On one of the most beautiful evenings of The Red Mile meet to date, fans turned out to enjoy Sunday Night Lights (Aug. 3), sponsored by Crawford Farms. The 16-race card also included three $30,000 Kentucky Commonwealth Series first-round legs, five $15,000 Kentucky Golden Rod Series legs and three $10,000 Kentucky Wildcat Series legs. In the first Commonwealth Series division for 3-year-old trotting fillies Hunterton Born & Sold Kadena (A. McCarthy) put on a show from the nine-hole in the field of 10 for trainer Marcus Melander. The royally bred daughter of Gimpanzee -Mission Brief defeated Tactical Moni (Dexter Dunn) and Ms Prada (Gingras) in a new lifetime mark of 1:52.1. Rebounding from a fourth-place finish in her $50,000 Hambletonian Oaks elimination at The Meadowlands on July 26, the filly went straight to the lead and clicked off fractions of :27.3, :56.3 and 1:24.1. Tactical Moni gave chase throughout but could not head the winner while Ms Prada closed but ran out of real estate. Bred by Mission Brief Stable, Kadena is owned by Jeff Snyder and S R F Stables. Kadena’s career record now stands at 13-4-3-1 with $108,017 in earnings.

East Rutherford, NJ – Following odds-on triumphs in the Jerry Silverman Memorial and Tompkins-Geers Stakes, 1-9 favorite Hunterton Born Miki And Minnie made easy work of her six foes in the $95,650 Grade 3 Shady Daisy, for 3-year-old pacing fillies, on Saturday (Aug. 2) at the Meadowlands, equaling her 1:48.3 lifetime mark and scoring her third consecutive Big M stakes win in the act. Driver Dexter Dunn floated Miki And Minnie forward into midfield on the first turn as Beach Babe (driven by Yannick Gingras) split Thebeautifulthings (Kyle Husted) and Gigglingonthebeach (James MacDonald) to control a punishing :25.4 first quarter. Upon straightening up the backstretch, Dunn angled Miki And Minnie off the pegs, and the Always B Miki -That’s The Ticket filly steadily advanced to clear Beach Babe at the completion of a :54.1 half. Miki And Minnie faced her lone true test of the race midway around the far turn when Rodeo Drive Deo (David Miller) advanced first-over from fifth and took aim at her nearing three-quarters in 1:22.2, but the 2024 Dan Patch Award winner parried her outside challenger with a :26.1 sprint home to keep Rodeo Drive Deo 1-3/4 lengths at bay while measured to the winning post. Jordanna Hanover (Jason Bartlett) chased Rodeo Drive Deo’s cover to finish third, another 5-1/2 lengths behind. “She’s a little bit of a lazy filly, and she’s starting to learn to race on the front,” admitted Chris Ryder, who trains Miki And Minnie for the partnership of Craig Henderson, Robert Mondillo and Lawrence Minowitz, who also bred the filly. “She’s just a such a special horse; it’s great to have her.” The Shady Daisy marked Miki And Minnie’s 12th win from 18 career starts, and it lifted her lifetime earnings to $1,174,457. She paid $2.10 to win.

East Rutherford, NJ – Royally bred Hunterton Apex notched a hard-fought win as the second betting choice while Emmas Mystery CCL ripped to victory at long odds in their respective $225,000 New Jersey Sire Stakes finals, for trotting 2-year-olds, on Saturday (Aug. 2) at The Meadowlands. Apex seized the lead late and kept his head in front to the finish of a 1:53.2 mile to win the New Jersey Sire Stakes Final for 2-year-old trotting colts and geldings. Driver Dexter Dunn landed in fourth out of post 2, directly behind 3-5 favorite Diabolic Hill, and bided his time as Ardonne cleared the front in a :28 first quarter. Pocket-sitter Maga Hill soon tipped outside to challenge and then took over the lead before a :56.4 half, all while Dunn pressured Diabolic Hill to flush outside moving for the final turn. Diabolic Hill obliged out of third and lunged uncovered to blitz Maga Hill to three-quarters in 1:25 with Apex in tow on the turn for home. Dunn fanned off cover in the stretch and overhauled Diabolic Hill in mid-stretch but had more competition coming with Ardonne zipping off a ground-saving trip and after the leader late. Apex reached for the finish and staved off Ardonne by a head while Diabolic Hill settled for third and Kingmen took fourth. Apex, a colt by Walner out of the world champion trotting mare and 2015 Hambletonian runner-up Mission Brief, scored his second win from three starts and did so in a lifetime-best time. “We’ve spent about $2 million on Mission Brief’s offspring so far – and this is the third, fourth one we’ve got – and he definitely showed right away that he was the best one,” trainer Marcus Melander said. “He had such a bound in his gait and was training down great, but you never really know until you start racing them.” Jeff Snyder, S R F Stable and Steve Stewart share ownership on Apex, who has now banked $131,250 in his career. He paid $5.40 to win.

The Bob Stewart conditioned Hunterton Born & Sold Calgary Sun (A. McCarthy) won the third division of the Wildcat Series in 1:57.2 as the second longest shot in the field of seven. The daughter of Calgary Games-Sansuna Hanover was bred by Vet Performance Therapy Ab. Calgary Sun is owned by Myfab Inc. She paid $34.98 at the windows.

