The eyes of the harness racing world focus on The Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J. on Saturday, Aug. 8 as the track hosts a star-studded stakes-packed card headlined by the $1-million G1 Hambletonian Stakes. Live video is available here.
Hambletonian Day at The Meadowlands will feature a stakes-packed 16-race card with an early post time of 12 noon. The Hambletonian Oaks is carded as the ninth race with an approximate post time of 3:36 p.m. and the Hambletonian will be race 11 with an approximate post time of 4:51 p.m. The Hambletonian will be broadcast live as part of Fox Sports 2's (FS2) coverage of Saturday's stakes action at The Meadowlands from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. as well as PrimeTime Racing's all-day coverage on Game+.
The post positions were drawn for the 101st edition of The Hambletonian for three-year-old trotters as well as the companion filly event, the 56th Hambletonian Oaks, at a luncheon on Tuesday, Aug. 4 at Chateau Grande in East Brunswick, New Jersey.
The Hambletonian and Oaks eliminations were held last Saturday to determine the starters for those Grade 1 stakes, which will be contested on Saturday, Aug. 8 at The Meadowlands.
Big Ranger is the 2-1 morning line favourite for the $1 million USD Hambletonian, sponsored by Winning Key Farm, and the elimination winner drew post position four for the final. The other elimination winner, Apex, drew post three and was installed as the 5-2 second choice on the morning line. Elimination winners drew for posts one through six followed by the remaining finalists in an open draw.
Big Ranger, Ohio’s 2025 Horse of the Year, won his Hambletonian elimination by four lengths over It Could Be Worse in 1:50 this past Saturday at The Meadowlands. The son of In Ranger-Big Blue Bird has won 12 of 14 career races and earned $756,892 for the ownership group of Madison Global of Dundee, Ohio. Tim Tetrick will drive Big Ranger for trainer Anette Lorentzon.
The elimination was Big Ranger’s first trip to The Meadowlands and only his third race outside of Ohio.
“It didn’t really surprise me because he’s been doing everything so handy since we got him,” said Lorentzon, who began training Big Ranger in late May after he was previously with Ronnie Gillespie, about his elim. “It’s just a different thing when you’re going to a new track, a mile track and he hasn’t faced these kinds of horses since back in May, so you never know. I had faith in the horse, but everything had to go right, and it did.
“[The final] is a new race, but at least we got [the elimination] over with and he showed what kind of horse he is. I’m very happy.”
Apex, the 2025 Dan Patch Award winner for best two-year-old male trotter, won his Hambletonian elimination by a nose over Endurance in 1:50.4. The son of Walner-Mission Brief has hit the board in 12 of 13 career races, winning nine and earning $1.5 million for owners Jeff Snyder of New York City, New York, S R F Stable of Delray Beach, Florida and Steve Stewart of Paris, Kentucky. He is one of three finalists from the stable of trainer Marcus Melander.
“He hadn’t raced for a while and I was very happy with how he raced and fought Endurance off,” Melander said about Apex, who has three wins and a second in four stakes starts this year. “Our goal was to keep him in top [shape] and prepare him for the final. I’m happy with how he’s developed during the year. He’s raced great.”
Melander’s other finalists, Spencer Hanover and American Power, drew posts nine and 10, respectively.
Endurance will leave from post seven for driver Andrew McCarthy and trainer Chris Beaver. The son of Captain Corey-Love Session has 10 wins and three seconds in 14 career starts, with $1.2 million in earnings for owners Super Endurance Stable of Radner, Ohio, Bill Manes of Rockwood, Ont., Leo Fleming of Campbellville, Ont., and Mark Moger of Amelia Island, Florida. He is the 5-1 third choice on the morning line.
“The horse never really surprises me,” said Beaver. “He always comes up big.
