by Carol Hodes, for the New Jersey Sire Stakes

East Rutherford, NJ — This summer’s final New Jersey Sire Stakes champions — the 2-year-old colts — will be crowned on Thursday, July 10, at the Meadowlands.

Each of the two championships will carry a purse of $175,000 with the trotters carded in race five and the pacers in race six.

Ray Schnittker, who trains and drives the unbeaten 3-year-old Deweycheatumnhowe, will send out four starters in the trotting colts and geldings division: Homer Jay (Muscles Yankee-Miss Misti Girl), His Highness (Windsong’s Legacy-Sweet Gabriella), Meyer Winsky (Windsong’s Legacy-Myolin) and Tad The Stud (Windsong’s Legacy-Chocolate Layered). The quartet will be coupled in the wagering along with Muscle Hill (Muscles Yankee-Yankee Blondie) who is trained by Greg Peck but has cross-ownership. The five-horse entry is rated at 9-5 in the morning line.

Vacation Day (Dream Vacation-Shutter Hanover), who won the Harriman Cup on June 26 and has a first and a second in two NJSS prelims, is the 3-1 second choice from post 10. The Larry Remmen trainee is driven by John Campbell.

Four of the 10 trotting finalists are by the ill-fated Windsong’s Legacy — the Schnittker trio plus Flanders Field (out of Southwind Flanders) — and represent the first crop of the Triple Crown winner who died on March 1 in the midst of his fourth breeding season at Perretti Farms in Cream Ridge, N.J.

Campbell also has the call on the 3-1 morning line favorite in the pacing event as he handles Allamerican Improv (Artiscape-I’m A Jate) for trainer and co-owner Jim Graham. The colt won three baby races at Buffalo Raceway before shipping to the Meadowlands for the New Jersey Sire Stakes. He captured both of his NJSS preliminaries, including a 1:54.1 clocking last week.

Arlene and Jules Siegel’s homebred Dial Or Nodial (Western Ideal-Smart Dialing) paced a 1:53.4 mile to win his NJSS prelim on July 3. It was his career debut. The Jim Campbell trainee is driven by Brian Sears.

New Jersey Sire Stakes records for 2-year-old trotters are 1:56, held by the colt Yankee Glide (by Valley Victory, 1996), and 1:57 by the gelding Shadow (Deliberate Speed, 2000). On the pacing side, the record holders are the colt Duneside Perch (Cam’s Card Shark, 2007) in 1:50.2 and the geldings Fancy Creek (Artsplace, 1997) and Western Ace (Western Ideal, 2005), both in 1:53, which shares the overall track standard for age, gender and gait.

$175,000 NJSS Final – 2-year-old trotting colts & geldings
Hd #, Post, Horse, Sire, Driver, Trainer, ML
1, 1, Muscle Hill, Muscles Yankee, Brian Sears, Greg Peck, 9-5
1A, 2, Homer Jay, Muscles Yankee, David Miller, Ray Schnittker, 9-5
1B, 3, His Highness, Windsong’s Legacy, Mike Lachance, Ray Schnittker, 9-5
1C, 4, Meyer Winsky, Windsong’s Legacy, Ron Pierce, Ray Schnittker, 9-5
1D, 5, Tad The Stud, Windsong’s Legacy, Ray Schnittker, Ray Schnittker, 9-5
2, 6, Keystone Thomas, Revenue, Eric Goodell, Chuck Connor, Jr., 10-1
3, 7, Flanders Field, Windsong’s Legacy, Tim Tetrick, Steve Elliott, 5-1
4, 8, Freestone, Yankee Glide, Trond Smedshammer, Trond Smedshammer, 4-1
5, 9, Caviar Volo, Muscles Yankee, Jan Johnson, Jan Johnson, 8-1
6, 10, Vacation Day, Dream Vacation, John Campbell, Larry Remmen, 2-1

$175,000 NJSS Final – 2-year-old pacing colts & geldings
Post, Horse, Sire, Driver, Trainer, ML
1, Mcardles Star, McArdle, David Miller, David Strong, 10-1
2, Vintage Master, Western Ideal, Ron Pierce, Jimmy Takter, 8-1
3, Allamerican Improv, Artiscape, John Campbell, Jim Graham, 3-1
4, Count On Art, Artsplace, David Miller, Erv Miller, 4-1
5, Champ’s Folly, Artiscape, Andy Miller, George Berkner, 10-1
6, Dial Or Nodial, Western Ideal, Brian Sears, Jim Campbell, 7-2
7, Drop Red, Red River Hanover, Mike Lachance, Robert Horowitz, 6-1
8, Power Of Force, Artiscape, Yannick Gingras, Mark Kesmodel, 12-1
9, Lifesong, Life Sign, Tim Tetrick, Brian Magie, Jr., 10-1
10, Table And Chair, Cam’s Card Shark, Eric Goodell, Ben Stafford, 15-1