Trio of tracks to host Grand Circuit racing this weekend
July 18, 2018,by Paul Ramlow, publicity director, the Grand Circuit
This Week: Joe Gerrity Memorial, Saratoga Casino Hotel, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.; Delvin Miller Adios eliminations, The Meadows, Washington, Pa.; and Tompkins-Geers and Kindergarten Series, Meadowlands Racetrack, East Rutherford, N.J.
Schedule of events: Grand Circuit action will be held this weekend at three different racetracks.
Action begins on Friday (July 20) at Meadowlands Racetrack with the second leg of the Kindergarten Series for 2-year-olds of both sexes and gaits. There will be three $10,000 divisions of the Kindergarten for 2-year-old trotting fillies, two $10,000 divisions of the Kindergarten for 2-year-old pacing colts and trotting colts and a single $10,000 division of the Kindergarten for 2-year-old pacing fillies. On Saturday (July 21), the Meadowlands card will offer the $68,600 Tompkins-Geers for 3-year-old trotting fillies and the $61,900 Tompkins-Geers for 3-year-old trotting colts.
Also on Saturday, Saratoga will host their marquee event, the $260,000 Joe Gerrity Memorial for older pacers.
Finally, The Meadows on Saturday will offer a pair of $25,000 eliminations for the Devlin Miller Adios for 3-year-old colt pacers. The $400,000 (est.) Adios final the following Saturday afternoon anchors a blockbuster card that features six Grand Circuit stakes.
Complete entries for the races are available at this link.
Last time: David Miller flashed a wide smile as he guided Courtly Choice to the winner’s circle after winning the $701,830 Crawford Farms Meadowlands Pace. The monkey was off the Hall of Famer’s back. After 18 failed efforts, Miller finally owned a victory in the Meadowlands Racetrack’s signature event for 3-year-olds. Courtly Choice rallied to win the Pace by 1-1/4 lengths on Saturday night (July 14).
“That was sweet,” Miller said. “Really sweet.”
The Pace was an obvious omission on Miller’s glittering resume. “The Buckeye” is second on the sport’s all-time money list with $222 million in the bank. His best previous Pace finish was a second with Always B Miki in 2014.
The sweetness of the moment spread in many directions, including trainer Blake MacIntosh, who also savored the victory in his Pace debut.
“I believed in this horse,” said MacIntosh, the former assistant to Casie Coleman. “He just had some back luck earlier in the year.”
And it was a winning gamble for the ownership group that ponied up $61,690 to enter the eliminations. The faith of Hutt Racing Stable, Mac And Heim Stables, Daniel Plouffe and Touch Stone Farms was rewarded with the $333,370 first-place check.
Most importantly, it was a moment of redemption for Courtly Choice, who failed to make the finals in the North America Cup and the Max Hempt Memorial.
The colt served notice his moment was at hand with a sharp first-up victory in his Pace elimination. And then he finally put it all together for the richest victory of his career.
The race seemed primed for a 57-1 upset when a dead-game Dorsoduro Hanover, handled by Matt Kakaley, battled his way to the front at the top of the lane. But Courtly Choice was tracking his every move and angled wide under Miller’s urging to score the victory.
“The trip worked out good,” Miller said. “The couple of horses I thought would leave from the outside left. I was able to get Matt in front of me and nobody else moved. On the last turn, I was real happy with my spot.”
The time was 1:47.1 on the warm evening.
Courtly Choice paid $4.40 as the 6-5 favorite.
Complete recaps of all the weekend races are available at the Grand Circuit website.
Grand Circuit Standings: In 2018, 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 2018 Grand Circuit awards.
Here are the leaders following the past weekend.
Drivers: 1. Tim Tetrick – 452; 2. Yannick Gingras – 430; 3. Jordan Stratton – 256; 4. David Miller – 226.5; 5. Scott Zeron – 178.
Trainers: 1. Ron Burke – 428.5; 2. Jimmy Takter – 280; 3. Jim King Jr. – 171; 4. Tony Alagna – 142; 5. Peter Tritton – 122.
Owners: 1. Vonknoblauch Stable – 107; 2t. Burke Racing Stable – 100.2; 2t. Weaver Bruscemi – 100.2; 4. Crawford Farms Racing – 80; 5. Fashion Farms – 72.