“He’s raced on the front some because I was trying to keep him away from tough competition for part of the year, but his best race is when he’s coming off the pace. I think he’s got as big a set of lungs as any horse in the race and he loves a big track. I think as long as we can get into it, we have a good shot. It looks like Big Ranger wants to push the pace and that might work to our favour.”
The field for the 2026 Hambletonian, with final drivers and trainers, is listed below. Elimination winners (*) drew for posts one through six.
$1 million USD Hambletonian Stakes (Grade 1)
Post - Horse - Driver - Trainer - Morning Line Odds
1. Minoan - Todd McCarthy - Noel Daley - 25-1
2. It Could Be Worse - David Miller - Linda Toscano - 8-1
3. Apex* - Dexter Dunn - Marcus Melander - 5-2
4. Big Ranger* - Tim Tetrick - Anette Lorentzon - 2-1
5. Captain Naughty - Brett Beckwith - Per Engblom - 15-1
6. AI - Ronnie Wrenn Jr. - Ron Burke - 12-1
7. Endurance - Andrew McCarthy - Chris Beaver - 5-1
8. Magic Punk - Yannick Gingras - Ake Svanstedt - 15-1
9. Spencer Hanover - Mattias Melander - Marcus Melander - 20-1
10. American Power - James MacDonald - Marcus Melander - 10-1
Who do you think will win? Have your say in our current Standardbred Canada web poll.
Despite being defeated by Busy Miss Lissy S in her elimination last Saturday, 10-time winner Nezuko Kamado S has been installed the 2-1 morning line favourite for the $500,000 USD Hambletonian Oaks, sponsored by Winning Key Farm.
The Courant Inc. homebred leads a trio of three-year-old trotting fillies trained by Marcus Melander to compete in the Oaks and she looks to return to winning form after coming up a neck short to Busy Miss Lissy S in a 1:51.4 mile as the 3-10 favourite in the second of three Oaks eliminations. Despite coming up just short, Nezuko Kamado S earned ample praise from Melander for her performance.
"She raced very good; she came home in :26," said Melander. "I was very happy with her and how she raced. It was slow fractions and she couldn't go faster than she did [to finish]. I couldn't be happier with her. She's got a good attitude and gait, and she wants to chase horses down. Even if she's been winning her last couple starts on the lead, she's better from off the pace when she can chase other horses."
Nezuko Kamado S, who is the season's fastest three-year-old trotting filly to date by way of her 1:50.1 win in a division of the Grade 2 Del Miller Memorial on July 11 at The Meadowlands, drew post two. Yannick Gingras will drive the millionaire daughter of Chapter Seven-Zefira Kronos IT, subbing for an injured Scott Zeron.
Her stablemate Setyoursightshigh, who dug deep to fend off ferocious sub-:26 charges from Leading Lady and Custom for a 1:53.1 win in the third elimination, is the 6-1 fourth choice and will start from post four with Dexter Dunn nominated to drive.
"She's in good form," said Melander of the In Range-Special Interest filly, whom he plans to race barefoot in the final. "Her year has been a little mixed, but lately it's going in the right direction."
Also a 10-time winner and millionaire thus far, Setyoursightshigh took her mark of 1:51.4 in the Grade 2 Zweig Memorial filly division on July 19 at Vernon Downs.
Carve, who was the fastest elimination winner with a 1:51.1 win in the first split, is the 7-2 second choice, and will start from post six with Andy McCarthy aboard for trainer Noel Daley.
"She's good enough to win [the Hambletonian Oaks] because she's quick; she's always going to put herself in the race," said Daley of the Captain Corey-Alpine filly, who rallied up the pegs with a :26.1 closing quarter to post her fifth career victory. "She can win it; it just depends on the trip. She's not a superstar, but she is very handy."
The aforementioned Busy Miss Lissy S, whom trainer Åke Svanstedt drove to a 1:51.4 score in the second elimination, drew the pole and has been made the 4-1 third choice for the final.
