat the boys in the lone elimination for the Open Trot division.

Purchased for $750,000 by Herb Liverman, the five-year-old Glidemaster-M Stewart mare was making her first start from the hot Jimmy Takter barn and she stole the show, scoring a 1:52.2 victory off an overland journey from post 10.

"She was really sharp in the post parade. When I went by Jimmy, I told him she felt like her old self," said Maven's regular reinsman Yannick Gingras.

Early leader Quick Deal broke stride after the :27.2 opening quarter with Sevruga to his outside and inheriting first-place. Sevruga reached the half in :56 with Arch Madness next in line in the outer flow, followed by Archangel and
Muscle Hill Trot winner Maven. Arch Madness edged ahead of Sevruga approaching the 1:24.2 third quarter mark and took the field into the stretch with Archangel closing to his outside, Maven launching off cover and Your So Vain even wider. In a sprint to the wire, Maven prevailed over Your So Vain for the victory.

"She was parked the whole mile with cover so the trip worked out okay, but it was obviously not ideal," said Gingras after the race. "But from post 10 it's about as good as it was going to get.

"She's such a great horse. She didn't have the best of weeks coming from the sale and behind parked the whole mile and dug in. She was tired down the stretch, but she showed what a great horse she is."

The top six finishers advance to the final and include Maven, Your So Vain, Flanagan Memory, Wishing Stone, Archangel and Arch Madness. They will face a quartet of trotters that received byes -- Commander Crowe, Creatine, Intimidate, and Market Share.

Open Pacers Prep In Free-For-Alls

With only 11 older pacing mares entered in the Breeders Crown, eliminations were not necessary, but five of the contenders fit in a tune-up mile in the evening's $30,000 Mares Free For All Handicap Pace. Voelz Hanover, with Brian Sears aboard for trainer Corey Johnson, went wire-to-wire in 1:51.2 and prevailed by three-quarters of a length over Anndrovette and Camille. Defending Breeders Crown champion Shelliscape finished fifth in the prep race and Rocklamation was seventh.

In the matching Free For All for horses and geldings, the entire seven-horse field was spread across just two and three-quarter lengths at the wire with the Tony O'Sullivan-trained and Andrew McCarthy-driven Aslan kicking home off a three-hole trip and upsetting at odds of 19-1 in a head decision over Als Hammered and Beach Memories in 1:48.3. Of the Breeders Crown hopefuls in the field, Thinking Out Loud finished just a neck back with Clear Vision sixth after trailing most of the mile and pacesetter State Treasurer seventh.

The $5.4 million Breeders Crown championships will be conducted next weekend on Friday, November 21 and Saturday, November 22.

The fields are listed below, including the divisions not requiring eliminations and those determined after Friday's eliminations. The Three-Year-Old Colt Pace, Three-Year-Old Colt Trot and Open Trot will be drawn at the press conference at Victory Sports Bar at The Meadowlands on Tuesday, November 18 at 2 p.m.

$500,000 Two-Year-Old Filly Pace
Post - Horse
1. Southwind Roulette
2. Divine Caroline
3. Happy Becky
4. JK Shesalady
5. Heart Major
6. Bettor Be Steppin
7. Well Hello There
8. Bettor N Better
9. Heavenly Bride
10. Sassa Hanover
AE1. Ideal Nuggets
AE2. The Show Returns

$500,000 Two-Year-Old Colt Pace
(Listed in alphabetical order)
Cooperstown
Franzo
Go Daddy Go
In The Arsenal
Lost For Word
Lyons Levi Lewis
Sicily
Soto
Tomy Terror
Traceur Hanover

$500,000 Two-Year-Old Colt Trot
Post - Horse
1. French Laundry
2. Walter White
3. Habitat
4. Suit And Tie
5. Pinkman
6. Muscle Diamond
7. Guess Whos Back
8. Uncle Lasse
9. Piercewave Hanover
10. The Bank

$500,000 Two-Year-Old Filly Trot
Post - Horse
1. Love Me Madly
2. Wild Honey
3. Danielle Hall
4. Wiclet Hanover
5. Mission Brief
6. Stubborn Belle
7. Lilu Hanover
8. Hot Start
9. Livininthefastlane
10. Smexi
AE1. Sarcy
AE2. Scented Roses

$593,750 Three-Year-Old Filly Pace
Post - Horse
1. Major Dancer
2. Beach Gal
3. Gettingreadytoroll
4. Gallie Bythe Beach
5. Colors A Virgin (supplement)
6. Uffizi Hanover
7. Beach Story
8. Allstar Rating
9. Sayitall BB (supplement)
10. Precocious Beauty
AE1. Weeper (supplement)
AE2. Table Talk

$531,250 Three-Year-Old Colt Pace
(Listed in alphabetical order)
Always B Miki (supplement)
Captial Account
Doo Wop Hanover
Jk Endofanera
Lets Drink On It
Limelight Beach
Luck Be Withyou
McWicked
Somesizesomestyle
Somestarsomewhere

$500,000 Three-Year-Old Filly Trot
Post - Horse
1. Market Rally
2. Lifetime Pursuit
3. Shake It Cerry
4. Struck By Lindy
5. Cantabs Fortune
6. Heavens Door
7. Vanity Matters
8. Riveting Rosie
9. Cee Bee Yes

$500,000 Three-Year-Old Colt Trot
(Listed in alphabetical order)
Datsyuk
Don Dorado
E L Titan
Father Patrick
Harper Blue Chip
Hillustrious
Il Sogno Dream
Nuncio
Odds On Amethyst
Sumatra

$281,250 Mares Open Pace
Post - Horse
1. Camille
2. Charisma Hanover
3. Voelz Hanover
4. Somwherovrarainbow
5. Yagonnakissmeornot (supplement)
6. Shelliscape
7. Krispy Apple
8. Anndrovette
9. Rocklamation
10. Regil Elektra
11. Venus Delight (supplement)

$400,000 Open Pace
Post - Horse
1. Bettors Edge
2. Modern Legend
3. State Treasurer
4. Thinking Out Loud
5. Foiled Again
6. Clear Vision
7. Sweet Lou

$250,000 Mares Open Trot
Post - Horse
1. Intense America
2. Classic Martine
3. Bee A Magician
4. Handover Belle
5. Ma Chere Hall
6. Charmed Life
7. Dorsay
8. Mistery Woman

$500,000 Open Trot
(Listed in alphabetical order)
Archangel
Arch Madness
Commander Crowe (bye)
Creatine (bye)
Flanagan Memory
Intimidate (bye)
Market Share (bye)
Maven
Wishing Stone
Your So Vain