The Grand Circuit's weekly overview highlights its upcoming races at Charlottetown Driving Park, Hoosier Park, Northfield Park and Indiana State Fair.
This Week: Dan Patch Invitational, Harrah’s Hoosier Park, Anderson, Indiana; Carl Milstein Memorial, MGM Northfield Park, Northfield, Ohio; Fox Stake, the Ralph Wilfong, the Horseman Stakes and the Hoosier Stakes, Indiana State Fair, Indianapolis, Indiana; and Gold Cup and Saucer trials, Red Shores Racetrack & Casino, Charlottetown, P.E.I.
Schedule of Events: An extremely busy week of Grand Circuit action kicks off this Wednesday, Aug. 9 as The Indiana State Fair will host one day of Grand Circuit racing with the feature being the $50,780 Fox Stakes for two-year-old colt pacers. The co-featured event is the $42,679 Ralph Wilfong for two-year-old colt trotters. The Hoosier Stakes for two-year-olds will have two divisions in the $26,000 two-year-old colt trot and single divisions in the $26,697 two-year-old filly pace, the $23,196 two-year-old filly trot and the $21,857 two-year-old colt pace. The Horseman Stakes for three-year-olds features single divisions in the $32,913 three-year-old colt trot, the $32,803 three-year-old filly trot, the $31,280 three-year-old colt pace and the $29,217 three-year-old filly pace.
On Friday night, Aug. 11, Hoosier Park will feature the $300,000 Dan Patch Invitational for older pacing horses.
On Saturday, Aug. 12, Northfield Park will host the $300,000 Carl Milstein Memorial for three-year-old pacers. Also on Saturday, Red Shores Racetrack & Casino will host two of three trials for the Gold Cup and Saucer for older pacers. The third trial will be held on Monday, Aug. 14.
Complete entries for the U.S. races are available on the USTA website. Entries for the Red Shores Racetrack & Casino races are available by clicking here.
Last Time: As the outer flow developed in the 2023 Hambletonian, driver Scott Zeron took a tactical approach to his attempt for a third win in the million-dollar classic. Click here to read the complete story.
Grand Circuit Standings: In In 2023, the Grand Circuit leaders in three categories (driver, trainer and owner) will once again be tracked on a points system (20-10-5 for the top three finishers in divisions/finals and 10-5-2 for the top three finishers in eliminations/legs). Winbak Farms is the sponsor for the 2023 Grand Circuit awards.
Here are the leaders (through the races on Aug. 5, 2023):
Drivers: 1. Dexter Dunn – 505; 2. Yannick Gingras – 502; 3. Scott Zeron – 410; 4. Tim Tetrick – 391; 5. David Miller – 344.
Trainers: 1. Ron Burke – 607; 2. Ake Svanstedt – 422; 3. Nancy Takter – 293; 4. Linda Toscano – 252; 5. Marcus Melander – 231.
Owners: 1. Diamond Creek Racing – 165.9; 2. Burke Racing Stable – 114.2; 3. Hudson Standardbred Stable – 100; 4. Mark Ford – 98; 5. Ken Jacobs – 92.5.
Looking Ahead: Grand Circuit action will be taking place next week at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, Red Shores Racetrack & Casino and Woodbine Mohawk Park. Pocono will host four events for three-year-olds — the Earl Beal Memorial (colt and gelding trot), the Max C. Hempt Memorial (colt and gelding pace), the James Lynch Memorial (filly pace) and the Delmonica Hanover (filly trot). Red Shores has the Gold Cup and Saucer final for older pacers. Woodbine Mohawk Park has eliminations for the William Wellwood (two-year-old open trot) and Peaceful Way (two-year-old filly trot).
(The Grand Circuit)