by Paul Ramlow, publicity director, The Grand Circuit

This Week: Review Stakes, Illinois State Fair, Springfield, Ill.; Fox Stake, the Ralph Wilfong, the Horseman Stakes and the Hoosier Stakes, Indiana State Fair, Indianapolis, Ind.; Historic-Acorn, Harrah’s Philadelphia, Chester, Pa.; Gold Cup and Saucer final, Red Shores Racetrack & Casino, Charlottetown, PEI; Joe Gerrity final, Saratoga Casino and Raceway, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.; Nassagaweya and Eternal Camnation, Mohawk Racetrack, Campbellville, Ont.; and Battle of the Brandywine, the Colonial and the Valley Forge, Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

Schedule of events: An extremely busy week of Grand Circuit action kicks off on Monday (Aug. 12) at the Illinois State Fair with the $43,000 Review Stake for 2-year-old trotters, the $26,500 Review Stake for 2-year-old filly pacers and the $20,000 Review Stake for 2-year-old colt pacers. The Tuesday (Aug. 13) program features the $30,500 Review Stake for 3-year-old pacers and the $20,500 Review Stake for 3-year-old trotters.

The Indiana State Fair will host one day of Grand Circuit racing on Wednesday (Aug. 14) with the feature being the $45,738 Fox Stake for 2-year-old colt pacers. The co-featured event is the $37,339 Ralph Wilfong for 2-year-old colt trotters. The Hoosier Stakes for 2-year-olds will see two divisions in both the $26,572 2-year-old colt trot and the $24,184 2-year-old filly trot and single divisions in the $22,942 2-year-old colt pace and $22,095 2-year-old filly pace. The Horseman Stakes for 3-year-olds features single divisions in the $31,639 3-year-old colt trot, the $29,384 3-year-old filly pace, the $26,854 3-year-old colt pace and the $22,784 3-year-old filly trot.

Also on Wednesday at Harrah’s Philadelphia, there will be four divisions in the $99,824 Historic-Acorn for 2-year-old filly trotters.

Then on the weekend, Red Shores Racetrack & Casino will host the C$60,000 (est.) Gold Cup and Saucer for older pacers on Saturday (Aug. 17) and a C$20,000 (est.) consolation on Friday (Aug. 16).

Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs will host the Grand Circuit “Super Stakes Saturday” event on Saturday (Aug. 17). Featured are the $500,000 Battle of the Brandywine for 3-year-old open pacers, the $500,000 Colonial for 3-year-old open trotters, and the $350,000 Valley Forge for 3-year-old filly pacers. Each of these races will also offer a pair of lucrative consolations.

Also on Saturday, Saratoga Casino and Raceway will feature the $270,000 (est.) final of the Joe Gerrity for open pacers and Mohawk Racetrack will contest the C$250,000 (est.) Nassagaweya for 2-year-old colt pacers and the C$200,000 (est.) Eternal Camnation for 2-year-old filly pacers.

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

Last time: Ken Klein, Old Block Stables, Steve Elliott and the Estate of Angelo Frassetto’s Exodus Hanover (Andover Hall-Exotic Destination) won the fastest of three $32,441 divisions of the Historic-Harriman Cup for 2-year-old colt and gelding trotters on Wednesday afternoon (Aug. 7) at Harrah’s Philadelphia.

Exodus Hanover, driven by Yannick Gingras for trainer Steve Elliott, grabbed the lead before the half and went on to win in 1:57.2, defeating Chocolate Day and Explosive Cash.

The opening split was won by Andy Miller Stables and Black Horse Racing’s Sumatra (Muscles Yankee-Lola Seelster), who Miller drove to a 1:58.1 win over Amped Up Hanover and Gangio and the middle division went to Jeff and Mike Snyder and Mark Silva’s Cherry Hill Park (Muscle Hill-Pick Me Up), who made a late-mile move for driver Corey Callahan and won in 1:59.1 over Dominum Deo and Hot Type.

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

Grand Circuit Standings: In 2013, the Grand Circuit leaders in three categories (driver, trainer and owner) will 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). Hanover Shoe Farms is the sponsor for the 2013 Grand Circuit awards.

Here are the leaders following the past weekend:

Drivers: 1. Yannick Gingras – 844; 2. Tim Tetrick – 662; 3. David Miller – 470; 4. Brian Sears – 378.5; and 5. Andy Miller – 353.

Trainers: 1. Ron Burke – 855.5; 2. Jimmy Takter – 464.5; 3. Linda Toscano – 331.5; 4. Ray Schnittker – 214; and 5. Julie Miller – 177.

Owners: 1. Burke Racing – 186.75; 2. Weaver Bruscemi – 171.55; 3. Frank Bellino – 103.5; 4. Our Horse Cents Stable – 98.1; and 5. Brittany Farms – 97.85.

Looking ahead: Grand Circuit action will be taking place next week on Aug. 21 at Hoosier Park with the Kentuckiana Stallion Management Stake for 2-year-old filly trotters; on Aug. 24 at Mohawk Racetrack with eliminations in the Canadian Pacing Derby for older pacers, the Metro for 2-year-old colt pacers and the She’s A Great Lady for 2-year-old filly pacers; on Aug. 25 at Tioga Downs with eliminations for the Cane Pace for 3-year-olds, a leg of the Miss Versatility for older trotting mares and legs of the Kindergarten for 2-year-old colt and filly trotters; and on Aug. 25 at Vernon Downs with the Zweig Memorial for 3-year-old colt trotters and the companion event for 3-year-old filly trotters.