Apex and Big Ranger both delivered impressive victories in their respective $141,092 Hambletonian eliminations on Saturday, Aug. 1 at The Meadowlands ahead of the million-dollar USD final for three-year-old trotters next Saturday.
After teaming Apex to wins in the New Jersey Sire Stakes championship and his division of the Grade 3 Stanley Dancer Memorial, Dexter Dunn floated the Walner-Mission Brief colt forward into midfield from post seven as Ai (Yannick Gingras) split fellow leavers Captain Naughty (Jason Bartlett) and American Power (James MacDonald) to secure the lead through a :27.3 first quarter. Midway up the backstretch, Dunn angled Apex wide to flush Inexpressable (Scott Zeron) out from fourth, but Inexpressable charged ahead to clear to the front at the :56.4 half-mile station, leaving Apex uncovered and two lengths off the lead with the toughest part of the race ahead of him.
"I knew it was going to be a tough mile no matter what we did with him," said Dunn. "We got away in a pretty good position, but we were only in for a little bit and out the rest of the mile."
Inexpressable threw down a :26.4 third quarter through the far turn, but Apex managed to gradually grind forward and sweep to the lead with 150 metres to go. Though Apex made easy work of Inexpressable, Endurance and Andy McCarthy posed a major threat down the grandstand side nearing the winning post after drafting on Apex's cover on the far turn.
"I thought Andy was going to pass me late in the stretch, but [Apex] really dug deep and wanted to fight him off," said Dunn.
Apex indeed proved up to the challenge, gamely parrying Endurance by a nose in 1:50.4. American Power split foes to save third out of a failing pocket; Captain Naughty and Ai rounded out the top five finishers.
"He's got that winning attitude," said Dunn. "I think he'll probably be sharper next week, as well; he'd only had three starts this year, and this should tighten him up a bit."
Apex recorded his ninth career win from 13 starts and upped his bankroll to $1,535,754 for the partnership of Jeffrey Snyder, SRF Stable and Steve Stewart. He paid $3 in his third victory from four seasonal outings.
On the strength of a four-race win streak, Big Ranger entered his elimination as the 2-5 favourite, and Tim Tetrick sustained a measured move with him out of fourth from the quarter in :27.3 to clear the front after losing cover on the backstretch. Following a :55.3 half, Big Ranger braced for a first-over challenge from Nix Nacken (Dunn) on the far turn, and the pair drew 2-1/2 lengths clear of Magic Punk (Gingras) midway through the bend.
Nix Nacken forced Big Ranger to throw down a :27.4 third quarter, but the In Range-Big Blue Bird colt still had a :26.3 kicker left in the tank. Big Ranger knocked three-fifths of a second off his lifetime mark with his victorious 1:50 effort and extended his record for trainer Anette Lorentzon to three-for-three after winning nine of his first 11 starts under the care of Ronnie Gillespie. It Could Be Worse (Scott Zeron) emerged out of traffic to narrowly save second, four lengths in arrears, from Magic Punk. Spencer Hanover (Jason Bartlett) and Minoan (Andy McCarthy) rounded out the top five finishers.
"I was like, 'This is a real horse,'" said Tetrick. "He impressed me from day one. He's super smart, he's got big lungs, he's a real animal.
"He went under the wire strong, he was doing his work good. I got to sit behind horses on the first turn, and he settled good. When Yannick (Gingras) crossed over (to the lead with Magic Punk, before Big Ranger made his move), he bullied his way to the front, and when he got there, he relaxed. ... He passed a lot of tests today."
With his elimination win, Big Ranger reached $756,893 in earnings for owner Madison Global. With his fifth victory in seven outings this year, he returned $2.80.
The top five finishers from each elimination have earned berths to the 101st Hambletonian final, which will take place on Saturday, Aug. 8. By virtue of their victories, Apex and Big Ranger are guaranteed to draw a post position between one and six. The barrier draw will take place on Tuesday at a luncheon at the Chateau Grande in East Brunswick, N.J.
Carve, Busy Miss Lissy S and Setyoursightshigh won the $70,669 eliminations for the Hambletonian Oaks.
