ATLANTA

2018

Rick Zeron, an admitted crier, had reason to well up Saturday after the 93rd Hambletonian. Not only had the veteran horseman won the trotting classic in his first try, but his son Scott was in the sulky to make it a family affair, and the high point of a 43-year-old career.

And he got the job done with a filly, the very determined Atlanta.

“This is a dream come true,” said Rick Zeron. “That’s my specialty, trotters. I live and breathe to train a trotter, especially a filly. It’s more satisfying for me to train a filly to get where I am today, to win what I did today, than with a colt. It’s a bigger challenge.”

Atlanta won the $1 million Hambletonian on Saturday, becoming the 14th filly to capture the famed trotting race for 3-year-olds.

It was an emotional victory for the father-son team from Oakville, Ontario.

The filly won the Hambletonian the hard way, setting the pace and holding on gamely in the lane. Scott Zeron employed those tactics earlier in the day in the first of two eliminations, and got Atlanta beat after setting a wicked pace. Remarkably, Atlanta regrouped quickly after the punishing mile.

“I spoke to my assistant trainer Ernie Henry who has looked after her since she was 18 months old,” said Rick Zeron. “He said it took her about seven to 10 minutes longer than usual to get her wind back. After that, she was absolutely perfect. He said we were good to go.”

That was an understatement.

In the final, Atlanta was again on the lead. This time, Zeron did a better job of rationing her speed. Atlanta responded by kicking away from challenger Tactical Landing at the top of the stretch to open a three length advantage. She trotted strongly to the wire, winning by one length over 29-1 shot Met’s Hall.

“I’ve said it to a few people close to me,” said Scott Zeron. “She’s the best horse I ever drove. Everything is so fluid and effortless. The mile (in the elimination) just got away from me. I was mad at myself. That’s not how I wanted to head into the final. If she was a champion, she would bounce back and she did.”

The time was 1:50.4 for the mile.

It was the second Hambletonian victory for Scott Zeron. He was at the lines when Marion Marauder won in 2016.

Atlanta, the 2-1 second choice, paid $6.40, $4.20 and $3.60. Met's Hall returned $19.40 and $7.60. Tactical Landing paid $3.40 to show.

Crystal Fashion was fourth as the 9-5 favorite followed by Evaluate, Alarm Detector, Classichap, Patent Leather, Hat Trick Habit and Fashionwoodchopper.

The win in the final was worth $500,000 for the ownership team of Rick Zeron, Crawford Farms, Holland Racing, Howard Taylor and Brad Grant.

The Hambletonian kicks off the Triple Crown for trotters. The series continues with the Yonkers Trot on Sept. 1 and Kentucky Futurity on Oct. 7

PERFECT SPIRIT

2017

Perfect Spirit and trainer/driver Ake Svanstedt captured the $1 million Hambletonian final on Saturday (Aug. 5) at Meadowlands Racetrack after What The Hill and driver David Miller, who crossed the wire first in 1:52.3, was disqualified for interference in the stretch. Devious Man was placed second and Enterprise was placed third.

It was the first time a horse first under the wire had his number taken down in the 92 editions of the $1 million trotting classic for 3-year-olds.

What The Hill squeezed off the pylons in deep stretch and sprinted past the pacesetting Perfect Spirit as the crowd cheered what appeared to be the first Hambo winner for trainer Ron Burke and driver David Miller.

But then the inquiry sign flashed on the toteboard.

The judges studied the replay and detected contact between What The Hill and Guardian Angel AS, who broke stride.

After a lengthy review, the Hambletonian had its first DQ.

“It was a tough break,” Miller said.

What The Hill was placed ninth and Perfect Spirit was stunningly on his way to the winner’s circle.

“Your horse raced great both heats,” said Hall of Famer John Campbell, presiding for the first time as president of the Hambletonian Society as he handed the connections the cherished trophy. “It’s unfortunate circumstances, but you can’t take anything away from his performance today.”

Winning owner Lennart Agren, who races as the SRF Stable, chalked the victory up to the breaks of the game.

