Elimination winner Karl drew post one for the $1.05 million USD Hambletonian Stakes and was made the 6-5 morning line favourite in the 99th edition of the sport’s premier event for three-year-old trotters that will be contested at The Meadowlands on Saturday, Aug. 3.
T C I, who won the second of last week’s two Hambletonian eliminations, drew post four and was made the 5-2 second choice. The event’s post draw and press conference were held on Tuesday, July 30 at Hogan Equine. The two elimination winners drew for posts one through five followed by the remaining finalists in an open draw.
The Hambletonian will be only the third meeting between Karl and T C I, and the first since Karl’s victory in the Breeders Crown in late October at Harrah’s Hoosier Park. T C I, who finished second in the Breeders Crown, defeated Karl in a division of the International Stallion Stakes three weeks earlier at Lexington’s Red Mile.
Karl’s nose loss to T C I was his lone defeat in 10 starts last year. He earned $1.04 million and received the Dan Patch Award for best two-year-old male trotter in the U.S. T C I won 10 of 12 races and earned $1.45 million to become the richest two-year-old male trotter in history. He received the O’Brien Award for best freshman male trotter to race in Canada, where his triumphs included the Mohawk Million.
This year, Karl has won five of six races and earned $319,909 for driver Yannick Gingras and trainer Nancy Takter. He finished third in a division of the Stanley Dancer Memorial on July 13 at The Meadowlands but rebounded to win his Hambletonian elimination by 1-1/4 lengths over Bellas Musclehill in a career-best 1:50.3.
“I think everybody was a little hard on him,” Takter said after the elimination, referring to the reaction to Karl’s loss two weeks earlier. “He had a really tough trip and he’d raced one time in six weeks, so he definitely needed that race. Obviously, we didn’t want to lose, but it happens. They’re horses, they’re not machines.
“I think he’s going to be peaking at the right time. He only had one start in six weeks [prior to the Dancer], which was a little bit by design because we can’t over-race horses and it’s a long season. You kind of want to peak them for certain races and this is definitely the race that we No. 1 wanted to peak for. You’re building like a mountain and you just want to build a good foundation and hopefully we get to the top next week.”
Takter, who won the Hambletonian last year with Tactical Approach, is bidding to become the first trainer to win the race in back-to-back years since her father, Jimmy, in 2014 with Trixton and 2015 with Pinkman. The only other trainer to pull off consecutive victories since the Hambletonian moved to The Meadowlands in 1981 was Per Eriksson in 1991-92.
“I think that would be pretty cool,” Takter said about the possibility of winning again and duplicating the accomplishment of her father, who is a Hall of Famer in the U.S., Canada and Sweden. “I’ve always tried to fill his shoes, which hasn’t always been easy, so if we can get it done, that would be great.”
Karl, a son of Tactical Landing-Avalicious bred by Crawford Farms, is owned by Christina and Nancy Takter, Black Horse Racing, Crawford Farms Racing and Bender Sweden.
T C I won his elimination by a neck over Private Access in a career-best 1:50.4. The victory snapped a two-race skid after the colt had won his first three races of the season. For the year, he has earned $247,029 for driver David Miller and trainer Ron Burke.
“It’s going to be a great matchup and a great race as always,” Miller said after T C I’s victory, referring to the highly anticipated meeting with Karl. “I’m very excited too.”
Burke, Miller and Gingras are each seeking a first Hambletonian trophy.
Sig Sauer, who won a Dancer division on July 13 and finished third in the Hambletonian elimination won by Karl, is the 4-1 third choice on the morning line. The son of Muscle Hill-Sigilwig will leave from post eight with Andy McCarthy driving for trainer Noel Daley.
McCarthy won the Hambletonian in 2020 with the filly Ramona Hill. Daley won the Hambletonian in 2011 with Broad Bahn.
The Hambletonian will be race 12 with a post time of 4:45 p.m. (EDT). The companion $525,000 USD Hambletonian Oaks is race 14 and will go at 6:06 p.m. Racing will begin at noon. For free program pages, visit the Meadowlands Racetrack's website.
The field for the Hambletonian is listed below.
$1.05 million USD Hambletonian Stakes
Post - Horse - Driver - Trainer - Morning Line Odds
1. Karl* - Yannick Gingras - Nancy Takter - 6-5
2. Mars Hill - Todd McCarthy - Tony Alagna - 20-1
3. Highland Kismet - Bob McClure - Mark Etsell - 5-1
4. T C I* - David Miller - Ron Burke - 5-2
5. Security Protected - Tim Tetrick - Marcus Melander - 20-1
6. Bellas Musclehill - Scott Zeron - Nifty Norman - 15-1
7. Secret Agent Man - Andy Miller - Julie Miller - 12-1
8. Sig Sauer - Andrew McCarthy - Noel Daley - 4-1
9. Private Access - James MacDonald - Luc Blais - 10-1
10. Amazing Catch - Dexter Dunn - Ake Svanstedt - 20-1
*Elimination winners drew for posts one through five.
