Nezuko Kamado S controls, wins 56th Hambletonian Oaks
August 8, 2026
East Rutherford, NJ — A slick move through slow early fractions by driver Yannick Gingras to loop Hunterton Born & Raised Nezuko Kamado S to the lead placed her at a strong tactical advantage to grit a last-ditch blitz by pocket-pouncing Carve and win the $500,000 Winning Key Farm Hambletonian Oaks in 1:51.4 on Saturday (Aug. 8) at the Meadowlands.
Nezuko Kamado S, the 4-5 favorite with Yannick Gingras substituting for injured driver Scott Zeron, eased out of post 2 into fourth as Carve motored from the center of the gate by pylon-starter Busy Miss Lissy S to take the lead. But after the first quarter clicked in just :28.2, Gingras floated Nezuko Kamado S off the pylons and lifted for the lead in the backstretch. She cleared Carve before a :56.2 half, at which point Setyoursightshigh got underway with an uncovered bid up the rim.
Setyoursightshigh advanced to match strides with stablemate Nezuko Kamado S coming to three-quarters in 1:25.1, bottling Carve in the pocket and towing Frattina Diablo S into contention from second-over. Nezuko Kamado S turned for home and waited until around the eighth pole to sprint, springing away from Setyoursightshigh while giving Carve clearance to angle out for a final attack. Carve swung out and clawed desperately for the lead late but came a neck short at the beam with Setyoursightshigh left in third and Frattina Diablo S taking fourth.
“I really didn’t want to be on the lead,” Gingras said after the race. “I thought there would be a lot of speed from the outside, and I was surprised when the gate opened up [that] we weren’t going much. I knew at that point, the middle of the first turn, that I was going to move to the lead, and it was a winning move. I knew in the last turn I had the horse to beat on my back. It was a matter of not going too fast, and halfway down the stretch I let mine loose a little bit and almost got loose a little too early because Andy’s filly really quickened and gave me a run down the lane.”
A filly by Chapter Seven out of the Muscle Hill mare Zefira Kronos IT, Nezuko Kamado S won her fifth race from six starts this season and her 11th race from 17 starts in her career, entering millionaire status with $1,052,969 in the bank for owner-breeder Courant Inc.
“It’s fantastic [to win],” said Anders Ström, of Courant Inc. “It’s a homebred, great horse, great work by the trainer Marcus Melander and all his team, but it felt especially good to see Scott Zeron in the winner’s circle with us today.”
Ström, who also thanked Gingras for catching the drive after Nezuko Kamado S’s regular pilot, Scott Zeron, was injured in a spill on Thursday night (Aug. 6) at Yonkers Raceway, said he left the decision for the driver change to trainer Marcus Melander.
“Scott took care of this filly all year. I feel very bad that he couldn’t drive today,” Melander said. “I’m very thankful Yannick could step in and do such good work, but I do want to say a big thank you to Scott as well. Without him, we wouldn’t be here. We had three good horses coming into the race here, so of course you have your hopes up. I’ve been the favorite in these races before, finishing second, third or whatever. It’s a hard race to win and I’m happy we got it done.”
“I couldn’t say yes fast enough; unfortunately that’s not how you want to get a drive, but no doubt it was an easy decision,” Gingras said. “All the credit goes to Scotty [Zeron]. It’s two years that he’s been working on this filly for a day like today. It’s bittersweet – I’m happy to pick up the drive and win the race – but the win is his. These horses are built up for races like this; they’re ready for big performances. I don’t think it mattered which way I raced her because he had her so brave, so all credit to him.”
Nezuko Kamado S paid $3.80 to win.