“I know you have to be very lucky like we were today,” he said. “It can end very quickly, so you have to live in the moment right now.”

The win gave international trotting master Ake Svanstedt, 58, his first Hambo win as both a trainer and driver in only his fourth year in the U.S.

“It’s very big,” the Swedish horseman said. “I’m very happy.”

Perfect Spirit paid $17, $6.40 and $5.40 for his fifth win in nine starts this season.

In the revised order of finish, Devious Man ($3 and $2.40) moved up to second and Enterprise ($4) was placed third.

It was a tough race for the favorites. Devious Man, the 2-1 choice, had dead aim turning for home but could not sustain his bid. International Moni, the 5-2 second choice, broke stride in the first turn.

MARION MARAUDER

2016

- It wasn’t the perfect drive. But it was the perfect ending.
Marion Marauder won Saturday’s (Aug. 6) $1 million Hambletonian, presented by Mullinax Ford, by a nose over Southwind Frank in 1:51.4 at the Meadowlands Racetrack. Sutton was third as the top three horses stretched across the finish line separated by only a neck in the 91st edition of the sport’s top race for 3-year-old trotters.
It was Marion Marauder’s second win of the day. Earlier in the afternoon, he won his Hambletonian elimination by a half-length over Southwind Frank in a career-best 1:51.3. Last year, Marion Marauder was winless in races against Southwind Frank, finishing second on four occasions.
In the Hambletonian final, Marion Marauder was fifth as Southwind Frank and Bar Hopping traded the lead in the first half of the race. At that point Scott Zeron, driving Marion Marauder for the wife-and-husband training team of Paula Wellwood and Mike Keeling, put his horse in gear and launched a first-over attack.
Marion Marauder was second behind Bar Hopping at three-quarters, but reached the front at the top of the stretch. As Bar Hopping dropped back, eventually finishing fifth, Marion Marauder held off hard-charging challenges from Southwind Frank to his inside and Sutton on the outside. Waitlifter K was fourth, beaten a length.
Zeron, who at age 27 became the second-youngest driver to win the Hambletonian, thought he might have moved too soon with Marion Marauder.
“I know better,” Zeron said. “I know that when he clears another horse, he thinks the race is over, and I got a little over anxious. I just tried to get away on Southwind Frank and Bar Hopping and just sprint away from them and my horse just kind of started lollygagging around and not knowing where the wire was but he hung tough to finish.
“It is amazing. The Wellwood family has trained trotters their whole lives and everything they’ve done has lead up to this point. The pressure is all on the Hambletonian and we delivered, the horse delivered. It was amazing. I can’t believe it.”
Wellwood, who became the second female trainer to win the Hambletonian, along with Linda Toscano, is the daughter of the late Bill Wellwood, a driver/trainer enshrined in both the U.S. and Canadian halls of fame. Marion Marauder is owned by Wellwood’s mother, Marion Jean, and her 19-year-old son, Devin Keeling.
Marion Marauder’s name combines the names of Wellwood’s mom and the nickname of Devin’s college mascot at McMaster University, where he will play football. Interestingly, the horse’s original name already had “Marion” in it; he was purchased for $37,000 at the 2014 Lexington Selected Sale under the name Marion Monopoly.
According to Wellwood, this was the family’s 10th try at winning the Hambletonian.
“It means the world; it was my father’s dream,” Wellwood said. “It has been my mother’s and my dream. We’ve tried. When this horse came along, you dare to dream. We started to dream last year.
“I was in shock (at the finish) it was so close. I knew where he was, I knew he was first up and had taken over the lead. I guess I was in shock, I couldn’t even scream. I watched and I thought it was too close to call and everyone was saying it was too close to call.”
Added a teary-eyed Marion Jean Wellwood, “It feels really good. I’ve been trying for this for a long time and I just want to say I dedicate this to my late husband.”
Marion Marauder, a son of 2009 Hambletonian winner Muscle Hill out of the Nova Award-winning mare Spellbound Hanover, has won six of seven races this year and seven of 20 career starts. He pushed his lifetime earnings to $1.01 million with his Hambletonian triumph.
“The difference between last year and this year is that he grew quite a bit,” Paula Wellwood said. “He got bigger and stronger but the real difference is that he learned how to win.”
Zeron’s win capped a memorable championship meet at the Meadowlands for the driver, who won the track’s driving title.
“I want to thank Paula Wellwood and Mike Keeling for bringing me in to drive this horse full time,” said Zeron, who was driving in the Hambletonian for the first time. “Not a lot of people give a young guy a chance to drive a Hambletonian trotter. It’s amazing.”
 

