2024 Hambletonian Newsroom
Burke looks for a better T C I in Hambo elim
July 25, 2024 by Ken Weingartner, USTA Media Relations Manager
Hightstown, NJ — After watching T C I lose back-to-back starts for the first time in his career, trainer Ron Burke hopes to have his 3-year-old trotter heading back in the right direction.
T C I, who last season earned $1.23 million to become the richest 2-year-old male trotter in history, was third in a division of the Stanley Dancer Memorial on July 13 at The Meadowlands, the colt’s final prep ahead of his Hambletonian Stakes elimination Saturday at The Big M. T C I finished three-quarters of a length behind winner Situationship, who stopped the timer in a career-best 1:51.1.
In his previous race, the Dr. Harry M. Zweig Memorial on July 4 at Vernon Downs, T C I made an early break and finished fourth. His two setbacks occurred after beginning 2024 with three straight wins.
“The year started out good and then the last couple I was like, ‘eh,’ ‘eh,’ and I couldn’t really put a finger on it,” Burke said. “So, we kind of did a complete physical on him last week and found a couple things that we didn’t know were going on with him that are very correctable.
“I’m cautiously optimistic that he will be significantly better. The time off was good for him. He trained really good (Wednesday); I was really happy with him.”
Prior to the Dancer, Burke got the sense T C I might not be on top of his game.
“When I warmed him up, he was just as blah as blah could be,” Burke said. “He was just not himself. Now, I would say he was 90 percent back to himself training. I have two more days (to prepare for the Hambletonian elim) and hopefully we’ll make the final. I think in the two weeks, I’ll have this horse perfectly ironed out.
“Losing, in a way, was a help because it was a wake-up call that we needed to start being a little more diligent on making sure he was all right.”
T C I, who received the 2023 O’Brien Award for best 2-year-old male trotter to race in Canada, has won 13 of 17 career starts. Last year, his victories included the Mohawk Million, William Wellwood Memorial and Peter Haughton Memorial.
A son of Cantab Hall-Nicole’s Promise, T C I was named for vacation destination Turks and Caicos Islands. He is owned by Burke Racing Stable, Hatfield Stables, Knox Services Inc., and Weaver Bruscemi.
The colt, ranked No. 2 in Meadowlands announcer/analyst Ken Warkentin’s Road to the Hambletonian Top 10, will head to Saturday’s second of two $100,000 Hambletonian eliminations as the 2-1 morning-line favorite in a field of 10. The top-five finishers from each elim will advance to the $1.05 million Hambletonian final, the sport’s premier race for 3-year-old trotters, Aug. 3 at The Big M.
T C I’s elim also includes Zweig Memorial champ Dame Good Time, who is 3-1 on the morning line and will leave from post seven with Scott Zeron driving for trainer Travis Alexander, and last week’s Tompkins-Geers Stakes winner Secret Agent Man, who is 4-1 and will start from post three with Andy Miller driving for Julie Miller.
“I don’t really worry about who I’m in with; I worry about mine and having them ready,” Burke said. “I do think, looking at it at a glance, I’d rather be in my elimination than the other elimination. Mine is pretty solid all the way throughout, but I don’t think it’s got the stars in it that the other one does.”
In the first elimination, Karl, trained by Nancy Takter and No. 1 in the Road to the Hambletonian rankings, is the 4-5 morning-line favorite. He will start from post six with driver Yannick Gingras. Joining Karl in the field are Goodtimes Stakes champion Highland Kismet and Stanley Dancer Memorial division winners Sig Sauer and Situationship.
Sig Sauer, Situationship, and Highland Kismet occupy spots three through five, respectively, in the Road to the Hambletonian rankings.
Elimination winners draw for post positions one through five followed by the remaining finalists receiving their posts in an open draw. The draw will be conducted July 30 at Hogan Equine Clinic in Cream Ridge, N.J.
In addition to sending out T C I in a Hambletonian elim, Burke has one horse in each of Saturday’s three $50,000 eliminations of the $675,000 Hambletonian Oaks for 3-year-old female trotters at The Meadowlands. Spy Coast is 4-1 on the morning line in the first, Draw The Line is 15-1 in the second, and Kinesiology is 12-1 in the third.
The top-three finishers from each elim plus the fourth-place finisher with the highest lifetime earnings will advance to the $525,000 Oaks final, also Aug. 3 at The Meadowlands.
