by Karen Briggs, WEG Media

Toronto, ON — The best 2- and 3-year-old pacers and trotters in North America will be showcased Saturday evening (Oct. 24) at Woodbine Racetrack, when eight championship Breeders Crown finals, worth over C$5.1 million, are contested.

The Score will air a special three-hour presentation across Canada of this 25th anniversary (26th edition) of the Breeders Crown, from 8:00-11:00 p.m. (EDT) and will telecast seven Crown races live. Woodbine last hosted the Breeders Crown for 2- and 3-year-olds in 2006, while Mohawk Racetrack staged four Crown races for older horses in 2008.

USTA/Ken Weingartner photo

Warren Moon (center) is joined at the Breeders Crown Press Conference by trainers Brenda Teague (left) and Toni Rose (right).

Quarterback Warren Moon, who was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2001 and the National Football League’s Pro Hall of Fame in 2006 after distinguished careers in both leagues, was the guest drawmaster on Tuesday when post positions for the 3-year-old colt pace and 3-year-old colt trot were determined. Post positions for the other six Crown races had already been drawn.

Moon will also be inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, along with driver John Campbell, on November 3 in Toronto.

Last Friday and Saturday, eliminations were held for several of the finals, with the winners earning the opportunity to select post positions before the balance of the fields were drawn.

The three-hour telecast on The Score begins with the C$617,880 3-year-old colt trot at 8:15 p.m., featuring the incomparable Muscle Hill, regarded as one of the finest, if not the best ever trotter. The Muscles Yankee colt has won 19 races in a row, after losing his debut in July last year, and earned just over C$3 million. He won last year’s Breeders Crown en route to divisional honors and has continued his excellence this season, winning the famed Hambletonian, World Trotting Derby, Canadian Trotting Classic and the Kentucky Futurity.

Trained by Nova Scotia native Greg Peck, Muscle Hill (post 1), the 1-5 morning line choice, will be driven by Brian Sears, as he tries to become just the third trotter to win Crowns in both his 2- and 3-year-old seasons. Malabar Man was the last to do so in 1996-97, while Mack Lobell won Crowns in three consecutive years from 1986-88.

The last Crown race of the evening is the C$617,880 3-year-old colt pace, slated for 10:47 p.m. Well Said (post 9), winner of the Pepsi North America Cup in June at Mohawk, the Meadowlands Pace in July and the Little Brown Jug at Delaware in September, is the 8-5 morning line favorite. To be driven by Ron Pierce for trainer Steve Elliott, the son of Western Hanover has banked over C$2.6 million for co-owners Jeffrey Snyder and Lothlorien, while winning 14 of 25 starts, including last year’s Breeders Crown.

Well Said will try to become the fourth pacer to win Crowns at two and three, joining Camtastic (1987-88), Artiscape (1997-98) and Jenna’s Beach Boy, who won three in a row from 1994-96.

Vintage Master (post 10), winner of the Adios, Cane Pace and recent Tattersalls at Lexington, has earned over C$1.2 million this year, after going winless in 12 starts last year. Trained by Jimmy Takter, the son of Western Ideal, listed at 5-1, will be driven by Daniel Dube. Both Well Said and Vintage Master chose to accept berths directly into the Crown final, rather than compete in last week’s elimination, which was won in 1:50.2 by Mr Wiggles, the 9-2 second choice trained by Brenda Teague. Teague selected post 2 for her Crown hopeful, before the balance of the field was drawn.

If I Can Dream (post 6, Tim Tetrick), runner-up to Well Said in the Jug, but fourth to Mr Wiggles in the elim as the favorite last week, is pegged at 6-1.

The C$731,158 3-year-old filly pace, the richest race of the night, will kick off the eight Crown races at 7:52 p.m. and is headed by Bulletproof Enterprises’ Yellow Diamond and Shacked Up, both daughters of Western Terror and both C$62,500 supplemental nominations to the Crown.

Unraced at two, Yellow Diamond (post 2, Jim Morrill Jr.) has won 10 of 17 starts this year and C$755,617, including the Glen Garnsey at Lexington on October 9, her most recent outing, and the Lynch final at Pocono Downs in June. Earlier in the year, she also finished second in both the rich Fan Hanover at Mohawk in June and the Mistletoe Shalee at the Meadowlands in August.

Shacked Up (post 6, Tim Tetrick) has banked C$642,695 while winning seven of her 15 starts this year, including the Simcoe at Mohawk September 6 and an Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Final at Woodbine on October 9.

