East Rutherford, NJ — Ake Svanstedt trainees won both of Saturday’s (July 31) $50,000 Hambletonian Stakes eliminations for 3-year-old trotters at The Meadowlands Racetrack, with Delayed Hanover capturing the first division and Captain Corey taking the second.

Svanstedt saw three of his four elimination starters advance to the $1 million Hambletonian final on Aug. 7 at the Big M, as Ambassador Hanover joined his winning duo.

The top-five finishers from each elimination moved on to the final.

Nancy Takter also had a trio of finalists. Really Fast was second to Captain Corey while Locatelli and Spy Booth were fifth-place finishers in their respective elims.

Completing the group of 10 horses advancing to the final were Cuatro De Julio, who was runner-up to Delayed Hanover, plus Sonofamistery, Venerate, and Take All Comers.

Elimination winners will draw for post positions one through five. The remaining finalists will go in an open draw after the elimination winners receive their post.

Post positions for the Hambletonian and Hambletonian Oaks finals will be drawn at 1 p.m. Tuesday (Aug. 3) on Meadowlands Facebook live. Both finals will air live from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Hambletonian Day (Aug. 7) on CBS Sports Network. First-race post time on Hambletonian Day is noon.

Delayed Hanover won by two lengths over Cuatro De Julio in 1:51.1. Lisa photo.

In the first elimination, Delayed Hanover won by two lengths over Cuatro De Julio in 1:51.1. Ambassador Hanover, Sonofamistery, and Spy Booth completed the top-five finishers advancing to the Hambletonian final.

Dancinginthedark M, the 4-5 favorite, went off stride on the final turn. Zenith Stride, last year’s Peter Haughton Memorial winner, also made a break. On A Streak, the 2020 O’Brien Award winner from Canada, was scratched sick.

Ambassador Hanover led to the first quarter in :27.2 before Cuatro De Julio was put in motion and grabbed the lead in a :55.1 half. Cuatro De Julio stayed on top through three-quarters, reached in 1:22.4, but was unable to hold off Delayed Hanover in the stretch.

Dexter Dunn drove Delayed Hanover, who was third for most of the mile, for trainer Ake Svanstedt. Ambassador Hanover also is trained by Svanstedt, who handled the driving behind that colt.

“The pace was strong enough; I was happy where I was, we had a good spot there,” Dunn said. “(Dancinginthedark M) was outside of us on the last turn and made a break, so we had clear air. We followed (Ambassador Hanover) out in the straight and it felt like he was full of trot. When I moved him over, he certainly was. He showed a lot of speed.”

Delayed Hanover has won three of five races this year and four of 12 lifetime, earning nearly $260,000. He is owned by Mellby Gard Inc. and Ake Svanstedt Inc. He was bred by Hanover Shoe Farms.

Sent off at 6-1, Delayed Hanover paid $14.80 to win.

Captain Corey trotted to victory in 1:51.2. Lisa photo.

In the second elimination, Svanstedt-driven Captain Corey got the lead from stablemate Johan Palema in a :27.3 opening quarter and never looked back. He set fractions of :55.3 and 1:23.4 on his way to victory in 1:51.2. Really Fast, the 7-5 favorite, was second followed by Venerate, Take All Comers, and Locatelli.

“I didn’t pull up and everybody knows I have a good horse,” Svanstedt said about setting the tone with Captain Corey. “He raced (1):50.3 his last start, so he’s a good horse. He was the same today. I hope he can be even better with week-to-week races.”

Captain Corey is owned by S R F Stable, Knutsson Trotting Inc., Midnight Sun Partners Inc., and Ake Svanstedt Inc. The son of Googoo Gaagaa-Luv U All was bred by Carter Duer. He has won two of four races this year and seven of 11 lifetime, with career earnings of more than $400,000.

Sent off at 6-1, Captain Corey paid $15.40 to win.

Watch The Draw: The live post-position draw for both the Hambletonian and Hambletonian Oaks will take place Tuesday at 1 p.m. For those interested in following along, they can tune in to the Meadowlands Facebook page or the Meadowlands YouTube channel.

A Little More: American History was the fastest performer of the night, stopping the clock in 1:47.4 in the third race high-end conditioned pace for trainer Tony Alagna and driver Todd McCarthy. Leading at every call, the 6-year-old son of American Ideal cut out fractions of :26, :52.4 and 1:19.4. He returned $7.80 as the second choice in the betting.

Dexter Dunn, David Miller and Scott Zeron topped the driver colony with three winners apiece. Nifty Norman trained three to victory lane.

Two lucky winning-ticket holders hit big in the 20-cent Survivor Pick-7, as they walked away with a payout of $7,062.70.

All-source handle totaled $3,260,291.

Racing resumes Friday, the next-to-last card of the meeting, at 6:20 p.m. Hambletonian Day will see the final card of The Championship Meet on Saturday (Aug. 7) and has a post time of noon. Gates open at 10 a.m.

— Dave Little