The Grand Circuit's weekly overview highlights its upcoming races at Woodbine Mohawk Park, The Meadows and Meadowlands Racetrack.
This Week: North America Cup, Fan Hanover, Goodtimes, Roses Are Red and Armbro Flight finals, Woodbine Mohawk Park, Milton, Ont.; Currier & Ives, The Meadows, Washington, Pennsylvania; and Graduate Series leg, The Meadowlands, East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Schedule of Events: A top-flight card of Grand Circuit racing will take place on Saturday, June 17 at Woodbine Mohawk Park and will be led by the $1 million Pepsi North America Cup for three-year-old pacing colts. Also on tap are the $420,000 Fan Hanover for three-year-old pacing fillies, the $305,000 Roses Are Red for older pacing mares, the $250,000 Goodtimes for three-year-old male trotters and the $210,000 Armbro Flight for older trotting mares.
Also on Saturday, The Meadows will offer two divisions in the Currier & Ives for three-year-old male trotters.
On Friday, June 16, The Meadowlands will host two $50,000 divisions of the second leg of the Graduate Series for four-year-old pacers and a single $50,000 division in the second leg of the Graduate Series for four-year-old trotters.
Entries for the Meadows and Meadowlands races can be found by clicking here. Entries for the Mohawk Park races can be found by clicking here.
Last Time: Many storylines were in play leading to the $200,000 Battle of Lake Erie on Saturday (June 10). The most significant storyline of the week happened to be Lauren Tritton, as she would try to become not only the first female to participate in Northfield's storied event, but the first to win it. Tritton proved naysayers of her talent wrong with a heart-stopping performance, scoring an impressive win with Lochinvar Art A. Click here to read the complete recap.
For a list of 2023 race winners on the Grand Circuit, click here.
Grand Circuit Standings: In 2023, the Grand Circuit leaders in three categories (driver, trainer and owner) will once again be tracked on a points system (20-10-5 for the top three finishers in divisions/finals and 10-5-2 for the top three finishers in eliminations/legs). Winbak Farms is the sponsor for the 2023 Grand Circuit awards.
Here are the leaders (through the races on June 10, 2023):
Drivers: 1. Yannick Gingras – 166; 2. Dexter Dunn – 150; 3t. Jordan Stratton – 127; 3t. Scott Zeron – 127; 5. Matt Kakaley – 110.
Trainers: 1. Ron Burke – 132; 2. Linda Toscano – 130; 3. Jeff Gillis – 102; 4. Ake Svanstedt – 87; 5. Jared Bako – 74.
Owners: 1. Mark Ford – 98; 2. Team Tritton Inc. – 52; 3. Jesmeral Stable – 47; 4. Robert Di Nozzi – 39; 5. 1362313 Ontario Ltd. – 37.
Looking Ahead: Grand Circuit action will take place next week at Yonkers Raceway, The Meadowlands and The Meadows. Yonkers will have eliminations for a pair of Triple Crown races, the MGM Yonkers Trot for three-year-old open trotters and the MGM Grand Messenger for three-year-old open pacers; The Meadowlands will feature the third leg of the Graduate Series for four-year-old pacers and trotters and the Miss Versatility for older trotting mares; and The Meadows will have the Currier & Ives for three-year-old filly trotters.
(Grand Circuit)