The C$617,880 2-year-old filly trot, at 8:40 p.m., is headed by Poof She’s Gone (post 4, David Miller), who set a track record last Friday while winning her elimination in 1:55.4, holding off a determined Spicy Wings through the stretch. The daughter of Kadabra has won eight of 10 starts and C$617,386.

Her challengers include Christiana Hanover (post 2, Steve Condren), a daughter of Andover Hall, who scored an upset, at 32-1, while taking her elim in 1:57, her third win in just four starts. Fashion Feline (post 5, Brian Sears), who made an early break in her elim but still managed to finish fourth to Christiana Hanover, as the 7-5 favorite, and Costa Rica (post 1, Ron Pierce), who has taken eight of her 13 outings, including the Goldsmith Maid at Harrah’s Chester, September 8 and the Peaceful Way, September 20 at Mohawk, as the field’s leading money winner with C$834,725, are other likely contenders.

The C$617,880 2-year-old colt trot, scheduled for 9:05 p.m., is headed by last week’s elim winners Lucky Chucky (post 4, John Campbell) and Pilgrims Taj (post 2, Mike Lachance). Lucky Chucky, by Windsong’s Legacy, has taken eight of nine outings, including the rich Valley Victory at Harrah’s Chester on September 6 and the Bluegrass at Lexington on October 1. He defeated Temple Of Doom in his elim in a career best 1:55.1.

Pilgrims Taj, a Broadway Hall colt, has won six of his nine outings, with three seconds, for earnings of C$437,999. His big win came in a Pennsylvania Sires Stake September 29 at The Meadows, but he was also second earlier in both the Valley Victory and Peter Haughton in August at the Meadowlands. He won his elim by a head over Newport Volo in 1:56.1.

A well-matched group will contest the C$628,178 2-year-old filly pace at 9:30 p.m. Fancy Filly (post 2, Brian Sears) and Put On A Show (post 9, Jody Jamieson), who both went down to defeat as odds-on choices in their elims, will still attract plenty of support.

Fancy Filly, a daughter of Western Hanover, who has won nine of 11 starts for trainer Brenda Teague, including the Three Diamonds at Harrah’s Chester on September 20, has banked C$526,837. She finished a neck behind Western Silk in her elim in 1:52.1.

Put On A Show suffered her first career loss last Friday, finishing a half-length behind Higher And Higher in 1:52.4. The Rocknroll Hanover filly has won seven of eight, including the She’s A Great Lady, September 5 at Mohawk, for trainer Chris Ryder, while earning C$619,454.

Elim winner Higher And Higher (post 4, Dave Palone) has won five of seven and C$358,097, including the Bluegrass on September 30 at Lexington for trainer Tracy Brainard while fellow elim winner Western Silk (post 3, Mark MacDonald) has taken six of 11, including two OSS Gold Finals in the last month for trainer Casie Coleman.

The C$617,880 3-year-old filly trot at 9:55 p.m. brings together favored elim winners Elusive Desire (post 4, Paul MacDonell) and Margarita Momma (post 1, Ron Pierce). A daughter of Angus Hall, Elusive Desire, an O’Brien Award winner last year, has captured 10 of 16 starts this year for trainer Michael Keeling and her owners P C Wellwood Enterprises, Charles Armstrong and Robert Fasken. She’s closing in on the C$1 million mark in career earnings, with C$981,878 and counts the Simcoe September 10 at Mohawk among her victories.

Margarita Momma, a Yankee Glide filly, has taken five of her 10 outings this year, including a Bluegrass division at Lexington on October 9, and her elim in 1:54.1. The field also includes Hambletonian Oaks winner Broadway Schooner (post 7, Brian Sears), who finished second to Elusive Desire last week.

Sportswriter (post 2, Mark MacDonald), the undefeated Metro Pace winner, looms an overwhelming choice in the C$720,860 2-year-old colt pace at 10:21 p.m. Trained by Casie Coleman for owners Steve Calhoun and West Wins Stable, the son of Artsplace also won the Champlain on September 12 at Mohawk and tuned up for the Crown by taking a conditioned event Sunday at Woodbine in 1:53.2, beating race rival Malicious by a half-length.

Since the Breeders Crown began in 1984, John Campbell leads all drivers with 44 wins and over $19.3 million in purse earnings, while Robert McIntosh heads the trainers list with 15 wins and over $5.5 million in purses. Kentucky’s Brittany Farms leads all owners with $6.2 million in purses while winning 15 races.