The 2023 Championship Meet at The Meadowlands continues with eight Grand Circuit stakes on tap for this Saturday evening.
The first of four Open stakes events is the $112,500 Six Pack Mares Open Trot headlined by double millionaire Bella Bellini (Dexter Dunn), fresh off her runner-up finish in the Armbro Flight Stakes two weeks ago for trainer Richard 'Nifty' Norman, and the Ake-Svanstedt trained and driven Jiggy Jog S, who has won both of her two starts this year in the Graduate Series. The favourites will line up in posts one and two, respectively, in the six-horse field that also includes Canadian-campaigned Warrawee Xenia (Post 3, Brian Sears) from the Mark Steacy stable.
In the Perfect Sting Mares Open Pace, 11 mares will take to the track to compete for the $142,260 purse. Grace Hill will look to keep her perfect seasonal record in tact from post four following a 1:47.4 Canadian record performance at Woodbine Mohawk Park in the Roses Are Red Stakes two weeks ago in rein to Doug McNair for Virgil Morgan Jr. The career millionaire has five wins in five starts and $214,500 earned this season. Roses Ares Red runner-up Silver Label, with Scott Zeron driving for trainer Nick Gallucci, will have to overcome a post 11 start behind the field that includes the season-debuting double millionaire Test Of Faith (Post 9, David Miller) from the Brett Pelling barn and Betsy Ross champion Max Contract (Post 10) for the husband and wife Miller team of driver Andy and trainer Julie.
Ten trotters will line up for the $155,140 Crawford Farms Open Trot and the Marcus Melander-trained millionaire Venerate (Brian Sears) highlights the field from post four in his return to the races after a 1:50.1 win in the Arthur J. Cutler Memorial on May 20 at The Meadowlands. Starting just to his inside from post three is the Ron Burke trainee Its Academic (David Miller), the Cutler runner-up coming off 1:51.3 victory in the Open at the Big M last week.
The $158,140 Dave Brower Memorial Open Pace closes out the Saturday evening stakes action with a strong field of 11 going to the gate. Seven of the contestants have a seasonal mark under 1:50 with the fastest time posted by Ruthless Hanover (Post 3, Tim Tetrick) from his 1:46.3 world record performance last month in the Joe Auger Memorial Invite at Harrah's Philadelphia for trainer Thomas Cancelliere. The field includes the likes of Mohawk Gold Cup Invitational winner Abuckabett Hanover (Post 8, Andrew McCarthy) for trainer Andrew Harris and the runner-up Tattoo Artist (Post 10, Dexter Dunn) for trainer Chris Ryder, along with Battle of Lake Erie champion Lochinvar Art A (Post 4, Lauren Tritton), trained by Shane Tritton.
This will be the first edition of the Brower Memorial, formerly the Roll With Joe, to honour the longtime Big M TV personality whose death shocked the harness racing world last October.
“Dave Brower was an extraordinary talent,” said Jason Settlemoir, the track's Chief Operating Officer and General Manager. “Where he really showcased his excellence was whenever there was adversity. How many countless times did something unexpected happen during a broadcast and how quickly Dave Brower could get everything back on the rails? Dave had so much passion and knowledge about everything and everybody in harness racing. He will always be missed and always in our hearts.”
“I met Dave Brower in the early 1990s, and he debuted on the Meadowlands’ TV show the year after I did, which was 1995,” said Dave Little, Brower’s longtime on-set partner. “You could tell right away that he was a special talent. And then he went out and proved it by doing many national Hambletonian shows during his career. I miss Dave terribly. We spent every Friday and Saturday together from four in the afternoon until midnight for five years. We shared things with each other that only close friends would. To say I miss him terribly is an understatement of grand proportion.”
On Saturday's undercard, four $30,000+ divisions of the W.R. Reynolds Memorial Stakes with will be contested.
The first of two divisions for three-year-old male trotters will feature last year's Valley Victory Stakes champion Volume Eight (Post 6, Andrew McCarthy) from the Noel Daley barn and William Wellwood Memorial Stakes winner Winners Bet (Post 1, Dexter Dunn) from the Domenico Cecere stable -- both making their season's debuts -- along with recent New Jersey Sire Stakes Championship winner Air Power (Mattias Melander, Post 7), one of two Marcus Melander trainees in the race.
Melander sends out the early favourite in the second split, with Tim Tetrick driving NJSS Championship runner-up Oh Well (Post 2), winner of last year's Mohawk Million.
A pair of divisions for the three-year-old trotting fillies are headlined by the Tony Alagna-trained Heart On Fire (Post 3, Todd McCarthy) in the first event and the streaking Pennsylvania Sires Stakes champion Bond (Post 8), looking for her ninth straight stakes win in the second division for trainer/driver Ake Svandstedt.
As part of "America's Day At The Races," the stakes-filled cards for this Saturday and following two Saturdays will be broadcast on the Fox Sports Network on a schedule of 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. (FS2) on July 1 and July 8 and from 10 p.m. to midnight (FS1) on July 15.
This weekend at The Meadowlands is Fan Appreciation Weekend offering $1 hot dogs, pretzels, popcorn and soda and $2 draft beer from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. Guests can purchase these specially priced concessions at the Café, on the Victory Terrace and in the Backyard. Those looking for heartier fare can dine at the Backyard BBQ Grill & Bar. The menu features slow smoked ribs, brisket, pulled pork along with a variety of sides including classic mac-n-cheese, coleslaw and fries.
Following live harness racing on Friday night, a fireworks display will take place to honour Independence Day. The best place to be will be atop Victory Terrace. With great views of the racing action, city skyline and fireworks, guests are in for an amazing show that will begin 15 minutes after the last race.