Dan Patch Award winner Apex, MGM Yonkers Trot champion Inexpressable and multiple stakes winners Diabolic Hill, Endurance and Spencer Hanover were among 19 horses entered on Tuesday, July 28 for the 101st edition of the Grade 1 Hambletonian Stakes for three-year-old trotters at The Meadowlands.
Two $100,175 USD eliminations will be held on Saturday, Aug. 1 at The Big M. The top five finishers from each elimination will advance to the $1 million USD Hambletonian final, sponsored by Winning Key Farm, on Aug. 8 at The Meadowlands.
Twenty-one horses entered the companion filly event, the Hambletonian Oaks, resulting in three $50,175 USD eliminations Saturday at The Meadowlands. The top three finishers from each elimination plus the fourth-place finisher with the highest lifetime earnings will advance to the $500,000 USD Hambletonian Oaks final, also a Grade 1 event on Aug. 8.
Elimination winners will draw for post positions one through six in the final. All other finalists will be placed in an open draw for the remaining post positions. The draws for the finals of both the Hambletonian and Hambletonian Oaks will be conducted on Tuesday, Aug. 4 during a luncheon from 2-5 p.m. at The Chateau Grande in East Brunswick, New Jersey.
Apex, the No. 1-ranked horse in Meadowlands announcer/analyst Ken Warkentin’s "Road to the Hambletonian," and Spencer Hanover were among four horses entered by trainer Marcus Melander. The others were American Power and Nix Nacken.
After beginning this season with a neck loss to American Power, Apex has won the New Jersey Sire Stakes championship in a career-best 1:50.3 on June 12 and a division of the Grade 3 Stanley Dancer Memorial on July 11, all at The Meadowlands. The son of Walner-Mission Brief has won eight of 12 lifetime races and earned $1.46 million. His victories last year included the Mohawk Million and Peter Haughton Memorial, both Grade 1 stakes. Apex will leave from post seven in a field of nine in the first Hambletonian elimination, with Dexter Dunn in the sulky.
American Power is also in the first elimination, where he will leave from post eight with driver James MacDonald. American Power was second to Apex in the Dancer and heads to his Hambletonian elim off a win in the Grade 2 Dr. Harry M. Zweig Memorial on July 19 at Vernon Downs. He won in a career-best 1:50, which is tied with Nix Nacken for the fastest mile of the season by a three-year-old trotter.
Leaving from the outside post nine in the first elimination will be Endurance, who has won three consecutive races, including a Dancer division, for trainer Chris Beaver and driver Andrew McCarthy. His only loss in five starts this season was a second-place finish behind Spencer Hanover in the inaugural Oak Grove Trotting Derby on May 16 at Oak Grove.
Inexpressable, who won the Grade 2 Yonkers Trot on June 26 at Yonkers Raceway, will start from post three in the first elimination, with Scott Zeron listed to drive for trainer Lucas Wallin. The Yonkers Trot is the first jewel in the Trotting Triple Crown, followed by the Hambletonian and Kentucky Futurity. Nine horses have captured the Trotting Triple Crown since its inception in 1955, the most recent being Marion Marauder in 2016.
Also in the first elim is Ardonne, who won the Grade 1 William Wellwood Memorial last year. He will start from post five with trainer/driver Åke Svanstedt.
Spencer Hanover, this season’s richest three-year-old trotter with $540,711, will start from post three in the second Hambletonian elimination. He was a Grade 1 Breeders Crown champion at age two and won this year’s Oak Grove Trotting Derby on May 16 and the Empire Breeders Classic on June 12 at Vernon Downs. Jason Bartlett will drive Spencer Hanover for trainer Melander.
The second elimination also includes Diabolic Hill, who won last year’s Grade 1 Valley Victory Stakes. This year, he was second to Apex in the New Jersey Sire Stakes championship and runner-up to American Power in the Zweig. He will leave from post nine with Todd McCarthy driving for trainer Annie Stoebe.
Magic Punk, who won the Grade 3 Dexter Cup on May 2 at The Meadowlands, will start from post seven in the second elim with Yannick Gingras driving for trainer Svanstedt, while 2025 Ohio Horse of the Year Big Ranger, who has won 11 of 13 career races, will leave from post eight with Tim Tetrick driving for trainer Anette Lorentzon.
The Hambletonian eliminations are races seven and nine.
Turning to the Hambletonian Oaks, Nezuko Kamado S is this season’s fastest sophomore trotting filly thanks to her 1:50.1 triumph in a division of the Grade 2 Del Miller Memorial on July 11 at The Meadowlands. Unbeaten in four starts in 2026, she will leave from post five in the second Oaks elimination, with Scott Zeron in the sulky for trainer Melander.
The second elim also includes Storybook Love, who was a Breeders Crown winner last year, and starts Saturday from post three with Todd Ratchford driving for trainer Matt Bax.
