Category: Grand Circuit Results

The term “ascendance” is synonymous with dominance. It just so happens that trainer Linda Toscano has a horse by the same name who lived up to that synonym Friday night (July 5) at the Meadowlands in leg two of the Kindergarten Series.

After sitting off dueling leaders through the far turn, John Cummins’ homebred Dame Good Time hooked three-wide out of the pocket in upper stretch and vaulted to a 17-1 upset in the $300,000 Dr. Harry M. Zweig Memorial, for 3-year-old trotters, on Thursday (July 4) at Vernon Downs.

Driver Dexter Dunn perched himself into a second-over tow with Abuckabett Hanover and vaulted to the lead in the stretch to grab gold in the $152,190 Dave Brower Memorial with a 1:47.3 mile on Saturday night (June 29) at the Meadowlands.

Karl and T C I entered their respective divisions of Saturday’s (June 29) W.N. Reynolds Memorial for 3-year-old male trotters at the Meadowlands ranked as the top two contenders for August’s $1 million Hambletonian Stakes, and both solidified their standing with victories.

Defending champ Jiggy Jog S coasted in the $112,500 Six Pack on Saturday night (June 29) at the Meadowlands, gliding home over her five foes with a rush to win in 1:52.1, while Southwind Tyrion set a stakes-record mile of 1:49.2 in winning the $131,250 Crawford Farms Open Trot.

Maryland and Ascendance were two of the more impressive-looking — and high-priced — winners as the Kindergarten Series for 2-year-olds of each sex and gait kicked off Friday night (June 28) with six $20,000 divisions of the opening leg at The Meadowlands as every horse in the event made their respective pari-mutuel debuts.

Sir Pinocchio became a two-time winner on harness racing’s Grand Circuit this year, as the Dexter Cup champion was a front-stepping 1:54.4 winner in Friday night’s (June 28) $300,000 MGM Yonkers Trot at MGM Yonkers Raceway, giving him the first leg of the Trotting Triple Crown.

Trainer Travis Alexander won the MGM Grand Messenger Stakes final for 3-year-old male pacers at MGM Yonkers Raceway for a third time and swept the exacta in Friday night’s (June 28) $225,000 edition of the first leg of the Pacing Triple Crown, as Sweet Beach Life rallied past stablemate Howlenthehills for a 1:53.1 victory.

Wicked N Single and Incantation became the first 2-year-old Grand Circuit winners of 2024 in Thursday’s (June 27) Tompkins-Geers Stakes at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

Apparently, the Nancy Takter barn has more good trotters in it than presumptive Hambletonian favorite Karl, as in Saturday night’s third and final leg of the Graduate Series for 4-year-olds, she sent out the winners of both trotting divisions for a second straight week.