Spy Coast won two preliminary legs of the New Jersey Sire Stakes and finished fourth in the final. The daughter of Walner-Zeppole heads to her Oaks elim off second-place finishes in divisions of the W.N. Reynolds Memorial and Tompkins-Geers Stakes, both at The Big M.
Draw The Line was a Grand Circuit winner last year at Lexington’s Red Mile and has a Pennsylvania Sire Stakes division victory to her credit this season. The daughter of Cantab Hall-Ridge Speed goes to her Oaks elimination off a fourth-place finish in a division of the Del Miller Memorial.
Kinesiology, a daughter of Walner-Muscle Test, was third last week in a division of the Tompkins-Geers and won the consolation division of the Zweig Memorial for fillies on July 4 at Vernon Downs.
“Spy Coast is my best chance,” Burke said. “On her best day, she’s right there with the best fillies. Draw The Line is getting better. She wasn’t good her last start, but we found something with her and worked on her. Kinesiology is getting better every start. She was locked and loaded last week and just got out late.
“I think have a good chance of making the final, and then being competitive in the final.”
French Champagne, who won a division of the Del Miller Memorial, is the 2-1 favorite in the first Oaks elimination. Elista Hanover, who has won nine consecutive races since opening her season with a third-place finish, is the 6-5 favorite in the second. Date Night Hanover, who won this year’s Zweig Memorial for fillies, is the 5-2 favorite in the third.
Racing begins at 6:20 p.m. (EDT) at The Meadowlands. For free TrackMaster programs for the Big M, click here.
Daley eyes Adios, Hambo successes Saturday
July 25, 2024 by Ken Weingartner, USTA Media Relations Manager
Hightstown, NJ — Noel Daley saw Captain Albano be something of a victim of circumstances in prior races, and the trainer much preferred the way things looked last week in the colt’s Delvin Miller Adios elimination. He wouldn’t mind a repeat viewing in Saturday’s $350,000 final.
Captain Albano captured his Delvin Miller Adios Pace for the Orchids elim by 3-1/4 lengths over Timeisonmyside in 1:49.2 on July 20 at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows. He is the 2-1 morning-line favorite in the final, starting from post four with driver Todd McCarthy in the 58th edition of the event for 3-year-old pacers.
Wish You Well, who won the other Adios elim by 1-3/4 lengths in 1:49.1, is the 3-1 second choice. He will leave from post two with David Miller driving for Nifty Norman. His 1:49.1 mile, which included a blistering :25.2 last quarter, is the season’s second fastest by a 3-year-old pacer on a five-eighths-mile track. Captain Albano’s 1:49.2 score is tied for third.
In his Adios elim, Captain Albano got away third, but moved to the front after leader Noblesville reached the opening quarter in :26.3. Captain Albano and McCarthy controlled the action from there, reaching the half in :55 and three-quarters in 1:22.4 on their way to the win.
It was Captain Albano’s third victory in seven races this season. Last year, Captain Albano was no worse than second in nine starts, winning seven and being named the Dan Patch Award recipient for best 2-year-old male pacer.
“We’ve been trying to get to the front for a month, and if we got there, we haven’t been able to keep it,” Daley said. “The horse has been fine every start. He really has. He just hasn’t had any luck. I’m still happy with him. He seems good, he still seems bright.”
Captain Albano encountered traffic or trip trouble in his prior three races — the North America Cup final, Meadowlands Pace elimination, and Meadowlands Pace final on July 13, when he got parked three-wide near the rear of the field from post seven in the opening quarter-mile.
“That race was over at the quarter pole for us; he got three deep and that was the end of it,” Daley said, adding about Pace champ Legendary Hanover and his stakes-record 1:46.3 victory, “I don’t know if anyone was beating him anyway, he was awesome.
“In the North America Cup, he got shut off halfway down the lane. You can’t stop and get started up again. In the elimination of the Meadowlands Pace, he was doubled up with too much pace. That’s when he threw in all those bad steps. It wasn’t for any other reason than he had too much horse. He had to grab him and settle him just to get into the final.”
For his career, Captain Albano has won 10 of 16 races and earned $577,915. The son of Captaintreacherous-Angelou is owned by Patricia Stable, L.A. Express Stable, Sjoblom Racing, and Michael Dolan.