"I've said all along that I'm so impressed with her every time she hits the track because she is very small, but she has the biggest heart that I have seen," said assistant trainer Sarah Svanstedt of the Calgary Games-Hills Angel S filly, who races as a homebred for Panamera Racing. "Her instinct to know where the wire is and want to win has come a very long way."
Busy Miss Lissy S also won a division of the Grade 3 New York New York Mile at MGM Yonkers Raceway, which she won by 7-3/4 lengths in 1:54.1.
Hambletonian Day will feature non-stop stakes action from start to finish at The Meadowlands with the super Saturday, Aug. 8 card filled to the brim with a star-studded lineup.
In addition to the million-dollar main event, the 101st edition of the Grade 1 Hambletonian for three-year-old trotters in race 11, and the Grade 1 filly companion $500,000 USD Hambletonian Oaks in race nine, the 16-race card includes seven other graded stakes. Click here for more on the Hambletonian and Hambletonian Oaks fields.
The $310,750 USD Cane Pace (Grade 2) will feature a rematch of two of the top glamour boys in the sport this season in a compact but competitive field of five facing off in the second leg of the Pacing Triple Crown. North America Cup winner Odds On Mr Mamba and runner-up Brandon Blvd will meet again in the day's third race for the first time since that spectacular June 13 showdown. Indiana shipper Odds On Mr Mamba enters the Cane off a top three finish in the Delvin Miller Adios, beaten just a neck in a 1:48.1 mile on July 25 at The Meadows, while Brandon Blvd looks to stay unbeaten in competition at his home track following victories in the Meadowlands Pace on July 11 and last weekend's Tompkins-Geers Stakes in a career-best 1:47.3 mile.
Odds On Mr Mamba has the outside post and will be driven by James MacDonald for trainer Melanie Wrenn while Brandon Blvd, North America's top money-winner this year on the verge of a million dollars, has drawn post two for Dexter Dunn and Andrew Harris. They will face a pair of familiar foes in Gentlemans Club (post three, Andy McCarthy) from the Aaron Lambert stable and the Dan Lagace-trained Sweet Lovin Lou (post four, driver TBA), with Captain Underhand (post one, Todd McCarthy) playing the role of underdog in his first Grand Circuit stakes test for trainer Tony Alagna.
Before trainer Marcus Melander sends out six sophomore trotters in the Hambo and Oaks, he'll have a powerful pair of older trotters vying for the John Cashman Memorial title with Super Chapter, who was the 2025 Hambletonian runner-up, and veteran Aetos Kronos S, a Hambo day winner last year in the Vincennes Trot, starting from the two inside posts. Dunn will have his pick of the pair, with the former coming off back-to-back runner-up finishes in the Graduate Series final and Hambletonian Maturity at The Big M in early July while the latter has been a major player in his four stakes assignments so far this year.
The field of nine heavyweight trotters is nearly all millionaires, with defending Dan Patch Trotter of the Year Lexus Kody being the richest among them with more than $2.9 million in his coffers. The Ron Burke trainee is riding a three-race win streak that includes consecutive record sub-1:50 victories in the JL Cruze and Spirit Of Massachusetts last month. With Yannick Gingras driving, he will start in post six just outside of last year's Breeders Crown champion French Wine (Andy McCarthy) from the Nancy Takter stable. The Grade 1 event with a purse of $281,200 USD is scheduled as race eight.
Trotting mares will face off in race 10 between the main events in the $183,650 USD John R. Steele Memorial (Grade 2). The overflow field of 11 is headlined by Yo Tillie, fresh off a 1:51 victory last weekend in a leg of the Miss Versatility Series at The Big M. The Breeders Crown champion, who has earned more than $1.9 million, will start from post five with regular reinsman Todd McCarthy in the bike for Harris.
One of her familiar foes is Trond Smedshammer trainee Walspea in post four with Yannick Gingras getting the catch-driving call. Last year's Oaks runner-up trotted a mile in 1:48.3 while finishing third against the boys in the Graduate final and hit the board just a half-length behind Yo Tillie last time out.