Pinkman

2015

Pinkman and driver Brian Sears took over the lead at the half-mile marker and went on to defeat Mission Brief and Yannick Gingras in a world record 1:51 clocking to win the $1 million Hambletonian final for 3-year-old trotters on Saturday (Aug. 8) at Meadowlands Racetrack.
Pinkman (Explosive Matter-Margie Seelster) is trained by Jimmy Takter and owned by Christina Takter, John and Jim Fielding, Joyce McClelland and Herb Liverman. His winning time was the fastest ever by a sophomore trotting gelding on a mile track.
The filly Mission Brief, who Yannick Gingras chose to drive after her win in the second elimination, gave futile chase in deep stretch and made up ground, but not enough to win. Uncle Lasse, also trained by Takter, was third after adding trotting hobbles between the elimination and the final.
As the field trotted off the starting gate, it was Uncle Lasse (David Miller) who was first to the lead from post seven, hitting the quarter-mile mark in :27.2, with The Bank (Johnny Takter) outside and behind him and Pinkman in third.
The Bank was on the move just past the quarter-mile mark, with Pinkman behind him. By the time they reached the half-mile marker in :55.2, Pinkman had the lead on the outside and The Bank was second.
Mission Brief, who had been fourth, a few lengths from the leaders most of the way to the half, hustled to join the crowd and bore down on the leader, Pinkman, around the final turn, getting to his wheel as the field turned for home.
She lost contact when they straightened out, but re-engaged under urging from Gingras as the wire drew closer. She got close, but not close enough, three-quarters of a length back. Uncle Lasse was third, The Bank fourth and Jacksons Minion got the final purse check.
Trainer Jimmy Takter won both the Hambletonian and the Hambletonian Oaks for the second straight year. He won last year with Trixton in the Hambo and Lifetime Pursuit in the Oaks.
“I was looking forward to try in the final with a couple that I did have (Habitat and Wings Of Royalty) and I managed to do that,” said winning driver Brian Sears. “But opportunity knocked and it’s just great that they gave me the call.
“I didn’t hear much (about the chance to drive Pinkman if necessary). I heard a little bit from Herb (Liverman). I talked to Herb a little bit, but I’m very grateful for the opportunity. He (Pinkman) was pretty much push button and it was a pleasure.”
“I tried to tell him (Gingas) you’re making a great mistake,” Takter said about Yannick Gingras opting to drive Mission Brief in the final. “Pinkman is just such a fighter. He’s not impressive, but he gets it done every time.”
Pinkman has now won eight times in nine season's starts, with earnings of $1,170,965. Lifetime he has been a winner in 14 of 17, with $1,737,925.
“It’s very emotional and I just want to thank all the connections that were involved,” said co-owner John Fielding. “Brian Sears stepped in and did a great job and of course, my friend and partner Jimmy Takter and Christina, have done again an amazing job. We’ve been at this for 30 years trying to win this trophy and I’ll tell you, this is the greatest thrill you could ever want in this sport and I’m just blown away, very honored and happy to be in this situation. I’ve got a plane I’ve got to catch to go back to a party in Toronto tonight, but we’re going to have to stop at the windows (to cash bets).
“We leave these decisions (about drivers) up to Jimmy and he always seems to make the right decisions. We’ve had Brian Sears, who everybody knows is a fantastic, great driver, one of the best there ever was when the money is on the line, so I wasn’t worried at all, very confident in Jimmy.”
Of the filly runner-up Mission Brief, trainer and co-owner Ron Burke said, “She raced really good and I think if things would have shook out a little differently the result would have been different. She was the only one still going forward at the wire. She really gave it her all and at the wire she was still coming. I would never change anything that I did and I don’t regret anything about the conditioning. She’s still a super horse, some day we will be back and we are not going to give up. We are going to win the Hambletonian.”
Mission Brief’s driver, Yannick Gingras, who picked her over the eventual race winner, said, “I’m still young and I’m blessed to have two great chances at the Hambo like I’ve had the last few years. I will have plenty more chances I hope. Everyone ignores Pinkman because he isn’t flashy, they want to talk about Uncle Lasse and Canepa Hanover, but Pinkman beats them every week, he was just a flat out winner. You have to give the horse all the credit in the world.
“I’m not disappointed in her effort at all. She wasn’t quite as strong as the first heat. She wasn’t quite as good gaited as before, so I couldn’t make the moves I wanted to with her. I knew I didn’t have enough at the top of the stretch. You have to give it to Pinkman. He’s a great horse and he’s a winner.
“I was happy with how the race went. Takter’s horses were being used and if she went her A1 effort, she might have won. My son joked with me this week and said don’t make a break (as with Father Patrick in 2014), Well, I got that accomplished at least and it’s still been a great day. Pinkman is Brian’s horse now, of course.”

