by John Siscos, for the Woodbine Entertainment Group

Campbellville, ON — Ten of the finest 3-year-old pacers on the continent are set to contest Saturday’s (June 27) C$1.5 million Pepsi North America Cup at Mohawk Racetrack.

Post time for the 26th edition of the Cup, the richest pacing event in the world, is 9:40 p.m., with the winner earning C$750,000. The Score will air a special 1-1/2 hour telecast nationally from 8:30-10:00 p.m. (EDT).

Post positions were drawn today at Mohawk, with Brian Burke, President & General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, as the guest drawmaster.

Last Saturday, four Cup eliminations were staged to determine the field for the final. The connections of the four winners earned the right to select their post positions first, before the balance of the field was drawn.

The top two finishers in each elimination qualified for the final, plus two third-place finishers drawn by lot. Fourteen of the previous 25 Cup winners also won their eliminations.

Last year, Somebeachsomewhere became the first undefeated horse to win the Pepsi North America Cup, en route to Horse of the Year honors in Canada and the United States. This year’s Cup field is far more contentious.

Well Said (post five, 2-1), trained by Steve Elliott and driven by Ron Pierce, has been installed as the 2-1 morning line choice. Last weekend, he blazed his way to a 1:50 elim win, the fastest of the evening. The son of Western Hanover held off a determined Keep It Real by a quarter-length, his second victory in only three starts this year.

“He’s coming up to the race good,” said assistant trainer Toni Rose. “We’ll see how he trains his mile, how he comes out of that and go from there. The front end is not really his best style. He’s better from behind. But when you get away fourth (in his elim), you don’t have much choice but to come first-over. He should be a lot tighter this weekend.”

Well Said, a $240,000 Harrisburg yearling purchase, capped his 2008 season by winning the Breeders Crown for co-owners Jeffrey Snyder and Lothlorien. Snyder has won three Cups — as the sole owner of Cam’s Card Shark (1994), and co-owner, along with Lothlorien, of Red River Hanover (2002) and Rocknroll Hanover (2005). Pierce won the 2006 Cup with Total Truth.

Dial Or Nodial (post three, 4-1), owned and bred by Arlene and Jules Siegel, took the second elimination in 1:50.2, his third win in five starts this year. The gelded son of Western Ideal also scored in the New Jersey Sires Stake Championship, May 30 at The Meadowlands and was a close third in the New Jersey Classic on June 13 as the odds-on favorite.

Trained by Jim Campbell, Dial Or Nodial will be driven by Brian Sears, who won the 2005 Cup with Rocknroll Hanover. He’s the 4-1 third choice.

Bulletproof Enterprises’ If I Can Dream (post four, 5-1), trained by Tracy Brainard and driven by George Brennan, scored in the third elim, finishing in 1:51.1, his fourth victory in five outings this year, highlighted by his Rooney triumph at Yonkers on June 13. His connections were the first to choose a post, and selected post position five.

Last year, the son of Western Hanover won only twice in 10 starts for his owners, but one of those scores came in the Matron Stakes at Dover Downs.

The fourth elim winner was longshot Mr Wiggles (post two, 15-1), trained by Brenda Teague and driven by Corey Callahan, who wired the field in 1:51.3, holding off Art Colony by three-quarters of a length. The son of Badlands Hanover, co-owned by Elmer Fannin and George Teague, Jr., has won five of nine this year, highlighted by his victory in the $500,000 Hoosier Cup, May 30 at Hoosier Park.

Brenda Teague trained 2006 Cup winner Total Truth, who was co-owned by her brother, George Teague, Jr.

Keep It Real (post six, 3-1), owned by Wayne Whebby, suffered his first defeat last weekend, just failing to catch Well Said in a tremendous effort after leaving from the 10-hole. Now, having drawn post six, he’s the 3-1 second choice in the morning line.

To be driven by Steve Condren, who won the 1989 Cup with Goalie Jeff, the longest-priced winner ($93.60) in the race’s history, Keep It Real, a Real Artist colt, did not race as a 2-year-old. Whebby’s Feelin Friskie finished second, as the odds-on favorite, to Total Truth in the 2006 Cup while trainer Joey Shea makes his Cup debut.

“I’m actually quite happy with the six hole,” said Condren. “We had a chance to get the rail but six is definitely better than far outside. He came :26 (seconds) flat (the last quarter in his elim) and after coming out of the outside, he overcame a lot and certainly showed he belongs in the race. I expect there will be a little bit of movement (on the front end). The bottom line is I hope to be number one at the end. Now, we just need everything to go our way.”

