by Ken Weingartner, Harness Racing Communications

Freehold, NJ — Muscle Massive won the $1.5 million Hambletonian. Lucky Chucky turned the tables in the $970,000 Canadian Trotting Classic. On October 9, their battle will be renewed in the $500,000 Breeders Crown for 3-year-old male trotters. Nine horses entered the event, so eliminations are unnecessary. Joining Muscle Massive and Lucky Chucky in the field are Break The Bank K, Flex The Muscle, Hard Livin, Pilgrims Taj, Take My Picture, Temple Of Doom, and Wishing Stone.

Pilgrims Taj won last season’s Breeders Crown for 2-year-old male trotters, beating Lucky Chucky by a length at Woodbine Racetrack. The only horses to win the event at 2 and come back to capture the race as 3-year-olds are Muscle Hill (2009), Malabar Man (1997) and Mack Lobell (1987).

Lucky Chucky is coming off a victory in the Canadian Trotting Classic on September 18 at Mohawk Racetrack. He has won three consecutive starts – including a division of the Harry M. Zweig Memorial and the $500,000 Colonial – since finishing second by a half length to Muscle Massive in the Hambletonian.

Trained by Chuck Sylvester and driven by John Campbell, Lucky Chucky has won four of seven races this year and earned $1.25 million. He has won 13 of 19 career starts and banked $1.91 million.

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Lucky Chucky has banked $1.91 million in his career.

Campbell is the leading driver in Breeders Crown history, with 44 trophies and $19.7 million in earnings.

Muscle Massive has won five of 10 races this year and earned $1.14 million. He was third in the Canadian Trotting Classic after winning a division of the Simcoe Stakes two weeks earlier. His victories also include the New Jersey Sire Stakes championship.

The colt is trained by Jimmy Takter and driven by Ron Pierce. Takter ranks No. 2 in Breeders Crown earnings among trainers, with $5.23 million in purses, while Pierce is No. 3 among drivers, with $8.8 million.

Break The Bank K was second in the Canadian Trotting Classic and won a Simcoe division. Flex The Muscle has won five consecutive starts, including a division of the Old Oaken Bucket on September 23. Temple Of Doom set the world record for 3-year-old trotters on a five-eighths of a mile track when he won a Zweig division in 1:52.4 at Tioga Downs on August 29. Wishing Stone won the $150,000 American-National Stakes at Balmoral Park on August 28.

Hambletonian Oaks champ among 22 in Breeders Crown 3-year-old filly trot

Hambletonian Oaks winner Bar Slide was among 22 horses entered in the $500,000 Breeders Crown for 3-year-old filly trotters. Three eliminations will be held Saturday at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, with the top three finishers from each elim advancing to the final on October 9.

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Bar Slide heads a field of 22 in the Breeders Crown for 3-year-old trotting fillies.

Bar Slide has won four of 12 races this year and earned $530,579. She will compete in the third of the three elimination races, starting from post six for driver Tim Tetrick and trainer Joe Holloway.

Christiana Hanover, also in the third elim, won the $221,500 Moni Maker Stakes in August at Lexington’s Red Mile.

Costa Rica, in the second elimination, has won four of her last five races, including the $98,025 Buckette last week at the Delaware County Fairgrounds in central Ohio. She also won the $230,195 Simcoe Stakes at Mohawk on September 6. She has five wins in 11 races this season and $1.24 million in career earnings.

The second elim also features Spicy Wings, who won the $299,050 Hudson Filly Trot at Yonkers Raceway in July, and New Jersey Sire Stakes champion Glide Power. Kentucky Sire Stakes champ Nannina is 3-for-3 this year heading to Pocono Downs.

Ultimate Cameron, who won the $540,290 Elegantimage Stakes in June at Mohawk Racetrack and was second to Bar Slide in the Hambletonian Oaks, is among the seven fillies in the first elimination.

Poof She’s Gone won the Breeders Crown for 2-year-old filly trotters last season at Woodbine Racetrack, but was not entered in this year’s event. Ultimate Cameron was second.

Following are the elimination fields in post position order, with listed drivers and trainers.

Elim One: 1. Wilsonator, Scott Zeron, Robert Fellows; 2. Bramalea Hanover, David Miller, Robert McIntosh; 3. Ultimate Cameron, George Brennan, Bob Stewart; 4. Southwind Samurai, John Campbell, Bjorn “Bernie” Noren; 5. Fortunes Dream, Yannick Gingras, Anette Lorentzon; 6. Levi’s Lady, Dewayne Minor, Minor; 7. Cantab It All, George Napolitano Jr., Jimmy Takter.

Elim Two: 1. Spicy Wings, John Campbell, Jeff Webster; 2. Up Front Juansteen, Tim Tetrick, Kelly O’Donnell; 3. Boinga, Dave Palone, Brian Roland; 4. Fashion Feline, Jim Morrill Jr., Jim Campbell; 5. Nannina, Brad Hanners, Hanners; 6. Costa Rica, Ron Pierce, Jimmy Takter; 7. Glide Power, Brian Sears, Jan Johnson.

Elim Three: 1. Behindclosedoors, Dave Palone, Chuck Sylvester; 2. Full Tank, Yannick Gingras, Bob Bencal; 3. Impressive Kemp, Jim Morrill Jr., Noel Daley; 4. Merger Blue Chip, David Miller, Bjorn “Bernie” Noren; 5. Munis Blue Chip, George Brennan, Ray Schnittker; 6. Bar Slide, Tim Tetrick, Joe Holloway; 7. Christiana Hanover, Riina Rekila, Rekila; 8. Action-Broadway, Brian Sears, Virgil Morgan Jr.