Daley and McCarthy are both seeking their first Adios trophy. They finished third together with Pebble Beach in 2022.
“Hopefully, (Captain Albano) can make it to the top again once things settle down,” Daley said. “We’ll just see.”
Racing begins at 11:45 a.m. (EDT) Saturday at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows. For free race programs, click here.
Captain Albano will be among eight stakes starters for Daley on Saturday. Four of the others will be among a group competing at The Meadowlands and include Sig Sauer in the first of the night’s two $100,000 Hambletonian eliminations for 3-year-old trotters as well as Buy A Round, Miss I La, and Paulina Hanover in the Hambletonian Oaks eliminations for 3-year-old female trotters.
Sig Sauer and driver Andy McCarthy will leave from post eight in their Hambletonian elim and are 8-1 on the morning line. Sig Sauer, a son of Muscle Hill-Sigilwig who will be making only his third start of the year, is coming off a 1:50 win in a division of the Stanley Dancer Memorial on July 13 at The Meadowlands. It is the fastest mile of the season by a 3-year-old trotter.
“He seems real good,” Daley said. “He was even a little more forward than I thought he would be (in the Dancer) but Andy gave him a great trip, and everything worked out. But you have to remember, that was his second start for the year and his seventh start lifetime, so you’d like to think he’s still on the upward trend. I think that’s our biggest advantage.”
The first elimination field includes 4-5 favorite Karl, trained by Nancy Takter and No. 1 in the Road to the Hambletonian rankings, as well as Goodtimes Stakes champion Highland Kismet and the other Stanley Dancer Memorial division winner Situationship.
“We got a bad post and the tougher of the two divisions, it’s just up to (Sig Sauer) to have a good day,” Daley said. “As long as he has a good day, he’s going to make it in there.
“He’s a handful to deal with on a daily basis, but he’s been very professional every time we’ve taken him to the races. I told people early in the piece that if he’s half as good as he thinks he is, I’m in good shape. It just turned out that he is.”
The top-five finishers from each elim will advance to the $1.05 million Hambletonian final, the sport’s premier race for 3-year-old trotters, Aug. 3 at The Big M. Elimination winners draw for post positions one through five followed by the remaining finalists receiving their posts in an open draw. The draw will be conducted July 30 at Hogan Equine Clinic in Cream Ridge, N.J.
In the Hambletonian Oaks, Paulina Hanover is 6-1 in the first of three $50,000 eliminations. Buy A Round is 5-2 in the second elim and Miss I La is 10-1 in the third. The top-three finishers from each elim plus the fourth-place finisher with the highest lifetime earnings will advance to the $525,000 Oaks final, also Aug. 3 at The Meadowlands.
“My best chance is Buy A Round,” Daley said about the daughter of Walner-On Your Tab, who has hit the board in all 13 career races, winning eight. “She came up with a little bit of a high white count again (last start when she finished second in a division of the Del Miller Memorial). I know she was second, but she was disappointing there. Everything seems good again. Hopefully, she will be back to herself. As long as she’s up close, she can sprint.”
Racing begins at 6:20 p.m. (EDT) at The Meadowlands. For free TrackMaster programs for the Big M, click here.
HarnessRacing.com to present inaugural Hambletonian preview show
July 24, 2024 from the USTA Communications Department
Columbus, OH —-On Saturday (Aug. 3) from 11 a.m. to noon (EDT), HarnessRacing.com will present the inaugural USTrotting Hambletonian Pre-Show, live on location from the Meadowlands.
The one-hour broadcast that will be produced by the U.S. Trotting Association and hosted by USTA Content Manager and Racing Analyst Wendy Ross and harness and Thoroughbred racing analyst Ashley Mailloux.
The show will feature a preview of the 99th Hambletonian and other major stakes and will include interviews with the connections of Hambletonian contenders, Meadowlands on-air host Jessica Otten and Derick Giwner, Daily Racing Form’s harness racing editor and handicapper.
“The new USTrotting Hambletonian Pre-Show will expand the USTA’s extensive coverage of one of harness racing’s most important days and provide fans with exciting behind-the-scenes entertainment and information,” said USTA Executive Vice President and CEO Mike Tanner. “We hope that everyone will watch on our social media channels from 11 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Aug. 3.”
The USTrotting Hambletonian Pre-Show will stream live via the USTA’s Vimeo, YouTube and Facebook channels.
