East Rutherford, NJ — Breakfast With The Babies Crawford Farms Meadowlands Pace day edition began Saturday (July 13) at 10 a.m. on a prefect morning with a fast track, minimal wind and the temperature at 75 degrees.

Crucial opened the day with another win, her second in as many attempts, in 1:57.3/:28.1 in hand to Yannick Gingras. The Father Patrick-Jolene Jolene trotting filly took over as the field approached the half in 1:00, rated the turn then sprinted home to score over I’m Really Special (Tim Tetrick) and Hotsprings Volo (Jan Johnson). Ron Burke trains the $200,000 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale purchase for Burke Racing, Bill Donovan, Weaver Bruscemi, and J&T Silva-Purnell & Libby. Steve Stewart, Maumee River Stables, Black Creek Farm and Martin Schmucker bred the impressive filly.

Paul Kelley sent out a winner this morning in Cover Girl (Scott Zeron), a Muscle Hill trotting filly from the Grand Circuit stakes winning To Dream On. Zeron moved her to the lead past the quarter, rated fairly and held off the challenges of Fashion Charmer (Dexter Dunn) to the outside and Winter Olympics (Ake Svanstedt) to the inside for the 1:59.1 win. Cover Girl is owned by the trainer along with T L P Stable, S R F Stable and Lawrence Thomases and was bred by Marvin Katz, Al Libfeld and Sam Goldband who sold her in Lexington for $70,000.

Ready For Moni (Gingras) won right back in 1:57.2/:28.2 from off the rated pace. Placed second over, the Ready Cash-Nothing But Moni trotting colt fanned off cover and went by willingly to pick up mile cutter Stay Close (David Miller). Southwind Hillrazr (Marcus Schoen) rallied for third. John Fielding, Lindy Farms Of Conn, Herb Liverman and  Bud Hatfield gave $220,000 for him at Lexington. Moni Maker Stable bred the colt.

Trond Smedshammer drove Bluffinner, a Credit Winner trotting colt from Bluff with the granddam being the million dollar winning Blur, both trained by Smedshammer, to an easy forwardly placed 1:58.2/:28.3 romp over Merger Hanover (Tetrick) and Rock Party (Corey Callahan). Purple Haze Stables gave $40,000 for the colt at the Standardbred Horse Sale in Harrisburg and the breeder is Fair Winds Farm.

Papi Rob Hanover (David Miller) was a winner in 1:55.2 for trainer Brett Pelling and owner Dave McDuffee, a pair that have enjoyed great success together over the years. Papi Rob Hanover took over past the three-quarters, then won as he pleased by four lengths over a charging What The Luck (Matt Kreuger). The Hanover Shoe Farms bred Somebeachsomewhere-Panera Hanover pacing colt brought $130,000 at Harrisburg last fall.

Caviart Jane (Zeron) won the last of the 2-year-old races in 1:53.3. A sick scratch from a Kindergarten division last week, the Captaintreacherous-Act Now pacing filly was again in hand while scoring her third qualifying win in as many tries for trainer Nancy Johansson. Caviart Farms and Christina Takter (looking forward to a big night as partners on Meadowlands Pace favorite Captain Crunch) gave $100,000 for her in Lexington last fall. White Birch Farms bred the filly.

The Greatest Night in Harness Racing, Meadowlands Pace night, is on tap Saturday evening with $2.5 million in stakes led by the track’s signature race, the $682,650 Meadowlands Pace. The card begins at 7:15 p.m. with post time for the Pace set at 10:10 p.m.

Free Pace programs are available on the web, compliments of The Meadowlands and TrackMaster.