Two-time O’Brien Award winner Casie Coleman will send out Art Colony (post seven, 8-1) for owner Tom Hill. The son of Artsplace was second to Mr Wiggles in his elim and was also second to Carnivore in his previous start, a Burlington division on June 13. In fact, he’s never been worse than second in 10 career outings, with five wins and five seconds. Last year, Art Colony was the runner-up to Well Said in the Breeders Crown.

John Campbell, a record six-time Cup winner, will drive. Campbell’s previous Cup wins came with Precious Bunny (1991), Cam’s Card Shark (1994), David’s Pass (1995), Arizona Jack (1996), Gothic Dream (1997) and The Panderosa (1999).

“He came out of the elim good,” said Coleman. “He’d been fighting sickness the last couple of weeks. Anyway, this morning, we trained him up a pretty big mile, and he responded real well. We changed his bridle and changed up a few other things. The way he trained this morning, hopefully he’ll be right there (at the finish), right in the hunt.”

Annieswesterncard (post nine, 25-1), trained by Terry Deters for Sawgrass Farms, finished a surprising second, at 57-1, to If I Can Dream in his elim. The Western Hanover gelding scored earlier this year in the Berry’s Creek at The Meadowlands and last year finished third to Major In Art in the C$1 million Metro Pace at Mohawk. North America’s leading driver, Tim Tetrick, has been named.

Chasin Racin (post eight, 20-1), another Brenda Teague-trained Cup hopeful owned by the same connections as Mr Wiggles, was one of two third-place finishers to draw into the final. The son of 1999 Cup winner The Panderosa, who wound up 5-1/2 lengths behind Well Said in his elim, sports a record of four wins in nine starts this year and finished second to Mr Wiggles in the Hoosier Cup. David Miller will be at the controls.

OK Boromir (post one, 15-1), co-owned by trainer Frank Baker, Jr. and Wray and Janet Wilson, finished a strong second, just a length back of Dial Or Nodial in his elim. A week earlier, the son of 2003 U.S. Horse of the Year No Pan Intended won a C$100,000 division of the Burlington Stakes. He’ll be handled by Luc Ouellette, who drove Red River Hanover to a Cup victory in 2002.

Jody Jamieson, who won the 2007 Pepsi North America Cup with favored Tell All, will drive Millionaire Cam (post 10, 30-1) for trainer Tony O’Sullivan. Owned by three-time Cup winner Jeffrey Snyder, the son of Million Dollar Cam finished third, 1-1/2 lengths behind Mr Wiggles in his elim and also drew into the final as a third-place finisher. His big win last year came in an Ontario Sires Stakes Gold final at Mohawk, September 27.

Red River Hanover owns the Cup stakes record of 1:48.4, set in 2002 at Woodbine, while Hall of Famer Bettor’s Delight won the race by the largest margin, 4-1/2 lengths, in 2001.

Other winners of the Cup, which began in 1984 at Greenwood Raceway, include such champions as Jate Lobell (1987), Precious Bunny (1991), Presidential Ball (1993), Cam’s Card Shark (1994), Gallo Blue Chip (2000), Rocknroll Hanover (2005) and Somebeachsomewhere (2008). The Cup was raced at Greenwood from 1984-93, followed by Woodbine from 1994-2006. It was held at Mohawk Racetrack for the first time in 2007.

The exceptional card on Saturday also includes the C$680,000 Fan Hanover Stakes for 3-year-old filly pacers, the C$333,200 Goodtimes Stakes for 3-year-old colt trotters and the C$561,500 Elegantimage Stakes for 3-year-old filly trotters.

Post time for the first race is 7:10 p.m. (EDT).

Here is the complete field for the C$1.5 million Pepsi North America Cup.

Post-Horse-Driver-Trainer-Morning Line
1-OK Boromir-L. Ouellette-F. Baker, Jr.-15-1
2-Mr Wiggles-C. Callahan-B. Teague-15-1
3-Dial Or Nodial-B. Sears-Jm. Campbell-4-1
4-If I Can Dream-G. Brennan-T. Brainard-5-1
5-Well Said-R. Pierce-S. Elliott-2-1
6-Keep It Real-S. Condren-J. Shea-3-1
7-Art Colony-J. Campbell-C. Coleman-8-1
8-Chasin Racin-D. Miller-B. Teague-20-1
9-Annieswesterncard-T. Tetrick-T. Deters-25-1
10-Millionaire Cam-J. Jamieson-T. O’Sullivan-30-1
AE1-Arctic Warrior-TBA-B. Wallace-TBA