TRIXTON

2014

The young hipsters dressed to the nines sipping cocktails while lounging on rooftop patio furniturewas the first indication this was not your granddaddy’s Hambletonian. That it was a surprisingly pleasant overcast August afternoon, and not a sauna, was another.

In the end, the track belonged to imported Swedes — Jimmy Takter and Ake Svanstedt, especially — along with Ron Burke, of course.

But the day? That belonged to the gleaming new $88 million grandstand that thrummed with youthful energy and passed its first big test with aplomb.

Track owner Jeff Gural was pleased and, naturally, couldn’t resist an “I told you so” dig at his critics.

“I think if you go back to the weekend we opened, I think if you look at some of the blogs, they were all critical, ‘Gural’s an idiot. The place is much too small. What’s he going to do for theMeadowlands Pace and Hambletonian?’ We saw the place is just perfect. It was designed exactly right,” he said of a building about a third the size of the behemoth across the pond.

Give the man his due. On this Hambletonian, he wasn’t wrong. The crowd, estimated at 20,700,was thick — particularly in the new version of Paddock Pack now called The Backyard — but not impenetrable. The queues — for pari-mutuel or more ordinary refreshment — moved withimpressive speed given the volume.

The on-track wagering wasn’t as strong as the Nouveau Big M folks would have liked to haveseen, mind you, but then the young kids don’t bet like their granddaddies, either. It’s the cost of trying to introduce the business to a generation to which harness racing is as foreign as rumble seats.

But out there in our hyper-connected world, from Hackensack to Helsinki to Sydney the bets poured in. With a few countries still to be heard from, the expectation is that the haul will be about$1 million higher than last year. The total handle of more than $8.7 million is already the third best Hambletonian Day in history and foreign wagering could still push this year’s number to the top spot, exceeding some $9 million bet in 2005.

“That’s impressive in this day and age,” Gural said. “That’s a tribute to the card. We had full fields, a couple of big fields, almost all the major stars were there with the exception of the three-year-old (pacing) colts. But on the trotting side, we got a little lucky with Father Patrick drawing the 10-hole. It wasn’t a walkover, as it turned out.”

The über trotter, bet down to 2-5 despite starting from parking lot, was part of Takter’s Terrific Trio instrumental in scaring off challengers in the main event and leaving the Hambletonian heatless just one year after returning to its old format. That Father Patrick made a jump at the gateimmediately made for some interesting drama whether you watched on the huge high-definition infield screen from one of the outdoor grandstand seats or in the hinterland via the spectacular show on the CBS Sports Network that employed 13 cameras to great effect, including a wide-angle mounted on the starting gate.

