Tim Tetrick was on his game Saturday night (May 8) at The Meadowlands, as the 39-year-old Hall of Fame driver won both $30,000 divisions of the first leg of the Miss Versatility Series for open mares on the trot.
Off a superb seasonal debut where she closed in :26.4 to just miss, Next Level Stuff was predictably sent to the gate as the 3-5 public choice in division one, and while she did not disappoint, she needed every inch of the stretch to record a neck victory in 1:52.2.
“She raced against the top [fillies] last year,” said Tetrick. “She’s a trip mare, and she got a trip tonight.”
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Jim Campbell will send two Breeders Crown champions and one Breeders Crown runner-up into action Saturday night (May 1) at The Meadowlands.
Sandbetweenmytoes, who recorded the biggest upset in Breeders Crown history when he captured last year’s final for three-year-old male pacers at odds of nearly 204-1, is among 16 horses entered in the first round of the Graduate Series for four-year-old pacers. The group was divided into two eight-horse divisions, with Sandbetweenmytoes in the second.
The gelding is joined on the card by Campbell-trained stablemates Next Level Stuff, who won last year’s Breeders Crown for three-year-old female trotters, and Crystal Fashion, who was second in the Breeders Crown Open Trot. Both are making their seasonal debuts.
A number of high-profile Standardbreds made solid strides toward a return to the races during the Saturday (April 24) session of qualifiers at The Meadowlands.
Calle Palema (Ake Svanstedt) was a wire-to-wire winner in 1:56.1 over 2020 freshman standouts Zenith Stride (Brian Sears) and In Range (Tim Tetrick). The gelded son of Muscle Hill - Fillyanthropy, a three-time winner as a rookie, took a new lifetime mark for owner Bender Sweden Inc. of Vero Beach, Fl.
Balenciaga didn t make any starts at two, but the $270,000 yearling started on the path to justifying that price tag with a first-over grinding win in 1:56.3. The son of Chapter Seven - Iluvmyjimmychoos was guided to victory by Scott Zeron for trainer Paul Kelley and owners SRF Stable and Crawford Farms. Maverick, harness racing s highest priced yearling by virtue of his $1.1 million sale price, made a break in stride while closing in the stretch.
The Meadowlands will again host some of the sport’s top prospects, but this time with an expanded roster of stakes talent hitting the track.
A 16-qualifier session on Saturday morning (April 24) begins with three-year-old trotting fillies, with $400,000 yearling and full-sister to The Ice Dutchess, The Ice Countess ($2,500, 1:56.3M), going to post. Todd McCarthy will steer the Tony Alagna trainee as she makes just the fourth start of her career. She’ll be followed in the next qualifier by several other prominent Hambletonian Oaks eligible including Hello I Love You ($105,987, 1:54.2M), Illuminata ($131,933, 1:54.4F) and Pub Crawl ($225,725, 1:53.4M).
Breeders Crown elimination winner and final runner-up In Range ($411,003, 1:54.1S) returns to the track in the third qualifier against Peter Haughton winner Zenith Stride ($226,168, 1:53.2M), who will go his second qualifying mile of the year. Tim Tetrick steers In Range for trainer Marcus Melander, while Brian Sears will handle th
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