Apex captured the 101st edition of the $1,388,889 Winning Key Farm Hambletonian Stakes (Grade 1) for three-year-old trotters on Saturday, Aug. 8 at The Meadowlands, holding off favourite Big Ranger by a nose in a stakes record 1:49.2.
Apex’s effort gave trainer Marcus Melander and driver Dexter Dunn their first Hambletonian wins. Melander had finished second in America’s Trotting Classic four times, including three of the past four years.
Two races prior to the Hambletonian, Melander-trained Nezuko Kamado S won the filly companion race, the Hambletonian Oaks, by a neck over Carve. Melander became the fourth trainer in history to win the Hambletonian and Oaks in the same year, joining Jimmy Takter (twice), Jim Campbell and Jan Johnson.
Dunn became the first driver since Mike Lachance in 2003 to win the Meadowlands Pace (in July with Brandon Blvd) and the Hambletonian in the same year.
In the Hambletonian, Big Ranger and Tim Tetrick went to the front on the first turn, but Dunn kept Apex in motion and led that rival by a parked-out nose as he reached the opening quarter in :26.4. Apex was a length in front at the half in :54.3 and at three-quarters in 1:22.4, but Tetrick was charging first-over with Big Ranger and the two were separated by a nose in the stretch, setting up their toe-to-toe fight to the finish.
Following a lengthy photo-finish review, Apex’s No. 3 lit the top spot on the tote board. In addition to a stakes record, the final time of 1:49.2 set the track record for a three-year-old trotter and was only one-fifth of a second off the world record.
“Thank God we got there,” said Melander after the race. “It was tight. He has the will to win and he put his nose first.
“I didn’t think he held on, but he’s a big fighter. He fights all the way to the finish line.”
Dunn also was uncertain about the outcome after crossing the finish line.
“I was probably five per cent that I’d won and 95 that I got beat,” he said. “It’s amazing. The feelings that ran through me when I was told I won it; there’s no better feeling. I watched this race when I was a kid back in New Zealand, and to be here and win it, it’s incredible.
“He’s so strong, this horse, and I had full confidence in him. He was pretty racy today. It was two great horses coming up the straight there. That was one hell of a battle.”
Added Melander, “I was very confident in the horse. He had a good week and he warmed up good. I didn’t know how the race was going to play out, but he’s a very strong horse and he’ll fight. He’s both strong and fast. But his strength is his big thing; his heart, his lungs and the will to win. He has everything a champion horse needs. He’s definitely a champion.”
Apex, the 2025 Dan Patch Award winner for best two-year-old male trotter, has won 10 of 14 career races and went over the million-dollar mark in seasonal earnings and $2 million lifetime, with a total of $2,230,197 in the bank.
He is owned by Jeffrey Snyder of New York City, New York, S R F Stable of Delray Beach, Florida and Steve Stewart of Paris, Kentucky.
The son of Walner, out of Mission Brief (who was second in the 2015 Hambletonian), was bred by Mission Brief Stable, a group that also includes Stewart.
“We bred Mission Brief, so we’ve had the family,” said Stewart. “It’s been a great ride, for sure. But the best thing is, partners like these [Apex] guys and the ones we have with Mission Brief, that means the world to us.”
Snyder has won many of the sport’s premier races, but this was his first Hambletonian.
“It’s a very special moment,” said Snyder. “This is the apex of our career, our life, of the horses we’ve raced. It’s just amazing. He was super. All credit goes to Marcus Melander, Dexter Dunn and the entire Melander team.
“We thought Apex was the winner, by a long nose. We were watching it from the finish line and I thought that he had it. But then when the photo didn’t come up, it was a long four-minute wait. We started to sweat it out a little bit. But then I saw Marcus putting the blanket on him, looking confident, so we felt like we had the race won.”
Sent off as the 5-2 second choice behind 3-5 favourite Big Ranger, Apex paid $7.80 to win.
Minoan, the longest shot on the board at odds of 103-1, finished third for Todd McCarthy, 4-1/4 lengths behind the top two finishers. The Melander-trained American Power and James MacDonald overcame interference in the first turn from post 10 to finish fourth ahead of Captain Naughty and Brett Beckwith, who rounded out the top five. The third starter in the 10-horse field from the Melander stable, Spencer Hanover, was sixth with Mattias Melander driving.
Marcus Melander led all trainers on the mega 16-race card with four wins. In addition to the Hambo-Oaks sweep, Super Chapter won the John Cashman Memorial Trot and Bourbonista S won the Vincennes Preferred Trot.
All-source wagering on the program totalled $6,159,511 USD, a 2026 track and industry best.
There is no live racing at The Big M on Friday, Aug. 14 due to a pre-season football game. The next live card will take place on Saturday, Aug. 15. Post time is 40 minutes later than usual, at 7 p.m.
A replay of the full Hambletonian day card from Meadowlands Racetrack is available below.
(With files from Meadowlands Racetrack)