Carve skimmed through a seam at the pylons to nab the first Oaks elimination in a 1:51.1 mile. Driver Andy McCarthy thrusted Carve to the point around the first turn but settled for the pocket as Madam Cheval (Tim Tetrick) brushed forward from the wide post seven to take command into a :28 first quarter. Lainey W (Dexter Dunn) then lunged out of third on the backstretch to swoop to the top, shuffling Carve into third to a :56.2 half. Stuck at the pylons to three-quarters in 1:24.3 with first-up Ygritte (Mattias Melander) and second-over Jailbird Jog (James MacDonald) to her outside, Carve awaited a gap in the stretch that soon opened as leader Lainey W sprinted for the finish. Carve surged inside of Lainey W late in the stretch to bag a 1-1/2-length win with Madam Cheval holding third.
“I really didn’t know how to play this race,” Andy McCarthy said after the race. “She’s got so much early speed, but sometimes if I use her too much early she doesn’t finish quite as strong. Once I saw Timmy [Tetrick with Madam Cheval] was on the gate and moving forward, I thought this should work out. She was on the muscle tonight. As soon as I had clearance to get through, I figured she had enough trot to finish it off.”
Noel Daley trains Carve, a daughter of Captain Corey-Alpine, for lessees Patricia Stables LLC, L A Express Stable LLC and Sjoeblom Racing Inc. She won her fifth race from 17 lifetime starts, raising her earnings to $410,678. She paid $10.80 to win while improving to three-for-seven this year.
Busy Miss Lissy S converted a pocket trip into an upset in the second Oaks elimination, staving off a late charge from 1-5 favourite Nezuko Kamado S for a lifetime-best 1:51.4 victory. After taking the lead to a :27.2 first quarter, Busy Miss Lissy S yielded command to pocket-popping Frattina Diablo S (Tim Tetrick) in the backstretch and coasted behind the new leader to a :57 half. But once Nezuko Kamado S (Scott Zeron) pulled off the pylons from fourth and pushed up the rim, driver Ake Svanstedt moved out of the pocket with Busy Miss Lissy S and attacked for the lead to three-quarters in 1:25.2. The filly then reached for the finish under pursuit from Nezuko Kamado S and held onto the victory by a neck with Frattina Diablo S settling for third. Storybook Love (Todd Ratchford) earned the last berth into the final.
“She didn’t race great last time [in the Zweig Filly Trot], but she also has been up and down with the training and the heat; the weather hasn’t really been in our favour,” Sarah Svanstedt of Team Svanstedt said. “I have said all along I am so impressed with her every time she hits the track because she’s very small but she has the biggest heart that I have seen. Just her instinct to know where the wire is has come a long way. She’s very small but she fights, so I love her.”
Ake Svanstedt trains Busy Miss Lissy S, a filly by Calgary Games-Hills Angel S, for owner Panamera Racing. The filly is now two-for-five this year and eight-for-14 lifetime with a bankroll of $382,378. She paid $18.40 to win.
Driver Dexter Dunn circled Setyoursightshigh to the lead and nabbed easy fractions, and the Marcus Melander-trained filly held strong against a cavalry charge to win the final Oaks elimination in 1:53.1. Setyoursightshigh looped from the pocket after a :27.3 first quarter to lead up the backstretch to a :58 half before gradually accelerating through the remainder. Setyoursightshigh clocked three-quarters in 1:26.3 and spun for home with an ample cushion to withstand a flurry of rivals late for the win by a neck. Leading Lady (Matt Kakaley) recovered from a break at the start to rally for second with Custom (Jason Bartlett) finishing third.
“She was all class last year and didn’t start the season off that flashy this year, but Marcus [Melander] and the team have got her back on track,” Dunn said after the race. “She was excellent at Vernon and felt great tonight. I got pretty cheap fractions tonight, but the way she felt was really impressive. She definitely wasn’t tired, just a little lonely up there. She was going pretty good.”
Setyoursightshigh, a daughter of In Range-Special Interest, is now 10-for-17 lifetime with $1,138,774 in earnings for owners Heights Stable, Mantorp LLC, AMG Stable Inc. and K. Kjellgren Livs Ab Inc. She is three-for-six in 2026. Her win price was $7.40.
Each elimination winner earned draw protection between posts one and six for the final, taking place as the co-feature to the 101st Hambletonian next Saturday, Aug. 8.
Brandon Blvd and Darlins Angel were convincing winners in a pair of Tompkins-Geers events for three-year-old pacers.
The $76,268 Tompkins-Geers for the males produced another sterling mile by Brandon Blvd, the Meadowlands Pace winner, who stopped the clock to win in 1:47.3.
