The final true monster card on harness racing’s 2019 calendar will take place Saturday night (Nov. 23), when just over $2.8 million in purses will be up for grabs across eight stakes races on Fall Final Four/TVG Finals Night at the Meadowlands Racetrack.
Seven of the horses in the weekly Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown Top 10 poll will be in action. In three events, two of those horses will face off against each other.
Six-year-old super mare Shartin N (No. 1 in the poll), the presumptive leader in the Horse of the Year race, will take on the top three-year-old filly in training, Warrawee Ubeaut (No. 4), in the $175,000 TVG Mares Pace. A win by Shartin N would put her on the inside track for the HOTY hardware, while a loss could put the award up for grabs.
Bettors Wish (No. 2) is another three-year-old who will take on older foes, as he’ll tackle defending Horse of the Year McWicked (No. 10) in the $350,000 TVG Open Pace. Bettors Wish is heading in off of an impressive score in the Matron in 1:49.2 and is harness racing’s high money-earner this year, with a bankroll of just over $1.5 million. A TVG win would undoubtedly help his Horse of the Year cause, but he would have to beat the standout who sealed up last year’s HOTY trophy (McWicked) in the very same event last November.
The final match-up of Top 10 horses will take place when the sport’s hottest horse, the great mare Manchego (No. 5), a winner of six in a row, will take on her male counterparts in the $350,000 TVG Open Trot. Standing in her way will be double New York Sire Stakes and double Breeders Crown champion Gimpanzee (No. 6), who has banked $1.1 million in 2019.
Atlanta (No. 8) is the other Top 10 member who will be on the card. She’ll most likely be a short price in the $175,000 TVG Mares Trot off of an easy win in a prep at the ‘Big M’ in 1:52.2. One of the great trotting mares of all time – Atlanta’s Ron Burke stablemate Hannelore Hanover, a lifetime earner of more than $3 million – will also be behind the gate and will be making the final start of her stellar career.
The four TVG races are just half the story. The Fall Final Four races – all for two-year-olds, with divisional honour impact – include the $401,850 Governor’s Cup for pacing colts and geldings (where Papi Rob Hanover is the 3-5 early favourite); $505,050 Valley Victory for trotting colts and geldings (Breeders Crown winner Amigo Volo is 8-5); $475,100 Goldsmith Maid for trotting fillies (Senorita Rita is 2-1); and $411,00 Three Diamonds for pacing fillies (Lyons Sentinel is 2-1).
EARLY START, BIG ACTION: The Saturday night program, which will have an earlier-than-usual first race post time of 7 p.m., features an enhanced wagering menu. It will include:
• 20-cent Survivor Pick-6 (Races 1-6)
• $40,000 guaranteed 50-cent Pick-5 (Races 3-7)
• $75,000 guaranteed 50-cent Pick-4 (Races 8-11)
• Rolling Pick-3s
(With files from the Meadowlands Racetrack)
Other than Breeders Crown
Other than Breeders Crown cards, I think this is the first time in history that all 4 sexes and gaits of 2yo's and all 4 sexes and gaits of older horses have competed on the same race card. I think it's also the first time in history that 2 former HOTY's (McWicked and Hannelore Hanover) have raced the final race of their careers on the same racing program. Plus the best 3yo pacing filly and pacing colt in North America will each face older horses, and presumptive 2019 HOTY Shartin will put the finishing touches on a stellar 2019 campaign. I hope that the weather cooperates, because this is truly one of the best harness racing programs ever!