Trainer Annie Stoebe is no doubt thrilled to have the one to beat in Saturday’s Hambletonian Oaks for three-year-old trotting fillies at The Meadowlands.
Apparently, so is her horse, Elista Hanover, who drew post position one and was installed as the 9-5 morning line favourite in the $525,000 USD event, which will be seen by a national television audience on FOX Sports 2 (FS2) at 6:06 p.m.
“I wish [my post] was a little more toward the middle,” said Stoebe. “But I think she’ll be OK there. [Driver] David [Miller] will figure it out. The beautiful thing is, all I have to do is have her ready. The rest is on David.
“There is nothing that phases her, as long as you give her a cookie, she doesn’t care. She never ceases to amaze me and is possibly the happiest horse I have ever trained.”
Stoebe has gone through many a treat this year, as the daughter of International Moni-Evermore has strung together 10 consecutive victories during 2024 after opening the season with a fast-closing, third-place finish in an overnight at The Meadowlands.
Her double-digit destruction of her foes has included a three-race sweep of the Bobby Weiss Series at Pocono Downs, before four more scores in Pennsylvania in All-Stars and Sire Stakes action. Her last three wins were at The Big M in the Reynolds and Tompkins-Geers before last week’s powerhouse performance in the second of three Oaks eliminations, in which she set a new lifetime mark of 1:51.3 after shrugging off a stiff challenge around the far turn from Buy A Round, a standout on the New Jersey Sire Stakes circuit.
“[Buy A Round] is such a fantastic animal, so, of course, I got a little bit nervous,” said Stoebe. “In that race, she was the one to beat. We managed beating her.”
As the 3-5 favourite, Elista Hanover was put on the lead by Miller at the half and reported home a 1-1/2-length winner over Drawn Impression as Buy A Round weakened and finished fourth, which was still good enough to earn a berth in the Oaks final as the highest money-earning fourth-place finisher from the three elims.
“David, when he retook, I was like, 'oh,'” said Stoebe. “Then when [the half] showed up as :57, David knew what was happening. He knows what to do.”
Her trainer may have thought Buy A Round was the one to beat last week, but you’d have trouble convincing the bettors. Elista Hanover has been sent the gate as the favourite in all 11 of her starts this year.
That’s something else that sets Elista Hanover apart from her foes in the Oaks, as she will be making her 12th start of the year, more than any of the other horses in the field.
But Stoebe doesn’t seem too concerned.
“I’m OK with it,” said Stoebe. “We’ll see how it is at the end of the year, but I’m comfortable with how she is coming into this big race. David says she just keeps getting stronger. We’re just living a dream right now. She’s just amazing.”
When making the trip to the track, Stoebe is always aware of what she needs to bring in addition to all of the equipment her horse needs.
“Cookies get packed in her harness bag when I pack everything else,” said Stoebe. “They are as important as her bridle.”
The field for the Hambletonian Oaks is listed below.
$525,000 USD Hambletonian Oaks
Post - Horse - Listed Driver - Trainer - Morning Line Odds
1. Elista Hanover* - David Miller - Annie Stoebe - 9-5
2. Warrawee Michelle - Ake Svanstedt - Ake Svanstedt - 8-1
3. R Melina* - Todd McCarthy - John Butenschoen - 5-2
4. Allegiant* - Scott Zeron - Vernon Beachy - 3-1
5. Miss I La - Joe Bongiorno - Noel Daley - 20-1
6. Buy A Round - Andrew McCarthy - Noel Daley - 6-1
7. French Champagne - Dexter Dunn - Ake Svanstedt - 9-2
8. Paulina Hanover - David Miller - Noel Daley - 20-1
9. Date Night Hanover - Dexter Dunn - Marcus Melander - 15-1
10. Drawn Impression - James MacDonald - Luc Blais - 12-1
*Elimination winners drew for posts one through five.
The supporting stakes are a key element in what is regarded to be one of the best cards of the entire racing season and this year’s lineup continues that level of excellence.
The sophomore pacers will compete in the Cane featuring Meadowlands Pace winner Legendary Hanover among a short field of five and Caviart Belle is the most accomplished of the 11 in the Shady Daisy.
The Sam McKee Memorial shapes up great with a full field of 11 headed by current division leader Abuckabett Hanover, who will seek to sweep the Meadowlands Free-For-All stakes triumvirate, while the Lady Liberty (10 entered) is the stage for another round in the sport’s most enduring rivalry between Twin B Joe Fresh, also looking to run the table, and reigning Horse of the Year Sylvia Hanover.
On the trotting side, Winners Bet graduates to Open company in the Cashman Memorial where he’ll find powerhouses like Jiggy Jog S and Southwind Tyrion waiting among a full field of 11. M Ms Dream heads up the 10-mare Dr. John Steele tribute with Bond set to make her seasonal debut and Special Way also advancing to Open company.
A replay of the Hambletonian and Oaks post draw is available below.
(With files from USTA & Meadowlands Racetrack)