Driven again by Dexter Dunn, Brandon Blvd sat fourth off the gate as Frantic Hanover (Tim Tetrick) pursued the top followed by Sea Bistro Hanover (Todd McCarthy) and Ubrute (Yannick Gingras), with the latter rushing forward to take command in a :25.4 first quarter. Ubrute muscled up the backstretch while Brandon Blvd left the pylons to test them all while the half clocked in at :54.1. Ubrute continued with a confident lead, but Brandon Blvd inched nearer under minimal effort as Dunn floated the Andrew Harris-trained millionaire forward through three-quarters in 1:21.3. Brandon Blvd then proved his superiority with a sprint to the finish under little encouragement for a 1-1/2-length win. Sea Bistro Hanover got up for second over a late-charging Frantic Hanover as those two passed a tired Ubrute in the final surge to the wire.
“I think his consistency is his most impressive thing,” Andrew Harris said after the race. “He just goes out there and shows up every week; it’s hard to find one like that. I’m just truly blessed to have one like that. We gave him a little bit of extra time [off the Meadowlands Pace] and used this as a prep race for next week, but I was super thrilled with how he came out of the [Pace]."
Harris hopes to have the colt ready for next week's Cane Pace.
"With all the talent in that field it is great for racing," he said.
Punisher 11 Stable owns Brandon Blvd, a son of Downbytheseaside out of the American Ideal dam Alexis Faith. He pumped his earnings to $1,529,486 with his 12th win in 17 starts over two seasons of racing. He paid $2.40 to win while earning his fifth win in seven attempts this season.
In the $73,944 dash for sophomore pacing fillies, 1-5 favourite Darlins Angel led every step for a lifetime-best 1:49.2 win. Driver Lauren Tritton steered the daughter of Captaintreacherous-Darlins Delight past Car Keys (Dexter Dunn) to lead through a :26.2 first quarter and controlled the pace to a :56 half as the field stayed in line to the final turn. Car Keys drafted behind Darlins Angel while the others straggled in the ensuing sprint to three-quarters in 1:23.4. Darlins Angel soared with no threats to the finish, pulling off to win by two lengths over Car Keys with Sunny Station (Todd McCarthy) following in third.
“She’s a nice filly,” Tritton said after the race. “She always gives a hundred per cent and [trainer] Juan [Cano]’s done a great job with her. Obviously she got a nice sectional there today but she was just toying with them today. She actually took off again after the wire so I was really happy with her today.”
Darlins Angel, trained by Juan Cano, collected her fourth win from six starts win this season and her eighth from 13 starts in her career. She increased her lifetime bankroll to $268,327 for owner-breeder Hot Lead Farms and paid $2.60 to win.
Yo Tillie, the Dan Patch divisional winner as the top three-year-old trotting filly of 2025, recorded her most impressive win of 2026 in the $56,338 third leg of the Miss Versatility for open mare trotters.
The four-year-old daughter of Tactical Landing-Consolidator, who was driven by Todd McCarthy, was out through a :27.3 opener and cleared to the top just before the half in :56.1. She took bitter pressure from 2025 Hambletonian Oaks champ Conversano (Lauren Tritton) to three-quarters in 1:23.4 and around the far turn, and after the pair slugged it out through the entirety of the stretch drive, it was Yo Tillie prevailing by a nose in a brave 1:51 performance. Walspea (Trond Smedshammer) was third.
“She had to fight and dig deep, and she was able to do that tonight,” said winning trainer Andrew Harris. “As you guys see, she wins a lot of races by less than a neck, so I mean, that’s her, but as long as she fights down to the wire like that, then I’ve got all the faith in the world that she’ll keep going.”
Owned by the Punisher 11 Stable LLC, Yo Tillie upped her lifetime stats to 22 wins in 30 tries, good for earnings of $1,908,515. Saturday's win was her third this year in six starts. As the 8-5 favourite, she returned $5.40 to win.
Dunn took two overnights in addition to his three headline wins for a haul of five on the 14-race program. The reinsman is third in North America in earnings this year with $5,225,900 USD and is 127-for-476 for a 26.7 per cent strike rate.
Melander and Harris topped the trainers with a pair of walks down victory lane each.
All-source betting on the program was vigorous, as $3,487,210 USD was pushed through the windows, the second-most prolific night of wagering at The Big M in 2026, behind only Meadowlands Pace Night ($4 million USD).
Live racing will take place three times during the upcoming Hambletonian Week, with programs on Thursday and Friday that kick off at 6:20 p.m., before the 16-race Hambletonian Day extravaganza starts at noon on Saturday.
(The Meadowlands; photo of Big Ranger winning on Aug. 1)