Jailbird Jog, this season’s richest three-year-old trotting filly with $409,103, will start from post four in the first Oaks elimination. Her wins this season include the Oak Grove Trotting Oaks on May 16, a Del Miller Memorial division on July 11 and the Tompkins-Geers Stakes on July 25 at The Meadowlands. James MacDonald will drive for trainer Jason McGinnis.
Also in the first elimination is New Jersey Sire Stakes champion Madam Cheval, who will leave from post seven with Tim Tetrick driving for trainer Nancy Takter.
The third elimination finds Dan Patch Award winner Setyoursightshigh, who heads to her race off a win in the Grade 2 Zweig Memorial Filly Trot on July 19 at Vernon. She has finished worse than second only once in 16 lifetime starts, with nine victories, and will leave from post one on Saturday with Dunn driving for Melander.
Leading Lady, who missed by a neck in both the Zweig and New Jersey Sire Stakes championship, will leave from post five in the third elim. Another Takter trainee, she will have Matt Kakaley in the sulky.
The third elimination also includes Victorianas Secret, who is coming off a victory in the Grade 3 Moni Maker Stakes on July 18 at Eldorado Scioto Downs and will leave from post two with Ronnie Wrenn Jr. driving for trainer Vernon Beachy.
The Hambletonian Oaks eliminations are races one, four and six.
Racing begins at 6:20 p.m.
The following are the complete fields for the Hambletonian and Hambletonian Oaks eliminations.
$100,175 USD Hambletonian Elimination 1 (Race 7)
Post – Horse – Listed Driver – Trainer
1. Practical Man – Jordan Stratton – Tom Fanning
2. Captain Naughty – Jason Bartlett – Per Engblom
3. Inexpressable – Scott Zeron – Lucas Wallin
4. Highland Destiny – Scott Zeron – Nancy Takter
5. Ardonne – Åke Svanstedt – Åke Svanstedt
6. AI – Yannick Gingras – Ron Burke
7. Apex – Dexter Dunn – Marcus Melander
8. American Power – James MacDonald – Marcus Melander
9. Endurance – Andrew McCarthy – Chris Beaver
$100,175 USD Hambletonian Elimination 2 (Race 9)
Post – Horse – Listed Driver – Trainer
1. It Could Be Worse – Tim Tetrick – Linda Toscano
2. Minoan – Andrew McCarthy – Noel Daley
3. Spencer Hanover – Jason Bartlett – Marcus Melander
4. Kingmen – Jason Bartlett – Per Engblom
5. Nix Nacken – Dexter Dunn – Marcus Melander
6. Requiem – Ronnie Wrenn Jr. – Matt Burkholder
7. Magic Punk – Yannick Gingras – Åke Svanstedt
8. Big Ranger – Tim Tetrick – Anette Lorentzon
9. Diabolic Hill – Todd McCarthy – Annie Stoebe
10. Wolfpack Crown – Troy Beyer – Victoria Stratton
$50,175 USD Hambletonian Oaks Elimination 1 (Race 1)
Post – Horse – Listed Driver – Trainer
1. Ygritte – Mattias Melander – Marcus Melander
2. Lainey W – Dexter Dunn – Marcus Melander
3. All Time Trot S – Yannick Gingras – Åke Svanstedt
4. Jailbird Jog – James MacDonald – Jason McGinnis
5. Carve – Andrew McCarthy – Noel Daley
6. Days Away – Jason Bartlett – Per Engblom
7. Madam Cheval – Tim Tetrick – Nancy Takter
$50,175 USD Hambletonian Oaks Elimination 2 (Race 4)
Post – Horse – Listed Driver – Trainer
1. Crossover – Dexter Dunn – Marcus Melander
2. Frattina Diablo S – Tim Tetrick – Tony Alagna
3. Storybook Love – Todd Ratchford – Matt Bax
4. Busy Miss Lissy S – Åke Svanstedt – Åke Svanstedt
5. Nezuko Kamado S – Scott Zeron – Marcus Melander
6. R Ro – Tyler Buter – John Butenschoen
7. Emmas Mystery CCL – Andrew McCarthy – Noel Daley
$50,175 USD Hambletonian Oaks Elimination 3 (Race 6)
Post – Horse – Listed Driver – Trainer
1. Setyoursightshigh – Dexter Dunn – Marcus Melander
2. Victorianas Secret – Ronnie Wrenn Jr. – Vernon Beachy
3. Southwind Chaska – Tim Tetrick – Jim Oscarsson
4. One Belle – Scott Zeron – Matt Bax
5. Leading Lady – Matt Kakaley – Nancy Takter
6. Custom – Jason Bartlett – Per Engblom
7. Islandgirl Hanover – Trond Smedshammer – Trond Smedshammer
(Hambletonian Society)