HARNESS RACING: HAMBLETONIAN IMPLICATION!
MARYLAND VS SUPER CHAPTER
A field of 10 Hambletonian-eligible trotters will go behind the starting gate Friday (June 13, 2025) in the $225,000 New Jersey Sire Stakes championship for 3-year-old male trotters at The Meadowlands.
[Please check out The Meadowlands' entries for the Friday card.]
ENJOY FRIDAY NIGHT OF HARNESS RACING AT THE MEADOWLANDS EVERYBODY!
The lineup includes three of this season’s four fastest sophomore boys: Mr Walner Fashion, Mountcastle and Onajetplane.
The morning-line favorite, Mr Walner Fashion at 3-1, heads to the race 2-for-2 this year and is coming off a 1:51 2/5 score in a $25,000 second-round NJSS division June 6 (2025) at The Big M.
The mark is tied for the season’s best; Mountcastle also trotted 1:51 2/5 in his NJSS prelim later that same night. Both horses won by a head.
However, on the same day (Friday June 13) my eyes are on Maryland running against his stablemate Super Chapter at Vernon Downs (NY), race 8, in the EMPIRE BREEDERS CLASSIC Three-Year-Old Colts & Geldings.
A small field of five -- it looks to be a two-horse race between Maryland (ML 9-5) and his stablemate Super Chapter (ML 8-5) in what looks like a preview of the Hambletonian Civil War battle.
Super Chapter is the race's favorite (ML 8/5) and he has post position 3, while Maryland is the second choice and he will break from the outside post 5.
Advantage to Super Chapter in this race but he will have to earn it with Maryland in the same race.
Easy exacta!
MY PLAY OF THE NIGHT: HIGHLAND KISMET
Race 12 (The Meadowlands): $50K Graduate 2nd leg for 4YO Trotters
HIGHLAND KISMET has unlimited potential and Nancy Takter has been charged with trying to get the most out of him. The first qualifier two weeks ago seemed to be going along smoothly when he made what looked like a speed break to me -- HIGHLAND KISMET broke strides.
Nancy Takter, his trainer, said she thought maybe the miscue was because his hobbles were too tight.
So for this race I think she plans to correct the hobbles so they will be a little loose.
Bet HIGHLAND KISMET to win, place using double down!
ON THE SAME NIGHT [JUNE 14] AT WOODBINE MOHAWK THERE ARE STAKES RACES AND ONE IN PARTICULAR IS THE $1,000,000 NORTH AMERICA CUP
The Woodbine Mohawk race card is full of good betting races headlined by the North America Cup, race 11, in which, I like the 7/5 morning line favorite Louprint (post 4) in a full field of 10.
It's a $1 million race and a prep for the Meadowlands Pace (July 12) and as such anything can happen in a full field of 12.
Having said that, the likely winner is the 7/5 morning line favorite Louprint.
He is the best horse in the field and likely to go down in odd -- 4/5 or even money is my guess.
Also in the card, race 10, a cinch horse in Chantilly.
Bet Chantilly (ML 1-1) to win and put a lot of money on her because she is going to win this race at a very short price.
This is the easiest money you'll ever going to get on any card for this Saturday June 14, 2025.
Chantilly crowned Canada's Horse of the Year for 2024
Chantilly, the 2-Year-Old Pacing Filly of the Year (2024) was also named the Somebeachsomewhere Horse of the Year (2024).
She became just the fifth 2-year-old - and only the third pacing filly - to be named Canada's Horse of the Year, joining the likes of Emilie Cas El, Whenuwishuponastar, Somebeachsomewhere and JK She'salady.
Chantilly, Canada's reigning Horse of the Year, set a career best 1:49.4 mark while easily besting a field of 10 in the lone $140,000 Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) Gold Series event for three-year-old pacing fillies on Saturday, May 24 (2025) at Woodbine Mohawk Park. It was the first OSS Gold event of 2025.
Millar Farms' homebred daughter of Big Jim out of Shiraz Seelster, who was sent off at 1/9, is now undefeated through all 11 career starts. It was her second pari-mutuel win of 2025 and pushed her career earnings to $897,756.
Starting from the rail, driver James MacDonald positioned Chantilly fourth in the early going. The pair took the lead with a strong brush before reaching the half in :55. They opened up on the field from there through the three-quarters in 1:21.4 and came home in :28 to win by 4-1/2 lengths over Wickedpace (Jody Jamieson) on a cold, windy night. Perfectly Chic (Bob McClure) was third.
"[Chantilly's] high gear is just something else, MacDonald told Woodbine Mohawk Park's Chad Rozema. "I was able to clear the lead pretty, pretty easily. And then she's just one of those horses -- and I've only driven a few of them in my life -- where you feel like you're absolutely crawling ...
You've got to be careful with her, because she's just got unbelievable speed.
"She's just a special horse. She's passed every test with flying colours. I would have liked to go :52 with the brakes on, but she's got other plans.
Sometimes when you put her in top gear she's just relentless with her speed. Hopefully, she keeps carrying on to bigger and better things.
Whether that means Chantilly will be entered against the boys in the $1 million Pepsi North America Cup or the Fan Hanover for sophomore fillies -- both have their finals on June 14 at Woodbine Mohawk Park -- will be up to her owner George Millar, said Chantilly's trainer Nick Gallucci.
"It's going to be George Millar's call, said Gallucci, indicating she'll get next week off. "We'll just see what happens, and I'm good with whatever decision he makes."
ENJOY SATURDAY NIGHT OF HARNESS RACING WITH LOTS OF STAKES RACES AT BOTH THE MEADOWLANDS AND WOODBINE MOHAWK
MEANWHILE ON SATURDAY JUNE 14 -- DON'T FORGET THERAVADA -- CD -- RACE 8
