by Emily Gaskin, for Hoosier Park

Anderson, IN — The best in the sport of harness racing will be showcased at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino on Friday (Oct. 30) as Grand Circuit racing action returns to Hoosier Park’s seven-eighths mile oval for the fourth and final time this season. With more than $1.1 million in purses to be distributed on the evening, Hoosier Park will offer arguably one of the best cards of the 2015 live racing season with a 14-race card that includes the $285,500 Monument Circle Pace, the $265,000 Carl Erskine Trot, and the $165,000 Hoosier Park Pacing Derby. The first race of the evening will line-up behind the starting gate at 5:45 p.m.

Dean Gillette Photography

Freaky Feet Pete (left) and Wiggle It Jiggleit will face-off again at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino in the $285,500 Monument Circle Pace.

The $285,500 Monument Circle Pace for 3-year-old pacing colts and geldings will feature perhaps the most anticipated matchup in all of harness racing as the Hoosier state’s sophomore superstars Wiggle It Jiggleit and Freaky Feet Pete face-off in the rubber match of their rivalry. These two have met twice before on the track at Hoosier Park and each has a win to their credit. Wiggle It Jiggleit bested Freaky Feet Pete earlier in the season in Indiana Sires Stakes action but Freaky Feet Pete avenged that loss with a victory in their most recent match-up in the $220,000 Indiana Sires Stakes Super Final at Hoosier Park on Oct. 10.

Wiggle It Jiggleit will line-up behind the gate for the Monument Circle after a sharp 1:49.4 score in his $45,300 division of the Circle City Stakes on Oct. 23 at Hoosier Park. Driven by regular pilot Montrell Teague, Wiggle It Jiggleit went gate-to-wire to finish 4-1/2 lengths in front of his nearest rival. Wiggle It Jiggleit, the No. 1-ranked horse in harness racing, has drawn the rail and has been installed as the 3-5 morning line favorite in the Monument Circle Pace, slated as the 13th race on the program.

Freaky Feet Pete returns to Hoosier Park fresh off a stretch rallying victory as the post time favorite in the $531,250 Breeders Crown 3-year-old male pacing event at Woodbine on Oct. 24. As a $62,500 supplemental entry, Freaky Feet Pete looked to be far out of contention in the final turn but sprinted home to stop the timer in 1:50 and record his first major stakes victory outside the state of Indiana. For the Monument Circle, Freaky Feet Pete drew post three with Trace Tetrick in the sulky and is slated at 7-5 on the morning line for trainer Larry Rheinheimer.

Also among the stellar cast of entrants at Hoosier Park on Friday will be the 2015 Hambletonian winner Pinkman, who will look to add to his bankroll when he visits Indiana for the first time against nine other competitors in the $265,000 Carl Erskine Trot. Pinkman, harness racing’s top-earning horse this season, drew post four with Yannick Gingras in the sulky for trainer Jimmy Takter. Pinkman has bankrolled $1.86 million this year and won 11 of 16 seasonal outings. Most recently, Pinkman finished second in the Breeders Crown final for 3-year-old trotting colts at Woodbine Racetrack behind stablemate The Bank.

The Carl Erskine Trot also includes the undefeated Indiana Sires Stakes champion Homicide Hunter who was made eligible to the race by a supplemental nomination. The Curt Grummel trainee has won 16 of 16 starts this year and will start from the rail with regular driver John DeLong in the bike as he embarks on his most ambitious outing to date after dominating state-breds.

The 2015 Dan Patch Stakes winner JK Endofanera will return to Hoosier Park for the second time since his Dan Patch victory and looks to keep his three-race win streak at Hoosier Park intact in the $165,000 Hoosier Park Pacing Derby from post five with Brett Miller in the sulky. JK Endofanera will ship to Indiana after a second place finish in his last start behind Always B Miki in the Breeders Crown final for Open pacers.

Not only will the best horses in the country go to post at Hoosier Park on Friday’s 14-race card but the best drivers in the country will also be in the spotlight in the second annual East Meets Midwest Drivers’ Challenge. This unique challenge will pit the top five drivers at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino against five of the top drivers from the East in a five-race challenge with the victorious team going home with a winner take all $10,000 prize.

The top five drivers from Hoosier Park will make-up “Team Midwest” with the top five drivers from the East making up “Team East.” The East Meets Midwest Drivers’ Challenge will be featured in races four-eight on the evening.

For more information on the upcoming live racing and entertainment at Hoosier Park, please visit www.hoosierpark.com. The live racing schedule at Hoosier Park will follow a Tuesday through Saturday schedule and be conducted through Nov. 14.