Takter’s intact duo of Trixton and Nuncio got the job done, of course, with a neck-and-neck stretch battle to boot. When the stone dust finally settled, Takter celebrated his first Hambletonian victory in the bike (and third lifetime), nipping John Campbell for what would have been his seventh triumph in harness racing’s premier race.

You needed a cab ride to reach the rest of the field scattered by three breakers, which was particularly disheartening to driver Yannick Gingras and the rest of Father Patrick’s connections.

That it was likely Gingras’ greatest day at the track was little consolation for the Quebec nativewho won four stakes — including the $500,000 Hambletonian Oaks with Lifetime Pursuit — and just shy of $600,000 in purses in all, but was crestfallen about losing the big one.

"It's probably the best day I've had racing horses but it's also the most disappointing day. I scored(Father Patrick) down pretty hard because I've never left with him before, and I wanted him to pay attention and be ready for it. The gate opened, I just touched him on his tail with the whip and he took off running. It's so unfortunate. Knock on wood, I'll have another chance, but you never know,” Gingras told the ubiquitous Bob Heyden, one of the few things about the new place that thankfully was not traded in for a newer model on Hambletonian Day.

That Kevin Jonas of Jonas Brothers fame was tabbed to present harness racing’s Stanley Cup to Takter and Co. speaks to that youth movement again — unless you’re referring to that glorious silver bowl that now has 90 of the sport’s greatest trotters inscribed in silver discs on its wedding cake base. Dear Lord, let’s hope no one ever entertains trading that in for a newer model, because newer isn’t always better. Progress isn’t always positive.

Sorely missed in the new digs is the old front paddock that radiated with equine and human stars and served as the annual meeting place for the sport’s far-flung powerbrokers on Hambletonian Day. The signs that once hung above the stalls on the façade of the old place honouring each of the Hambletonian winners since the race moved to New Jersey in 1981 seem out of place now lining the infield.

Try as they might, even the Copacabana rum girls sporting huge feather headdresses and littleelse other than smiles, didn’t make up for the loss. Though, they were a nice touch along with the fathead driver cutouts seen throughout the day, the appearance by Captain Bill Wichrowski from the Discovery Channel’s show Deadliest Catch and old style pennants each bearing the name of a Hambletonian finalist.

The bridge from old to new was the free Hambletonian hats, The Nerds bashing out loud, enthusiastic covers in the park and the track itself, of course, which yielded three more worldrecord performances.

“I’ve been coming to the Hambletonian since 1960’s when it was staged in DuQuoin [IL], and appreciated its growth and renewed pageantry when it moved to New Jersey in the old grandstand setting. We’re working to build on that great tradition.,” said Tom Charters president and CEO of the Hambletonian Society. “In a way it was similar to the first Hambletonian here in 1981 – a new experience entirely. This is a new venue and a wonderful new facility, a new era. We will work with the Meadowlands to establish some new traditions that underscore the Hambletonian’s place as America’s trotting classic and the most important harness race in the world.”

Classic Martine got things started in the first race, equaling the world mark for trotting mares with a 1:51.1 score in the $52,000 Ima Lulu Final. Five races later, Mission Brief equaled the globalmark for two-year-old trotting fillies with a 1:52.2 score in the $352,050 Merrie Annabelle. Barefoot speedster Sebastian K capped the record-setting parade in race 11 when he equaled the 1:50 record for older trotters while winning the $300,650 John Cashman Jr. Memorial the same day Cashman’s 14-year-old granddaughter, Grace Cashman, sang the national anthem.

None of which — even the Hambletonian winner — topped spectacular sightlines from multiple decks, a Hollywood-style sign on the roof that spells out Meadowlands in huge letters and a massive sports bar that transforms into a dance club at night — all designed to lure the next generation critical for the sport’s survival.

“Everybody loved it. Everybody thought it was spectacular,” said Gural, who is fond of wandering his plant to make himself available to his patrons. “The biggest compliments were from the people that had never been there. If you’ve never been there, you’re really shocked when you pull up to the door.”

As the start of a new era for harness racing greatest day drew to a close, even the sky brightened and the Manhattan skyline materialized like a mirage out of the haze. The hipsters on the roof barely noticed, what with their iPhones, friends and cocktails to attend to, but the rest of us noticed them all right.