East Rutherford, NJ — Hunterton's Apex captured the $1 million Grade 1 Winning Key Farm Hambletonian Stakes, for 3-year-old trotters, on Saturday (Aug. 8) at the Meadowlands, holding off favorite Big Ranger by a nose in a stakes-record 1:49.2. Minoan finished third, 4-1/4 lengths behind the top two finishers. Apex’s effort gave trainer Marcus Melander and driver Dexter Dunn their first Hambletonian wins. Melander had finished second in America’s Trotting Classic four times, including three of the past four years. Two races prior to the Hambletonian, Melander-trained Nezuko Kamado S won the filly companion race, the Hambletonian Oaks, by a neck over Carve. Melander became the fourth trainer in history to win the Hambletonian and Oaks in the same year, joining Jimmy Takter (twice), Jim Campbell and Jan Johnson. Dunn became the first driver since Mike Lachance in 2003 to win the Meadowlands Pace (in July with Brandon Blvd) and the Hambletonian in the same year. In the Hambletonian, Big Ranger went to the front on the first turn, but Dunn kept Apex in motion and led that rival by a parked-out nose as he reached the opening quarter in :26.4. Apex was a length in front at the half in :54.3 and at three-quarters in 1:22.4, but Tim Tetrick was charging first-over with Big Ranger and the two were separated by a nose in the stretch, setting up their toe-to-toe fight to the finish. Following a lengthy photo-finish review, Apex’s No. 3 lit the top spot on the tote board. In addition to a stakes record, the final time of 1:49.2 set the track record for a 3-year-old trotter and was only one-fifth of a second off the world record.
Hunterton's Jot It Down wins the $30,000 Kentucky Commonwealth Division for 2yotf's, August 5 at The Red Mile. Congratulations to owners Mel Hartman, Hickory Hollow Stables, Lester Graber, trainer Marcus Melander and driver Dexter Dunn.
Hunterton Farm has welcomed two new members to its retirement community of accomplished equines. Market Share 5,1:502f ($3,792,101) and It’s My Show p,3, 1:46.4 ($1,541,620) recently arrived at the Paris, KY, farm. “It’s an honor to have horses like them on the farm,” said Steve Stewart, who owns and operates Hunterton with his wife, Cindy. “Market Share was babysitting yearlings at Southwind Farms,” Steve said, “and we’ll probably have him doing that here, and It’s My Show has recovered from a career-ending injury, so we’ll see how he is doing.” Market Share, a son of Revenue S, was born in Paris, KY, where he was raised by his breeder, Hayley Moore. In 2017, Market Share won the Hambletonian for owners Richard Gutnick, TLP Stable, and William Augustine, trainer Linda Toscano and driver Tim Tetrick. At age 4, he won the Breeders Crown, Maple Leaf Trot, and TVG final. When Southwind Farms decided to close its doors, Gutnick started looking for a new home for Market Share. “We wanted to place him at the Kentucky Horse Park,” said Gutnick. “Besides winning the Hambletonian, he was a blue-ribbon winner at the Standardbred Pleasure Horse Show and had been ridden regularly. But we couldn’t get him placed at the Horse Park because they wanted a different breed. Luckily, Steve Stewart said they would be happy to take him at Hunterton, and I’m very happy about that.” It’s My Show’s new home happens to be the place he was born. The 6-year-old gelding by Sweet Lou out of the great Put On A Show was foaled at Hunterton. He is settling in after a year-long recovery from a shattered pastern that required multiple screws to repair. Trained by Linda Toscano, It’s My Show had won the North America Cup, Little Brown Jug, and Canadian Pacing Derby before suffering his injury. “I was given the option to euthanize him,” said Richard Young, who co-owns the horse with Joanne Young. “The vets told me it was 50-50 if he survived. I’m in the business to race, but you have to be able to accept that bad things can happen. But I’m an animal lover, so I said `let’s try to save him.’ I’m very happy the surgery was a success. He was at Mid-Atlantic [Veterinary Clinic] in New Jersey for four months.” It’s My Show’s dam, Put On A Show, still resides at Hunterton and is owned by a partnership that includes Steve Stewart. Hunterton Farm will soon begin welcoming guests to inspect its 2026 yearlings and encourages visitors to ask to see Market Share and It’s My Show.
