by Paul Ramlow, publicity director, The Grand Circuit

This Week: Yonkers Trot and Messenger Stakes, Yonkers Raceway, Yonkers, N.Y.; Canadian Pacing Derby, Metro, She’s A Great Lady, Simcoe Stakes, and Champlain Stakes, Mohawk Racetrack, Campbellville, Ontario; American-National, Balmoral Park, Crete, Ill.; and Miss Versatility, Tioga Downs, Nichols, N.Y.

Schedule of events: A busy holiday weekend of Grand Circuit action is led by a pair of Triple Crown events at Yonkers Raceway on Saturday (Sept. 5). The Hilltop oval will host the $500,000 Yonkers Trot for 3-year-old trotters and the $500,000 Messenger Stakes for 3-year-old pacers. These races will be the second legs in the Triple Crown for their respective gaits.

Grand Circuit action at Mohawk commences on Thursday (Sept. 3) with three divisions in the C$262,380 Champlain Stakes for 2-year-old filly trotters. The Friday (Sept. 4) program is highlighted by two divisions in the C$236,313 Champlain Stakes for 2-year-old colt trotters and a single C$223,193 division in the Simcoe Stakes for 3-year-old filly trotters. The huge Saturday (Sept. 5) program features the C$685,000 Canadian Pacing Derby for older pacers, the C$685,000 Metro for 2-year-old colt pacers and the C$455,000 She’s A Great Lady for 2-year-old filly pacers. Also on the program will be two divisions in the C$229,907 Simcoe Stakes for 3-year-old colt trotters and a single C$223,193 division in the Simcoe Stakes for 3-year-old filly pacers.

The Sunday (Sept. 6) Balmoral Park card features $90,000 (est.) American-National races for 2-year-old colt and filly trotters.

Grand Circuit action heads to Tioga Downs on Labor Day Monday (Sept. 7) with the $40,000 (est.) fourth leg of the Miss Versatility for older trotting mares.

Complete entries for the races at the U.S. tracks are available at this link. Entries for the Mohawk races are available at this link.

Last time: The Grand Circuit spotlight was on Yonkers Raceway this past Saturday with 3-year-old fillies featured in the finals of the Lady Maud for pacers and Hudson Trot for fillies, plus the colts took to the track for a pair of Yonkers Trot eliminations.

Mike Lizzi photo

Purrfect Bags won the Lady Maud in a time of 1:53.

Odds-on choice Purrfect Bags (Victor Kirby) completed her Yonkers Raceway Lismore/Lady Maud personal stakes double, winning the latter event in 1:53. The $116,430 Lady Maud, which attracted just a half-dozen 3-year-old pacing fillies, saw Purrfect Bags in play early from post position two. She then closed the sale, winning by a length in 1:53. Bettor N Better fought the good fight for second, with Strut My Stuff, Repeat Please and Cheyenne Robin coming away with the small change.

For Purrfect Bags, a daughter of Roddy’s Bags Again brought to town from Delmarva by the Kings — owner JoAnn and trainer Jim Jr. — it was her eighth win (fifth consecutive) in 10 seasonal starts (15-for-18 lifetime).

Driver Jason Bartlett and trainer Chuck Sylvester won Yonkers Raceway’s $149,240 final of the Hudson Filly Trot with a pocket-sitting Murderers Row in a season’s best 1:56.3. Murderers Row won a protracted stretch battle by a nose over Lady Winona. Third went to Scented Roses, barely holding off a closing Wouldn’t Itbesweet, while Oh My Darlin earned the last pay envelope.

For Murderers Row, co-owned by Steve Jones, Mary Kinsey and Ted Gewertz, it was her second win in eight seasonal starts.

New York did itself proud Saturday night, as Empire-breds won both $40,000 eliminations for Yonkers Trot No. 61. When the stone dust settled, it was a pair of Ron Burke entities, Crazy Wow (Tim Tetrick) and Habitat (Yannick Gingras) who led the lads into this Saturday’s (Sept. 5) half-million-dollar final.

Crazy Wow defeated Pinkman by a length in 1:55.4. Buen Camino held third over a closing Workout Wonder with both getting berths in the final.

For second choice Crazy Wow — last season’s New York Sire Stakes frosh champ — a son of Crazed co-owned by Our Horse Cents Stables, JT45, J&T Silva Stables and Deo Volente Farms, it was his sixth win in 10 seasonal starts.

Habitat won the second elimination in 1:55.3. Southwind Mozart chased from a loose pocket and was beaten a couple of lengths. Billy Flynn and French Laundry also earned seats in the final.

Habitat, a son of Conway Hall, co-owned by Burke Racing, Weaver Bruscemi and Our Horse Cents Stables, is now 6-for-13 this season.

Complete recaps of all the races are available at the Grand Circuit website.

Grand Circuit Standings: In 2015, 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 Farm is the sponsor for the 2015 Grand Circuit awards.

Here are the leaders following the past week’s action:

Drivers: 1. Yannick Gingras – 749; 2. Tim Tetrick – 495; 3. David Miller – 491.5; 4. Brian Sears – 397; 5. Corey Callahan – 342.5.

Trainers: 1. Ron Burke – 1,009; 2. Jimmy Takter – 617; 3. Jeff Bamond Jr. – 300; 4. Tony Alagna – 228: 5. Erv Miller – 212.

Owners: 1. Bamond Racing – 235; 2. Burke Racing – 234.65; 3. Weaver Bruscemi – 208.95; 4. George Teague Jr. Inc. – 140; 5. Christina Takter – 111.25.

Looking ahead: Grand Circuit action will be taking place next week at Mohawk Racetrack, Scioto Downs, Tioga Downs, and The Red Mile.

Mohawk will feature eliminations of the Canadian Trotting Classic, Maple Leaf Trot, Elegantimage, William Wellwood Memorial and Peaceful Way, as well as Champlain Stakes for 2-year-old pacers and Simcoe Stakes for 3-year-old colt pacers; Scioto will host the Jim Ewart Memorial for older pacers; Tioga will have W.N. Reynolds Memorial races for 2-year-old pacers; and The Red Mile will feature a leg of the Kindergarten Series for 2-year-old trotters.