They were completely foreign to the old place and a most welcome addition to the club.

ROYALTY FOR LIFEE

2013

First Hambletonian Elimination Heat
8- Royalty For Life Brian Sears George Ducharme
2-Smilin Eli Tim Tetrick David M. Smith
4-High Bridge Yannick Gingras Jimmy Takter
7-El Rocket Jim Morrill, Jr. Ronnie Burke
:26.4 :54.3 1:23.1 1:52

Race Synopsis: Royalty For Life grabbed the lead and never looked back, winning impressively in 1:52 for Brian Sears. The used a :29 final brush to prevail by two lengths over Smilin Eli.

“He was a little aggressive but not terrible. I’ve seen him a lot worse. He’s getting some more starts in him, and some more confidence, and he’s getting to know what we’re trying to do out there so he’s a little more comfortable, I think," said Sears.

“He was really two fingers calm and i was really happy about the way he handled, that’s for sure. He was better than he was in the Stanley Dancer, he was a little more excitable than, but like I said the more races he has under his belt, the more confident he’s going to be and I look forward to him being even better in the second heat.”

“I just kept the bit in his mouth and just let him roll along but I think he had a little more in the tank,” Sears noted.

“I don’t think we’ll do anything different for the final, we’ll go in and see how he comes out of it but the way he was that trip I think we’ll leave everything about the same, ” offered trainer George Ducharme. “I’m always going to be apprehensive, but I really believe that now that he has in a regular schedule racing every week then we’re ahead of the curve a little. I’ve always said he was a speed horse/can be rated/can dominate all along, I know no one agrees with me. But the way he’s trained he’s been behind horses, he’s not just a dead front runner and we’ll be able to do whatever brian would like to.”

“I don’t think he has to be in the lead (around the first turn) obviously that is what he showed all year so that is what everybody has to go off of,” he continued. “ I feel if he sat up close, he can’t come from last, if he sat up close he doesn’t have to be in the lead to be competitive. I leave everything up to brian (in regards of how to run the elim) he’s one of the best in the country. “

Second Hambletonian Elimination Heat
8-Creatine Mike Lachance Robert Stewart
1-Wheeling N Dealin Sylvain Filion R. Dustin Jones
2-Aperfectyankee Jim Oscarsson Jim Oscarsson
7-Dontyouforgetit Yannick Gingras Jimmy Takter
:27 :55 1:23.4 1:52.4

Race Synopsis: Creatine won his Hambletonian elimination heat in determined, wire-to-wire style for Hall of Famer Mike Lachance, burshing home in :28.4 by one and three-quarter lengths over last season's 2-year-old champion Wheeling N Dealin.

“He’s racing very, very good. Just about perfect; the last couple and at Chester he was at his best and today he looked even better than Chester," confirmed winning driver Mike Lachance. “I didn’t think I had gone too fast because he’s a very talented horse and that doesn’t bother him one bit, he’s a physical horse. Just to be in the Hambletonian is something very special, it’s a dream for a young driver and for an old driver it’s an even bigger dream.”

“[Winning this year] would make up for that day [past Hambletonian], It was a tough day, so maybe we could actually forget about that day," said trainer Bob Stewart. “It’s hard to compare horses with 15 or 16 years in between but they were at the top of their class and I think CREATINE is at the top of his class as well. “I don’t think any changes in the final; we’ll stick with Mike Lachance.”

Third Hambletonian Elimination Heat
6-Spider Blue Chip Ron Pierce Chuck Sylvester
5-Corky David Miller Jimmy Takter
7-Lauderdale Corey Callahan Jonas Czernyson
1-Possessed Fashion John Campbell Tom Fanning
27.1; 56.2; 1:25.2; 1:53.4

Race Synopsis: Spider Blue Chip also won his Hambletonian elimination heat in wire-to-wire fashion with Ron Pierce in the sulky. The colt used a :28.2 final panel to win by half a length over the hard-trying Corky.