East Rutherford, NJ — Hunterton's Apex , Marcus Melander’s millionaire trainee, stamped himself as a likely favorite for next week’s $1 million Grade 1 Hambletonian by way of a gutsy 1:50.4 win the first $100,175 elimination for the 101st edition of the classic for 3-year-old trotters on Saturday (Aug. 1) at the Meadowlands. Big Ranger delivered a statement win in the second elimination, leaving his nine foes well in his wake for a decisive 1:50 score. After teaming Apex to wins in the New Jersey Sire Stakes championship and his division of the Grade 3 Stanley Dancer Memorial, Dexter Dunn floated the Walner -Mission Brief colt forward into midfield from post 7 as AI (driven by Yannick Gingras) split fellow leavers Captain Naughty (Jason Bartlett) and American Power (James MacDonald) to secure the lead through a :27.3 first quarter. Midway up the backstretch, Dunn angled Apex wide to flush Inexpressable (Scott Zeron) out from fourth, but Inexpressable charged ahead to clear the front at the :56.4 half-mile station, leaving Apex uncovered and 2 lengths off the lead with the toughest part of the race ahead of him. “I knew it was going to be a tough mile no matter what we did with him,” said Dunn. “We got away in a pretty good position, but we were only in for a little bit and out the rest of the mile.” Inexpressable threw down a :26.4 third quarter through the far turn, but Apex managed to gradually grind forward and sweep to the lead with 150 yards to go. Though Apex made easy work of Inexpressable, Endurance and Andy McCarthy posed a major threat down the grandstand side nearing the winning post after slipstreaming Apex’s cover on the far turn. “I thought Andy was going to pass me late in the stretch (with Endurance), but [Apex] really dug deep and wanted to fight him off,” said Dunn. Apex indeed proved up to the challenge, gamely parrying Endurance by a nose to record his ninth career win from 13 starts — and his third from just four tries this year — for the partnership of Jeffrey Snyder, SRF Stable and Steve Stewart. American Power split foes to save third out of a failing pocket; Captain Naughty and AI rounded out the top five finishers. “He’s got that winning attitude,” concluded Dunn. “I think he’ll probably be sharper next week, as well; he’d only had three starts this year, and this should tighten him up a bit.”
Hunterton Farm has welcomed two new members to its retirement community of accomplished equines. Market Share 5,1:502f ($3,792,101) and It’s My Show p,3, 1:46.4 ($1,541,620) recently arrived at the Paris, KY, farm. “It’s an honor to have horses like them on the farm,” said Steve Stewart, who owns and operates Hunterton with his wife, Cindy. “Market Share was babysitting yearlings at Southwind Farms,” Steve said, “and we’ll probably have him doing that here, and It’s My Show has recovered from a career-ending injury, so we’ll see how he is doing.” Market Share, a son of Revenue S, was born in Paris, KY, where he was raised by his breeder, Hayley Moore. In 2017, Market Share won the Hambletonian for owners Richard Gutnick, TLP Stable, and William Augustine, trainer Linda Toscano and driver Tim Tetrick. At age 4, he won the Breeders Crown, Maple Leaf Trot, and TVG final. When Southwind Farms decided to close its doors, Gutnick started looking for a new home for Market Share. “We wanted to place him at the Kentucky Horse Park,” said Gutnick. “Besides winning the Hambletonian, he was a blue- ribbon winner at the Standardbred Pleasure Horse Show and had been ridden regularly. But we couldn’t get him placed at the Horse Park because they wanted a different breed. Luckily, Steve Stewart said they would be happy to take him at Hunterton, and I’m very happy about that.” It’s My Show’s new home happens to be the place he was born. The 6-year-old gelding by Sweet Lou out of the great Put On A Show was foaled at Hunterton. He is settling in after a year-long recovery from a shattered pastern that required multiple screws to repair. Trained by Linda Toscano, It’s My Show had won the North America Cup, Little Brown Jug, and Canadian Pacing Derby before suffering his injury. “I was given the option to euthanize him,” said Richard Young, who co-owns the horse with Joanne Young. “The vets told me it was 50-50 if he survived. I’m in the business to race, but you have to be able to accept that bad things can happen. But I’m an animal lover, so I said `let’s try to save him.’ I’m very happy the surgery was a success. He was at Mid-Atlantic [Veterinary Clinic] in New Jersey for four months.” It’s My Show’s dam, Put On A Show, still resides at Hunterton and is owned by a partnership that includes Steve Stewart. Hunterton Farm will soon begin welcoming guests to inspect its 2026 yearlings and encourages visitors to ask to see Market Share and It’s My Show.
