The Grand Circuit's weekly overview highlights its upcoming races at The Meadowlands.
This Week: Meadowlands Pace, William Haughton Memorial, Hambletonian Maturity, Stanley Dancer Memorial, Delvin Miller Memorial, Mistletoe Shalee and Dorothy Haughton Memorial, The Meadowlands, East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Schedule of Events: Grand Circuit action will be held on Saturday, July 15 as The Meadowlands has multiple stakes led by the $668,000 Meadowlands Pace for three-year-olds. Also on the card will be the $444,000 William Haughton Memorial for older pacers, the $410,250 Hambletonian Maturity for four-year-old trotters, two divisions in the $277,000 Stanley Dancer Memorial for three-year-old male trotters, two divisions in the $210,500 Delvin Miller Memorial for three-year-old filly trotters, the $169,000 Mistletoe Shalee for three-year-old filly pacers and the $159,000 Dorothy Haughton Memorial for older pacing mares.
For complete entries for the races, click here.
Last Time: Driver Dexter Dunn and trainer Ake Svanstedt paired for wins in the pair of Graduate Series finals at The Meadowlands on Saturday night (July 8).
Jiggy Jog S, the magnificent four-year-old Walner mare driven by Dexter Dunn, made one sweeping move on her seven male trotting foes to get the lead and then drew off to punctuate her dominance and win the $230,000 Graduate Series Trot final.
One race after Jiggy Jog S strolled to victory in the final for the Graduate Series Trot, the tandem of driver Dexter Dunn and trainer Ake Svanstedt united on another odds-on promise in Stonebridge Helios and secured the spoils in the $240,000 Graduate Series Pace for pacing four-year-olds.
To read a complete recap, click here. For a list of 2023 race winners on the Grand Circuit, click here.
Grand Circuit Standings: In 2023, the Grand Circuit leaders in three categories (driver, trainer and owner) will once again be tracked on a points system (20-10-5 for the top three finishers in divisions/finals and 10-5-2 for the top three finishers in eliminations/legs). Winbak Farms is the sponsor for the 2023 Grand Circuit awards.
Here are the leaders (through the races on July 8, 2023):
Drivers: 1. Dexter Dunn – 344; 2. Scott Zeron – 291; 3. Yannick Gingras – 280; 4. Jordan Stratton – 229; 5. Tim Tetrick – 179.
Trainers: 1. Ron Burke – 284; 2. Ake Svanstedt – 282; 3. Linda Toscano – 205; 4. Nancy Takter – 144; 5. Brett Pelling – 132.
Owners: 1. Mark Ford – 98; 2. Jorgen Sparredal Inc. – 71.3; 3. Burke Racing Stable – 60.5; 4. Diamond Creek Racing – 60; 5. Team Tritton Inc. – 52.
Looking Ahead: Grand Circuit action will take place next week at Saratoga Harness, Plainridge Park, The Meadowlands and The Meadows. Saratoga will host the Joe Gerrity for older pacers, Plainridge has the Spirit of Massachusetts for older trotters and the Clara Barton for older pacing mares, The Meadowlands has the Tompkins-Geers for three-year-old trotters and the Meadows has the eliminations for the Delvin Miller Adios for three-year-old male pacers.
(Grand Circuit)