" I was just sitting there, the horse relaxed real nice so I just sat there and let him do his thing," said Pierce. "So far it seems that the front is where you would want to be, but I don’t think you have to be there.I think the post will help him quite a bit. He just trained just now, I didn’t ask him to go go much at all. He had plenty left in his tank just now.”

“After the winner of the first heat went in 52 I said oh my we got our work cut out for us," said trainer Chuck Sylvester. "One thing that I told Ron was ‘try to bring us a horse back for the second heat’ and he sure did. The first two heat winners were very impressive; they impressed me more than anybody. He’s a nice horse. He gets better every start, and he fits now. Bob Stewart’s horse I knew would come back after being off a little while, so he won a big mile too. The Hambletonian always means as now as it did then, look at these people here, if you can’t ready for this race you won’t get ready for any.”

MARKET SHARE

2012

AUGUST, 4, 2012.
Tetrick & Toscano “Share” The Spotlight

In her second try in as many years, Linda Toscano became the first female trainer to harness a Hambletonian champion, winning the 87th renewal of the $1.5 million trotting classic with Market Share on a steaming hot 90-degree day. The victory was also the first for leading driver Tim Tetrick, who a race earlier saw Hambletonian Oaks favorite Check Me Out break while on the lead.
With 25 entered, the race split into three elims, raced over a track labeled “good” because of earlier rain. Uncle Peter (Ron Pierce) won the first elim which featured multiple lead changes before the colt drew off by a length and quarter to win in 1:53.3. Money On My Mind (Andy Miller) was a fast-closing second and Prestidigitator third.
Knows Nothing, who was unraced last year because of a bone chip, won his elimination over another Takter entrant, Guccio, with My MVP third. Stormand Norman was fourth and procured a Hambo spot by virtue of being the highest money earner of the three fourth-placed finishers. Jeff Gillis trains Knows Nothing for Ontario-based owners Al Libfeld, Marvin Katz, Mac Nichol and Stay. Libfeld and Katz were co-owners of 2010 Hambletonian winner Muscle Massive. Market Share recorded the fastest elimination, pulling the pocket and trotting by Archangel to win in 2-1/4 lengths. Archangel held for second and Gym Tan Laundry was third.
After a draw by lot, the connections of Hambletonian elimination race winners earned the right to pick their post position. Trainer Jeff Gillis selected first and chose post three for Knows Nothing, followed by driver Tim Tetrick taking post two for Market Share, which Takter has wanted for Uncle Peter. Instead Jimmy Takter chose post No. 1, and Uncle Peter was then installed the 5-2 morning line favorite for the Hambletonian final. Broad Bahn won last year’s Hambletonian from post one, as did Muscle Hill in 2009 and Deweycheatumnhowe in 2008. Market Share, of course, won from that fortuitous post choice of two.
Takter was a two-time Hambletonian winner, with Muscle Massive in 2010 and Malabar Man in 1997, and was inducted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame on July 1. He was bidding to become the first trainer to win the Hambletonian in the same year as his induction and was favored at 8-5 when the race went to the gate. . Ron Pierce and Uncle Peter left strongly from the rail but yielded to 65-1 outsider Gym Tan Laundry on the first turn. Before Pierce had a chance to regain, Archangel and Jim Morrill Jr. were already in the midst of a second move and gained control past the quarter pole reached in a spirited :27 2/5.
Once the dust settled, Pierce sent Uncle Peter sharply for the front with the colt securing the lead well before the :54 3/5 opening half. While the pacesetters were decisive in their movements, Jody Jamieson was sitting in fifth with 7-2 second choice Knows Nothing and waiting for action to develop. Eventually Tim Tetrick elected to pull Market Share off the rail to go on an uncovered jaunt. They quickly engaged Uncle Peter as the tandem clicked off the third quarter in 1:22 3/5. Once in the homestretch Tetrick gave the son of Revenue his marching orders and Market Share kicked into high gear opening ground on his rival instantly and gaining separation from the other contenders. Knows Nothing couldn’t keep up with the leader and Archangel lacked a solid burst. That left it to 21-1 shot My MVP between horses and 11-1 Guccio on the far outside to rally. That pair trotted in tandem on the outside and Tetrick worked his magic to keep his horse trotting through the wire.