Looking ahead: Grand Circuit action will be taking place next weekend at The Meadows and Meadowlands Racetrack. The Meadows will host eight Grand Circuit events, led by the final of the Delvin Miller Adios for 3-year-old pacing colts. Meadowlands Racetrack will host eliminations for three lucrative stakes, led by the Hambletonian Oaks for 3-year-old filly trotters, as well as the Reynolds Memorial for 3-year-old colt trotters.
- Brown seeks consecutive Adios titles with Done Well (Wednesday, July 18, 2018)
Brian Brown is ready to get a renewed look at a refreshed Done Well, who returns to action for the first time in three weeks as the 5-2 morning-line favorite in Saturday’s first of two eliminations for the Delvin Miller Adios Pace for the Orchids at The Meadows. Done Well, who was second to Lather Up in mid-June’s North America Cup, got time off following a fourth-place finish in the consolation division of the Max C. Hempt Memorial on June 30.
- Saratoga Casino Hotel readies for 10th annual Joe Gerrity Jr. Memorial Pace (Wednesday, July 18, 2018)
On Saturday (July 21), Saratoga Casino Hotel will welcome some of the country’s top harness racing talent for the 10th edition of their biggest race, the Joe Gerrity Jr. Memorial Pace. This year’s memorial pace features a $260,000 purse, with more than $500,000 in total purses throughout the evening.
- Done Well, Dorsoduro Hanover installed as Adios elims favorites (Wednesday, July 18, 2018)
Done Well and Dorsoduro Hanover have been installed as the 5-2 and 2-1 morning line favorites, respectively, in Saturday’s eliminations for the $450,000 (est.) Delvin Miller Adios Pace for the Orchids at The Meadows.
- Mondillo high on Rodeo Romeo (Thursday, July 19, 2018)
Bob Mondillo had no idea where to set his expectations when he began buying horses two decades ago, but chances are that wherever he set them he would be pleased with the results. Mondillo has enjoyed a number of successes, most notably with retired millionaire Nob Hill High and continuing with stakes contenders including Joe Gerrity Jr. Memorial Pace-bound Rodeo Romeo.
- Larry Karr sends Larry Karr after Adios orchids (Thursday, July 19, 2018)
When Larry Karr met Larry Karr, the earth moved. Reunited now after several years apart, the pair will try to recapture the magic when Larry Karr, the human, sends Larry Karr, the 3-year-old gelding he co-owns, after Adios orchids. The 52nd edition of the $450,000 (est.) Delvin Miller Adios Pace for the Orchids kicks off Saturday at The Meadows with a pair of eliminations that go as races 12 and 13.
- Zendt eyes Hambletonian with pal Joey (Friday, July 20, 2018)
The name may just be Joey, but Joey isn’t just some horse. In discussing the purchase at auction of Joey, her now-3-year-old trotting colt, trainer and co-owner Leslie Zendt exclaimed, “I just loved the name! You get all these long, 18-letter names and he comes along and his name is Joey. I fell in love with his name before I fell in love with him.” Entering Saturday’s $61,900 Tompkins-Geers Stakes for 3-year-old male trotters at The Meadowlands — which will serve as a measuring stick for whether the horse will enter the $1.2 million Hambletonian on Aug. 4 — Joey has won six of 10 career races for $36,700 in earnings.
- Adios elims card at The Meadows features 66 freshman pacers in two stakes (Friday, July 20, 2018)
Eliminations for the $450,000 (est.) Delvin Miller Adios Pace for the Orchids highlight Saturday’s (July 21) card at The Meadows, but fans of 2-year-old racing will enjoy an additional treat: 66 freshman colt and gelding pacers will compete in a pair of stakes spread over 10 divisions worth a total of $312,112.
- Hitman Hill, American History win Adios eliminations at The Meadows (Saturday, July 21, 2018)
Hitman Hill and American History each scored in Saturday’s (June 21) eliminations for the Delvin Miller Adios Pace for the Orchids at The Meadows and will lead the field into next Saturday’s $400,000 final. Also making the nine-horse final field are Done Well, Wes Delight, Summer Travel, Dorsoduro Hanover, Thinkgbig Dreambig, and Babes Dig Me as well as GD Western Joe, who earned a berth as the fifth-place finisher with higher career earnings.
- Evenin Of Pleasure scores in Gerrity Memorial (Saturday, July 21, 2018)
Heading into Saturday night (July 21), in two of the previous five installments of the Joe Gerrity Jr. Memorial Pace at Saratoga Casino Hotel, the track record has been set. A standard was not established in this edition, but Evenin Of Pleasure did pace the third fastest time (1:49.2) in track history.