The 2024 Oaks queen and two-time Breeders Crown champion Warrawee Michelle will have to overcome a trailing tier start to get back into the win column this year for trainer Ake Svanstedt. She nearly did it in the Steele last year from post 11, trotting a final quarter in :26 flat to come up just a half-length short in a sub-1:50 mile.
The Sam McKee Memorial (Grade 2) for open pacers is split into two stacked divisions going back-to-back in races 12 and 13 following the Hambletonian. The $138,650 USD first division features the speedy Dave Menary trainee Ervin Hanover, who came within a tick of his Breeders Crown career-best 1:46.2 clocking when winning the Dave Brower Memorial at The Meadowlands in early July. The O'Brien Award winner has drawn post three with Dunn listed to drive.
Next door in post four is the Takter-trained Captain Optimistic (Andy McCarthy), the 2025 Cane Pace winner who lowered his mark to 1:46.3 in last month's Graduate Series final at The Big M. Ken Hanover (Tim Tetrick), a defending McKee champion from the Rollie Mallar stable, will start to his outside in the middle of the gate. The Per Engblom trainee Lou Hill (Gingras) beat him in the William R. Haughton Memorial last month and will look to continue his success in stakes action this season despite drawing the outside post nine.
The second $139,900 USD division is no short of talent with the Burke duo of Bythemissal (post three, Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) and Swingtown (post one, Gingras), top two in another Haughton division the last time they hit the track. Driver Todd McCarthy will have to pick between two top contenders with major early season stakes wins on their 2026 resumes as he is listed on the Noel Daley-trained triple millionaire Captain Albano (post eight), who won the MGM Borgata Pacing Series championship at Yonkers Raceway, and double millionaire Prince Hal Hanover (post seven), who won the Charles Juravinski Memorial Cup at Flamboro Downs for Dr. Ian Moore.
Trainer Chris Ryder will send out two of the older distaff pacing division's finest in the $156,500 USD Lady Liberty (Grade 2) in race 14 with Miki And Minnie leaving from post two in rein to MacDonald and Twin B Joe Fresh starting from post seven with Dunn driving. The triple millionaires each boast impressive trophy collections. Twin B Joe Fresh, a Lady Liberty champion in 2024, counts the Dorothy Haughton Memorial at The Big M and Clara Barton Distaff at Plainridge Park as her most recent conquests last month. New divisional darling Miki And Minnie, who won the Shady Daisy on Hambletonian day last year, has racked up stakes wins already this season in the Roses Are Red Stakes at Woodbine Mohawk Park, the Perfect Sting at The Meadowlands and the Cleopatra Invitational at Scioto Downs.
This year's Shady Daisy, a Grade 3 event for three-year-old pacing fillies with a purse of $123,200 USD, will close out the stakes action in the 15th race. Trained by Anthony Beaton, Be Perfect BG headlines the field of seven, with just two narrow losses in her 12-race career -- both at the hands of Loua Dipa, who is not entered. Dunn is listed to drive the post five starter, who heads into the Shady Daisy off a 1:49 victory in the Adioo Volo at The Meadows.
Darlins Angel is among the fillies hoping to play spoiler for the driving and training team of Lauren Tritton and Juan Cano after hitting the board behind the aforementioned fillies in the Jerry Silverman Memorial at The Big M last month and winning the Tompkins-Geers Stakes in 1:49.2 this past weekend.
Saturday's card also includes the Vincennes Preferred Trot with returning Hambletonian champion Nordic Catcher S back in action at The Meadowlands, along with New Jersey Sire Stakes Platinum finals for two-year-old trotters and the Continental Victory and Muscle Hill for three-year-old trotters. Post time is 12 noon.
To view the complete entries for Saturday's card at The Meadowlands, click here. Free program pages are available from The Meadowlands by clicking here.
(Standardbred Canada; With files from Meadowlands Racetrack)