The mile of 1:52 1/5 was a fifth faster than Market Share went in his elimination victory. It was the closest finish since Chip Chip Hooray won by the same margin in 2002.
Market Share paid $10.80 for a $2 win ticket as the third choice in the field of 10.
Undefeated as a two-year-old in 2011, Market Share won for the fifth time in 11 starts in 2012 and pushed his career bank account to $972,505.
Yonkers Trot winner Archangel finished fourth with Knows Nothing earning the final check. Race favorite Uncle Peter went to pacing instead of trotting after being passed by the winner and was placed eighth after finishing seventh for the infraction..
A crowd of 24,521 turned out to watch Toscano make history in the Hambletonian.
This is beyond special; there are no words to describe what this feels like,” Toscano said. “You dream of it, but you don’t let your brain go there. You just don’t think it can happen.””
Going into the Hambletonian, Toscano tried to downplay the “first female” tag placed on her and after the win she remained steadfast in her thinking although she understands the significance.
“I have always felt that I’ve been part of the furniture so long and blended in,” said Toscano, also a breast cancer survivor. “I understand I’m carving a little niche in history and that’s really neat. If I can inspire another girl that it can be done, it’s awesome. That part I’m on board for.”
Owner Richard Gutnick, who earlier saw his and trainer Linda Toscano’s Chapter Seven set a world mark of 1:50 1/5 in the $250,000 Nat Ray, was jubilant after the race. “Two months ago he was a 100-1 shot to even be in this race,” said Gutnick.
“It’s a dream come true,” continued the owner, who sold a 25 percent interest in Market Share after his elim win to Tom and Lou Pontone’s TLP Stable and Bill Augustine, a former trainer-driver who competed on the East Coast until retiring 20 years ago to concentrate fully on his nationally-branded blueberry company. Augustine’s last start on the racetrack came in 1995. His biggest win came in 1992 when John Campbell drove his 4-year-old mare Wannas Fame to a victory in the Comforter II final at the Meadowlands.
“I guess it was insurance,” said Gutnick. “I’m happy owning 75 percent.” With the purchase agreement done over the telephone, Gutnick didn’t even meet his new partners until they got together in the paddock prior to Saturday’s race. Less than 72 hours after making the purchase, the Pontones were back in the Hambo winner’s circle a second time, following 2009 winner Muscle Hill. Tom Pontone said while he made the purchase on the eve of the Hambo, he wasn’t expecting quick dividends.
“I didn’t buy the horse for the Hambletonian,” said Pontone of Market Share, who increased his career earnings to $972,505 with his 10th career victory. “The dream is to win the Hambletonian but I was just hoping that he’d race well and for the rest of the year we’d have a good horse.”
Brittany Farms and Melvin Hartman’s Personal Style with David Miller in the bike, took advantage of two enormous miscues by the favorites to win the Hambletonian Oaks in 1:53.1.
Going off at 55-1 and paying the second highest mutuel ever in the Oaks of $116.40 to win (the record is $122.80 for backers of Working Gal in the 1990 Oaks), Personal Style, trained by R. “Nifty” Norman, saw a clear path when superfavorite Check Me Out made an uncommon break in stride while leading into three-quarters and took second-choice Maven with her.
At the line, Personal Style stuck her nose in front to pull off the second biggest upset in Hambletonian Oaks history. Check Me Out returned to stride and finished third but was the subject of an inquiry with Maven. Judges re-placed Check Me Out to eighth and Maven to seventh, moving Sassy Syrinx placed third and Holier Than Thou placed fourth.
“Around the last turn,” Tetrick said about Check Me Out’s break, “she took a bad step that turned her knee boot around. Maybe she stepped in a hole or something … It just wasn’t our day.” The time was a personal best for the filly, who earned her largest purse in her third win from 10 starts this season.

BROAD BAHN

2011