Wilkes-Barre, PA — Hunterton Bred, Born & Sold Unreasonable won the inaugural $75,000 Mohegan Cup for free-for-all pacing mares Sunday evening (July 26) at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, tying Somwherovrarainbow’s 12-year-old track record for 4-year-old pacing mares with a powerful front-end victory in 1:48. That clocking is also the Pocono standard for females of any age. The early rush for prime racing position necessitated Unreasonable to zoom up four-wide to take the lead, with the 1-2 favorite looping three inside rivals, including second choice (6-5) Louies Girl N. The latter pressed on three- then two-wide in hopes of getting a spot near the leader, but with 75-1 shot Front Page Story taking full advantage of track geometry from the rail and maintaining the pocket, Louies Girl N had to back off to third in the wicked :25.2 opener. Just before the :54.1 half, 40-1 Champagne Room (the tote board co-third choice) started an uncovered move that put pressure on Unreasonable, forcing her to reach the three quarters in 1:21. The former’s big raw brush ended on the far turn, and with Front Page Story gapping a bit in the pocket and Louies Girl N locked behind her, Unreasonable was able to maintain a clear advantage with the mildest of coaxing – and the third quarter of :27 or less she paced in the race. Louies Girl N was able to find belated clearance deep in the Pocono Pike to take second, 1-1/4-lengths behind the winner and a half-length ahead of longshot Front Page Story, who in turn preserved third in a photo with fellow longshot The Last Martini. A daughter of Huntsville , Unreasonable had certainly been showing top form coming to Pocono, with two photo losses to Twin B Joe Fresh preceded by a third to Miki And Minnie in the best stakes company North America has to offer. In the Mohegan Cup (named after the Connecticut-based Native American tribe who operates Pocono), Unreasonable showed she can step with the very best of her division as she boosted her bankroll to $237,369 this year and $939,003 lifetime for the powerful combine of trainer Andrew Harris and Punisher 11 Stable LLC. Matt Kakaley had three driving victories to take honors on the Sunday card. Åke Svanstedt guided two winners, both of whom he trained; Brad Chisholm drove two winners, both of whom are trained by Brett Pelling. Racing will be held on Monday (July 27) at Pocono at 1 p.m., with the feature a $21,000 trot for the veteran fast-class performers. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org .
Hunterton Born & Raised Deuce Pop (Andy McCarthy, 1:53.2; $3.30) rushed wide around the last turn to snatch command and hold to the finish for the victory in the Proud Series final for sophomore trotting males at The Red Mile. McCarthy landed toward the back of the pack to a :28.1 first quarter as Yo Billie (Verlin Yoder) climbed toward and then planted on the lead before a :56 half. Yo Billie cruised unfazed on the lead to three-quarters in 1:24.4 while Deuce Pop roared three-wide and rolled for the finish with steam. Deuce Pop ripped past Yo Billie and bore in through the stretch as Zillionaire Kemp (Tim Tetrick) stormed onto the scene from near last late, but McCarthy kept Deuce Pop to task to the finish for a half-length win. Gorilla Sighting (Atlee Bender) gave chase at the inside for third. Randy Jerrell trains and co-owns Deuce Pop, a colt by Tactical Landing -Atlantic Crest, with partners Atlantic Trot Inc. and Steve Stewart.
