by Ken Weingartner, Harness Racing Communications

East Rutherford, NJ — Southwind Frank did nothing to damage his status as the favorite for next month’s Hambletonian Stakes and Marion Marauder cemented his status as a top contender, each with victories in their respective $153,250 divisions of the Stanley Dancer Memorial for 3-year-old male trotters at the Meadowlands Racetrack on Saturday night (July 16).

The $1 million Hambletonian is Aug. 6 at the Meadowlands.

Southwind Frank won his Dancer division by 1-1/4 lengths over Sutton in 2:06.4 in the 1-1/8 miles event. Marion Marauder won his division by 2-3/4 lengths over Bar Hopping in 2:08.1.

The races were contested at 1-1/8 miles rather than the traditional one-mile distance because each division consisted of 11 horses, requiring one horse to start in the second tier.

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Southwind Frank was a 2:06.4 winner in his Dancer Memorial division.

In the opening division, driver Yannick Gingras was patient with Southwind Frank, content to sit in fifth place through nearly three-quarters of a mile as Dominion Beach and driver Marcus Johansson cut the early fractions of :26.3, :55.2, and 1:24. Southwind Frank, the 1-9 favorite, followed the cover of Hollywood Highway around the final turn, as the mile was reached in 1:52.4, and trotted to victory.

Love Matters was third behind Sutton, the second-tier starter, followed by Dominion Beach.

“I don’t think (the extra distance) is a really big deal for these horses, they just start up the stretch a little bit more,” winning trainer Ron Burke said. “If there was any variance it was that the track looks like it favors closers maybe slightly.

“I wasn’t really thrilled with today. He was all right, he wasn’t excellent. In a little bit we’ll go back to the drawing board, we’ve been messing with his bridle trying to calm him down. Now we’re going to go the other way, now we’ll try to let him be a little more aggressive, like he was before we started messing with his bridle.”

Southwind Frank (Muscle Hill-Flawless Lindy) has won four of five races this year and earned $395,375 for the Southwind Frank Partners ownership group. The colt, who was the 2015 Dan Patch Award winner for best 2-year-old male trotter, has won 15 of 17 career starts and banked $1.18 million.

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Scott Zeron and Marion Marauder were 2:08.l winners in the second division.

In the second division, even-money favorite Marion Marauder (Muscle Hill-Spellbound Hanover) went to the lead at the start and never looked back. It was the first time in 18 career races that Marion Marauder led a race at the first quarter.

Marion Marauder, with driver Scott Zeron, led the field through fractions of :27.1, :57.2, 1:27, and 1:54.4 to the mile.

Iron Mine Bucky was third behind Bar Hopping, with Blenheim fourth.

Marion Marauder, from the stable of trainers Mike Keeling and Paula Wellwood, has won four of five races this year and five of 18 in his career. He has earned $476,891 lifetime for owners Marion Wellwood and Devin Keeling.

“You could tell they weren’t leaving out of the gate much and Scott and I had discussed just to try (to leave) to show that he could do it,” Keeling said. “So it seemed like they were going to give him respect and it all worked out.

“I think he’s the best horse I’ve been around so we’ll find out in three weeks or so just how good he is.”

Asked what winning the Hambletonian would mean, Keeling said, “Everything, everything. This is the race that everybody that trains trotters, they dream of this.”