The publicity department for the Grand Circuit has sent out its weekly story recapping and previewing Grand Circuit races.
This Week: Ben Franklin Pace, Earl Beal Jr. Memorial, Max C. Hempt Memorial and James M. Lynch Memorial finals, The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.; Cleveland Trotting Classic, Northfield Park, Northfield, Ohio; Graduate Series final, Meadowlands Racetrack, East Rutherford, N.J.; Miss Versatility, Mohawk Racetrack, Campbellville, Ontario; Hanover Stakes, Balmoral Park, Crete, Ill.; and Landmark Stakes, Historic Track, Goshen, N.Y.
Schedule of events: The Grand Circuit spotlight will once again be on The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono this Saturday night (July 4) as the track will host four lucrative stakes finals in the $500,000 Ben Franklin for older pacers, the $500,000 Earl Beal Jr. Memorial for three-year-old male trotters, the $500,000 Max C. Hempt Memorial for three-year-old male pacers and the $300,000 James M. Lynch Memorial for three-year-old filly pacers.
A trio of Friday night (July 3) stakes kick off the Grand Circuit action this week with the $170,000 Cleveland Trotting Classic for older trotters, the $250,000 Graduate Series final for four-year-old pacers and a $40,000 leg of the Miss Versatility for older trotting mares.
Also on Saturday, Balmoral Park will host $35,000 (est.) divisions of the Hanover Stake for three-year-old colt and filly trotters, while Historic Track will card eight Landmark Stakes for two and three-year-olds of both sexes and gaits.
Last time: Last weekend’s Grand Circuit action opened up on Friday night (June 26) at Meadowlands Racetrack with a $50,000 TVG Free For All trotting series leg and Obrigado made his debut in the series a winning one, scoring in impressive fashion in 1:51.3, a lifetime-best performance.
The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono hosted 11 Grand Circuit races on Saturday, all eliminations for this week’s Sun Stakes Saturday card. Grabbing the headlines were the three-year-old male pacers in the Max Hempt eliminations as Artspeak, Wiggle It Jiggleit and Wakizashi Hanover each posted victories.
Grand Circuit Standings: In 2015, 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 Farm is the sponsor for the 2015 Grand Circuit awards.
Here are the leaders following the past weekend:
Drivers: 1. Yannick Gingras – 223; 2. Brian Sears – 218; 3. Tim Tetrick – 213; 4. David Miller – 177; 5. Daniel Dube – 157.
Trainers: 1. Ron Burke – 335; 2. Jeff Bamond Jr. – 188; 3. Jimmy Takter – 160; 4. Rene Allard – 146; 5. Nifty Norman - 90.
Owners: 1. Bamond Racing – 165.5; 2. Burke Racing - 87.5; 3. Weaver Bruscemi – 79.3; 4. Allard Racing – 46.9; 5. Jeff Snyder – 42.5.
Looking ahead: Grand Circuit action will be taking place next weekend at Meadowlands Racetrack, Balmoral Park and Yonkers Raceway. The Meadowlands will host the Graduate Series final for four-year-old trotters, Reynolds divisions for three-year-old colt and filly trotters, Meadowlands Pace and Mistletoe Shalee eliminations for three-year-old colt and filly pacers, respectively, and William Haughton Memorial eliminations for older pacers; Balmoral will card Hanover Stakes for three-year-old colt and filly pacers; and Yonkers features Lawrence Sheppard eliminations for two-year-old colt pacers.
(With files from Grand Circuit)