Posts Drawn For North America Cup

The post position draw for the $1 million Pepsi North America Cup took place today (Tuesday, June 14) during a noontime luncheon at Mohawk Racetrack.

The NA Cup, which is Canada’s most prestigious event for three-year-old pacers, will be contested as part of a stakes-packed program of racing this Saturday (June 18) at the Campbellville, Ont. oval.

A pair of Cup eliminations took place this past weekend. The top five finishers from each elimination advanced to the final. Betting Line turned in a career-best performance of 1:49.1 when he captured the first elim for driver David Miller and trainer Casie Coleman. The Steve Elliott-trained and Tim Tetrick-driven Boston Red Rocks lowered his lifetime mark to 1:50.3 when he won the second elim. To read comprehensive analysis of the elims, including the race replays and comments from connections, click here.

Mitch Marner, the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Player of the Year and Toronto Maple Leafs top prospect, was the special guest drawmaster for Tuesday's event.

The connections of Betting Line and Boston Red Rocks earned the right to select their charges post positions for the final, courtesy of their elimination wins. The connections of Betting Line picked first and selected Post 3. The connections of Boston Red Rocks then opted for Post 4.

Mohawk’s NA Cup card will also showcase the $438,000 final of the Fan Hanover Stakes, the $370,000 final of the Roses Are Red Stakes, the $268,000 final of the Goodtimes Stakes, the $267,000 final of the Armbro Flight and the $100,000 Mohawk Gold Cup.

The North America Cup can be watched live on TSN Saturday night.

First-race post time for Saturday’s card at Mohawk is 6:30 p.m.

Post positions for the North America Cup appear below.

$1 Million Pepsi North America Cup
(Post – Horse – Driver – Trainer – Morning Line Odds)
1 – Big Top Hanover – Yannick Gingras – Ron Burke – 6-1
2 – Lyons Snyder – Sylvain Filion – Mark Silva – 4-1
3 – Betting Line – David Miller – Casie Coleman – 5-2
4 – Boston Red Rocks – Tim Tetrick – Steve Elliott – 3-1
5 – Michaels Victory – Scott Zeron – Mark Silva – 12-1
6 – Racing Hill – Brett Miller – Tony Alagna – 10-1
7 – Beast Mode – Trevor Henry - Christopher Nicol – 20-1
8 – Manhattan Beach – Corey Callahan – Ron Burke – 15-1
9 – Control The Moment – Randy Waples – Brad Maxwell – 8-1
10 – Magnum J – Doug McNair – Gregg McNair – 15-1
AE1 – American Passport – Scott Zeron – Tony Alagna

The WEG publicity department has provided a brief overview of each of the horses that will contest the NA Cup. Those profiles appear below.

Betting Line, trained by Casie Coleman and driven by David Miller, scored by three-quarters of a length over Lyons Snyder in a career best 1:49.1 in the faster first elim last Saturday. A son of 2001 Cup winner Bettors Delight, Betting Line has three wins in four starts this year and nine overall for Ontario owners West Wins Stable of Cambridge, Christine Calhoun of Chatham and Mac Nichol of Burlington. Coleman won the 2010 Cup with Sportswriter while Miller is still looking for his first Cup-winning drive in what will be his 16th attempt. Miller has been second twice and third three times, though, in the Cup final. Last year, Betting Line banked $540,422, winning six of 12 outings, including several Ontario Sires Stakes and the Champlain, while also finishing second in the Metro Pace.

Boston Red Rocks, a son of 2005 Cup winner Rocknroll Hanover, will be driven by Tim Tetrick for trainer Steve Elliott. Boston Red Rocks was last year’s divisional champion in the U.S. and is the field’s leading money winner, with $735,418 earned. His elimination win was his second victory of the season in four trips after coming off a banner juvenile campaign. He banked $669,918 in purse earnings last season while taking the Breeders Crown and Governor’s Cup for his Floridian owners Peter Blood and Rick Berks. Tetrick has won two Cups, with Captaintreacherous in 2013 and last year with Wakizashi Hanover, while Elliot trained 2009 Cup winner Well Said.

Lyons Snyder, a son of the aforementioned Well Said, finished second in last week’s elim to Betting Line and drew Post 2 for Saturday’s race. Trained by Mark Silva for owners Jeffrey Snyder of New York and Geoffrey Lyons Mound of Brantford, Ontario, Lyons Snyder has won four of seven races this year, including a division of the Somebeachsomewhere on June 4 in a career best 1:49. He was winless in five starts as a rookie. Snyder has won four Cups as either owner or co-owner – Cams Card Shark (1994), Red River Hanover (2002), Rocknroll Hanover (2005) and Well Said (2009).

Silva will also send out Michaels Victory, also owned by Snyder, who finished third to Boston Red Rocks in his elim. The son of Rocknroll Hanover, a three-time winner in 11 starts, will be driven by Scott Zeron and will start from Post 5.

Control The Moment, another son of Well Said, trained by Brad Maxwell and driven by Randy Waples, enters off a fourth-place finish to Betting Line in his elim. With two starts under his belt this season, the Maxwell trainee will start from Post 9 in the Cup. Last year, Control The Moment, who is now owned by Philadelphia’s Control The Moment Stable, enjoyed great success, winning eight of nine for $461,457 in earnings. His biggest victory was the Metro Pace. Waples drove Thinking Out Loud to a memorable Cup triumph in 2012.

Trainer Ron Burke, who conditioned 2014 Cup winner JK Endofanera, has two hopefuls in Big Top Hanover and Manhattan Beach.

Big Top Hanover, with Yannick Gingras, finished a closing second to Boston Red Rocks in his elim and has drawn the rail for Saturday night. The Burke trainee has four runner-up finishes this year, to go along with two thirds in seven starts. The son of Western Ideal, co-owned by Burke Racing Stable as well, had an excellent two-year-old season, earning $490,880 while winning four of 15 starts, highlighted by a victory in the Matron and a runner-up finish in the Breeders Crown.

Manhattan Beach, a son of 2008 Cup winner Somebeachsomewhere, was fifth to Boston Red Rocks last Saturday and is a two-time winner in 15 career starts. Corey Callahan will drive the Burke student and start from post eight.

Tony Alagna, who trained 2013 Cup winner Captaintreacherous, has Racing Hill in the final, after a third place finish to Betting Line in his elim. Although winless in three starts this year, Racing Hill won five of 10 last year for owner Tom Hill of Hamilton. Brett Miller, who has twice finished second in the Cup – with We Will See in 2010 and Tellitlikeitis in 2014 – will drive the son of Roll With Joe. Racing Hill will start from Post 6.

Magnum J, co-owned and trained by Gregg McNair of Guelph, with son Doug McNair in the bike, drew Post 10. The son of Big Jim finished fourth to Betting Line last week and is a three-time winner.

Beast Mode, a five-time winner from 16 starts for owner-trainer Christopher Nicol of Waterdown, Ontario, landed Post 7. The son of Rock N Roll Heaven finished fifth to Betting Line in his elim and will be driven by Trevor Henry.