Hightstown, NJ – As the Grand Circuit season heads toward the finish line – this is the final week with multiple races on the schedule – driver Scott Zeron finds himself reunited with a number of recent graded stakes winners for action at Bally’s Dover and The Meadowlands.
Zeron will reconnect with Meshuggah and Captain Optimistic in Matron Stakes finals for 3-year-olds at Bally’s Dover on Thursday followed by a group that includes stakes-winners Twin B Seven Sins, Maximus Miki and Periculum for Saturday’s Fall Final Four/FanDuel Championships at The Meadowlands.
Meshuggah, who with Zeron lit up the tote board at 62-1 in the Breeders Crown last month, is the 7-2 second choice on the morning line in the $163,050 Matron Stakes for 3-year-old male trotters, a Grade 3 race. He has won two of his past three starts, both in 1:50.1, for trainer Marcus Melander.
His 1:50.1 score in the Breeders Crown at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Oct. 25 was a stakes record and the biggest upset in the history of 3-year-old male trot final. It also gave Zeron a Breeders Crown triumph for the sixth consecutive year, the second-longest current streak for a driver behind only Dexter Dunn’s seven.
For the year, Meshuggah has hit the board in seven of 13 races, including three wins and three seconds, and earned $551,165 to increase his lifetime purses to $874,533. The son of Greenshoe-Starita will leave from post one in the Matron.
“It’s probably not the most advantageous spot to have at Dover, but he’s coming into it in great form,” Zeron said. “If you watched him closely, or maybe you had to sit behind him like I did, his last few starts (prior to the Breeders Crown) he was in great form. He was a bit of a product of racing all year against maybe one of the best crops of 3-year-old trotters, but he raced well, even if he might not have been winning.
“He’s extremely professional to drive. He makes my job easy by having great manners. Hopefully, we can follow up the great victory we had in the Breeders Crown with another one here.”
Meshuggah’s millionaire stablemate Super Chapter, who finished second in the Breeders Crown, is the 5-2 morning-line favorite in the Matron. He will start from post two with Dunn in the sulky for Melander.
Captain Optimistic, who won the Monument Circle (G2) at Harrah’s Hoosier Park in his most recent start on Oct. 31, is the 9-2 third choice in the $149,350 Matron Stakes for 3-year-old male pacers. Captain Optimistic, a son of Captaintreacherous-Cinamony trained by Nancy Takter, also counts the Cane Pace among his five victories this season. He has hit the board a total of 13 times in 17 races, including third-place finishes in the Breeders Crown and Little Brown Jug finals, and earned $571,210.
“He’s just a model of consistency,” Zeron said. “If he hasn’t been winning, he’s been knocking on the door and put forth some really good efforts. I’ve only sat behind him the back half of his year, but he’s a super nice horse to drive. He’s a great athlete. You never know how a horse is going to come out of the Little Brown Jug, but he’s been great ever since. I really like his spot on Thursday.”
Captain Optimistic will start the Matron from post four. Breeders Crown runner-up Dandy Ideal, the 5-2 morning-line favorite, will leave from post five with Jason Bartlett driving for trainer Hunter Oakes. Prince Hal Hanover, the 7-2 second choice, will go from post six with Todd McCarthy driving for trainer Ian Moore.
Dover also hosts Grade 2 Matrons for 3-year-old female trotters and pacers on Thursday. Monalishi is the 5-2 morning-line favorite in the $132,350 trot event (with Zeron driving Highlandstarburst, 12-1) and Rodeo Drive Deo is the 5-2 choice in the $130,350 pace event.
On Saturday at The Meadowlands, Zeron will be behind two of this year’s four richest older horses, pacer Maximus Miki and trotter Periculum, in Grade 1 FanDuel finals.
Six-year-old Maximus Miki heads to the $350,000 FanDuel Open Pace Championship off a win in the Potomac Pace (G3) on Nov. 2 at Rosecroft Raceway. The Tom Cancelliere trainee has also captured the Canadian Pacing Derby, Hoosier Park Pacing Derby, and a division of the William R. Haughton Memorial this season on his way to $605,608 in earnings.
He will leave from post four in the FanDuel, which also features Breeders Crown champ Ervin Hanover (the richest older pacer this season, with $844,718) as well as fellow graded stakes winners Captain Albano, Ken Hanover and Oakwood Ardan IR, plus 2024 Dan Patch Award winner Abuckabett Hanover.
“He’s been great right now,” Zeron said about Maximus Miki. “He’s a big horse and carries his speed so well. He’s not the quickest footed among that group of horses, but when you get the big train going, he really holds that speed. He’s a horse that if he’s a length or two off, or maybe even three off, turning for home, he can wear one down because he won’t slow down. He will maintain his speed right through the wire.
“He’s been a really fun horse to sit behind. With horses like him, you don’t really get nervous going into races. They’re very robotic, you can do whatever you want with them, and they’re very consistent. It’s been a fun ride.”
Periculum, a 6-year-old who has earned $755,777 this season, has finished worse than second only once in 10 races in 2025. He won the Allerage Open Trot (G3) in a career-best-equaling 1:49.3 on Oct. 5 at The Red Mile and was second in the Breeders Crown final for older trotters, a neck behind French Wine, on Oct. 25 at Mohawk. Other victories for Periculum include the John Cashman Memorial in 1:49.3 on Aug. 2 at The Meadowlands.
He will leave from post four in the $350,000 FanDuel Open Trot Championship, which also includes French Wine and millionaire Lexus Kody.
“That’s a nice spot for him,” Zeron said. “He qualified very well the other day (in 1:52.2 on Nov. 8 at The Meadowlands). He always races well. The reason he’s that good is because his manners are unbelievably good. He’s not a front-end horse, and he dictates that, not me. So, that’s why he’s been so durable. He’s always getting some nice trips and staying fresh.”
Zeron’s other drives Saturday include Twin B Seven Sins – who won a Kindergarten Classic Series final on Nov. 1 at odds of 87-1 for Zeron and trainer Noel Daley – in the $421,000 Valley Victory for 2-year-old male trotters, graded-stakes winner Nezuko Kamado S for trainer Melander in the $462,000 Goldsmith Maid for 2-year-old female trotters, Perfect Thought for trainer Megan Scran in the $357,000 Three Diamonds for 2-year-old female pacers, and Turn The Page N for trainer Heidi Cushing in the $175,000 FanDuel Mare Pace Championship. The events for the 2-year-olds are Grade 1, the FanDuel Mare Pace is Grade 2.
Racing begins at 6:20 p.m. (EST) at The Meadowlands. For free past performances, visit The Big M website here.
Racing begins at 4:30 p.m. (EST) at Bally’s Dover. For free past performances, click here.