Hall of Fame driver John Campbell will be on the sidelines for the Hambletonian for the first time since 1982, ending his record streak of 32 consecutive years of participation in harness racing’s top race for three-year-old trotters, but he remains intrigued by this year’s event.

Saturday’s $1.2 million Hambletonian features numerous story lines, starting with filly Mission Brief attempting to become the first female trotter since Continentalvictory in 1996 to win the race. Mission Brief is the 6-5 morning line favourite in the second of two $100,000 eliminations. Pinkman is the 8-5 choice in the first division despite starting from post No. 10.

The top five finishers from each elimination advance to the $1 million final, scheduled for approximately 5:15 p.m., at Meadowlands Racetrack. First race post time for Hambletonian Day is 12 noon and coverage of the Cane Pace, Hambletonian Oaks and Hambletonian will air from 4:00 - 5:30 p.m. on cable’s CBS Sports Network.

“Pinkman has been the most consistent and best colt so far and he’s drawn (post) 10. That’s an unknown,” said Campbell, who suffered a broken wrist in an accident during qualifiers on July 31 at the Meadowlands. “Mission Brief going against the boys is an unknown. She drew well. I think she’s going to be a factor.

“But just those two things right there are going to make it intriguing. There are a lot of variables going into it.”

Mission Brief was the 2014 Dan Patch Award winner for best two-year-old female trotter and has won 12 of 17 career races and earned $791,417. She also holds the world record for the fastest time for any 2-year-old trotter in history, 1:50.3.

This year, she has won three of four races while dealing with back woes, which have improved in recent weeks thanks to chiropractic work. She enters the Hambletonian off a 1:51.4 win in the filly division of the Zweig Memorial on July 26 at Vernon Downs.

“She’s got a good chance,” said Campbell, who has won the Hambletonian a record six times. “She’s going to race well, I think. Her last race at Vernon was very strong.

“But it’s a tougher competition. There’s no question the colts are tougher than the fillies this year. It kind of depends on how much she improves for this next race, that’s another unknown. It’s going to be tougher for her to get to the front than it was at Vernon. But ability-wise she’s right there with the colts.”

Campbell, who did not require surgery for his injury, is uncertain when he will return to action but expects to be sidelined for at least three weeks. He has earned $2.97 million in purses this year, which ranks 16th among all drivers in North America, despite having the fewest starts of any driver in the top 50. His top horses have included Doo Wop Hanover, JL Cruze, Meladys Monet, Muscle Diamond, The Show Returns, and Wild Honey.

“The year had been going extremely well up to this point,” Campbell said. “I had some really good horses to race in the stakes coming up this weekend and going forward through the rest of the year. I was really looking forward to that. We’ll have to re-evaluate, reassess, and hopefully I get some of those mounts back or pick up new ones when I get back to work.”

This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.