Anderson, IN — Hunterton Born and Sold Redice snatched the lead on the final turn to win the second division of INSS at Hoosier Park on Saturday (July 25). In the second division, Bender scored with the pocket-sitter Redice as the 5-2 second choice for trainer Erv Miller. Leaving from the rail, Ridice secured the pocket-trip behind a revved-up Satin Serenade (John De Long) who took control of the field of nine to the quarter in :27.3. The lead duo remained the same to the half in :57, before 6-5 favorite Dance Remix (Jordan Ross) tipped to the outside from fourth. Anticipating that move, Redice moved to the outside on the far turn, snatching the lead from Satin Serenade before three-quarters in 1:26.4. Redice was gone from there, powering clear by five lengths in a dominant in the stretch to win in 1:55. Dance Remix got up for second, with Finish Big (Robert Taylor) third. It was the second win in four outings this season for Redice. The daughter of Rebuff -Fuzzy Dice was bred by Kjell Andersen, Lucas Wallin, and Pieter Delis and has banked $68,750 for owners Ervin Miller Stable, Anthony Lombardi and Stepbystep racing.
East Rutherford, NJ – Hunterton Born & Sold Wendy J Stings was one of the 2-year-olds that walked down victory lane Friday night (July 24) at the Meadowlands when eight $25,000 second leg divisions of the Kindergarten Classic Series were contested for competitors of each sex and gait. In a split for filly pacers (race 2), Wendy J Stings picked up her first career win in three tries, but needed the judges to intervene to do it. The daughter of Perfect Sting -Paula’s Power, who was sent to the gate as the 5-2 second choice in the field of six, sat fourth to the half before mounting a superb rally first-over. The Chris Ryder trainee collared leader Perfect Body, the 2-5 favorite, at the sixteenth pole, but she bore out nearing the wire, bothering Wendy J Stings, who was elevated to first by the judges in the official order of finish. Perfect Body was placed second with Gift Of Faith third. The time for the mile was 1:52.2. “She is really good. She made a pretty good move up to the turn,” said winning driver Todd McCarthy. “There was a little contact just before the wire. We kind of got pushed aside. She’s got a really good attitude and did a really good job. I was very pleased with the performance.” Wendy J Stings paid $7.60 to win.
Columbus, OH – Just before the four $100,000 Grade 3 events at Eldorado Scioto Downs on Saturday, storms rolled through the area, but after nearly an hour long postponement, the races did not disappoint with some exciting finishes. It was a mad dash to the wire in the Nadia Lobell for 3-year-old pacing fillies with Topville Lucky and Andrew McCarthy getting up to win in 1:50.2. I’m A Lou Lou and Tim Tetrick went to the lead midway through the first turn and set the fractions of :27, :55.4 and 1:23. Topville Lucky got the second over tow behind Sangria Summer (Brett Miller) and by the third-quarter was sitting fourth. At the top of the stretch, McCarthy fanned Topville Lucky wide to get up for her first victory of the season by a quarter length. Sangria Summer was second with Shacarri (Chris Page) coming up the passing lane to be third. “I’ve watched this mare race a lot; she’s got a lot of high speed if the trip works out,” said McCarthy after the race. “I was just lucky enough to get a decent trip in there and, you know, she did her job in the stretch.” Topville Lucky went off at 6/1 and paid $14.00 By Sweet Lou out of the Somebeachsomewhere mare Warrawee Winx, Topville Lucky was a $27,000 Harrisburg purchase from Jeremy Yoder. Owned by Punisher 11 Stable, Topville Lucky now has seven wins in 10 lifetime starts and $422,000 in earnings.