As the oppressive heat continues, so do the appearances of talented freshman filly pacers at the Red Mile, which hosted a 16-race card on Tuesday (July 29) with one $80,000 first-round division of the Kentucky Championship Series, two $30,000 first-round divisions of the Kentucky Commonwealth Series, three $15,000 divisions of the Kentucky Golden Rod Series and two $10,000 first-round divisions of the Kentucky Wildcat Series. Hunterton Born & Sold Naughty Beauty (Todd McCarthy) broke her maiden in her first attempt for trainer Andrew Harris in the first division of the Kentucky Golden Rod Series. The daughter of Bettor’s Delight-Beautyonthebeach was bred by James Avritt Sr. and is owned by Bill Pollock, Bruce Areman and her trainer. The filly paid $5.28 to win and tripped the timer in 1:51.2.

As the oppressive heat continues, so do the appearances of talented freshman filly pacers at the Red Mile, which hosted a 16-race card on Tuesday (July 29) with one $80,000 first-round division of the Kentucky Championship Series, two $30,000 first-round divisions of the Kentucky Commonwealth Series, three $15,000 divisions of the Kentucky Golden Rod Series and two $10,000 first-round divisions of the Kentucky Wildcat Series. Hunterton Sold Topville Lucky (Atlee Bender) came from off the pace to break her maiden in her first attempt, defeating heavily favored Bettor Be A Star (Ryder) and Tan Lines Hanover (Zeron) in 1:53 at odds of 18-1. The daughter of Sweet Lou -Warrawee Winx commenced her journey from post position seven in the field of eight as Easy Station (David Miller) established the first quarter-mile fraction of :29.1. Bettor Be A Star, sitting in second, could wait not longer and went to the top in a half of :58.4. On the lead is where the favorite continued through three-quarters in 1:26.1. Topville Lucky, however, would not be denied and placed herself in fourth position at the top of the stretch. The filly then tossed down a blistering :25.3 final quarter mile to leave Bettor Be A Star and the rest of the field in her wake. Bred by Jeremy Yoder, Topville Lucky is trained by Erv Miller, who also co-owns her with Douglas Overhiser, Dr. Michael Ternisky and Dr. Scott Leaf. The filly is the first foal out of her unraced dam and fetched $27,000 at the 2024 Standardbred Horse Sale. Topville Lucky’s dam is a half sibling to Warrawee Unique ( Sweet Lou , $287,849), Warrawee Xtreme ( Sweet Lou , $139,823) and Warrawee Yale ( Captaintreacherous , $138,069). The filly returned $38.22 at the windows and collected $15,000 in purse money from her career debut.

Although weather caused an adjustment to post times on Monday (July 28), Kentucky Sire Stakes action is only turning up the heat at The Red Mile. Endurance delivered as the favorite in their respective $80,000 first round leg of the Kentucky Championship Series for freshman male trotters. Hunterton Bred, Born and Sold Endurance (Andrew McCarthy) powered away from It Could Be Worse (Scott Zeron) in deep stretch to capture the second division of the Kentucky Championship Series in a lifetime best 1:52.3. Yo Billie (Verlin Yoder) rounded out the trifecta. Conditioned by Christopher Beaver, Endurance is a son of Captain Corey -Love Session. The colt began his mile journey from post position one and sat in third while Royal Captain (Tyler Jones) set the initial split of :28.1., followed that up with a half in :55.1 and three-quarters in 1:24.4. When they rounded the final turn for home, Endurance decided it was time for him to assert his authority and took the lead by a head. It Could Be Worse closed from fifth and Yo Billie from sixth but neither horse possessed enough momentum to hit the wire first. Bred by Steve Stewart and Martti Ala-Seppala, Endurance improved his record to 4-3-0-0 and has amassed $113,200 in purse money. He was purchased by his trainer, Bill Manes, Leo Fleming and Mark Moger for $14,000 at last year’s Lexington Selected Yearling Sale. Endurance paid $4.10 to those that placed him on their tickets.

Although weather caused an adjustment to post times on Monday (July 28), Kentucky Sire Stakes action is only turning up the heat at The Red Mile. Silverstein and Endurance delivered as the favorites in their respective $80,000 first round legs of the Kentucky Championship Series for freshman male trotters. The Lexington oval also hosted three $30,000 first round legs of the Kentucky Commonwealth Series for the same age, gait and gender, in addition to two first $15,000 legs of Kentucky Golden Rod Series and two $10,000 first round divisions of the Kentucky Wildcat Series. Hunterton Born & Sold Requiem (D. Miller) pulled a mild upset in the third division of this series defeating An Honest Buck (Tetrick) and favorite Stormy Seas (Dunn) in 1:55.1 for his first win in his third start. The colt, who was bred by John Schmucker, Sunset Stables LLC and Whiskeyontherocks Racing, was taken home for $45,000 by Dark Horse Farm LLC. He is conditioned by Mathew Burkholder. Requiem has now amassed $24,600 in purse money with a record of 3-1-0-2. He paid $17.70 to win as the fifth longest shot in the eight-horse field.

Lexington, KY – On yet another sweltering Sunday evening infringed upon by some intriguing pop-up storms, The Red Mile hosted a preview of future stars of tomorrow as freshman pacing colts demonstrated their talents over the historic mile oval. Hunterton Sold Show Me Your Ace (Dunn), Hurrikanelouexiii (Andrew McCarthy) and Papi Rick (A. McCarthy) captured their respective divisions of the Kentucky Commonwealth Series by a head, neck and nose, respectively. Trained by Chris Ryder, Show Me Your Ace was the public’s second selection in the field of seven at odds of nearly 3-1. The son of American Ideal-Trip Aces Hanover is owned by his trainer, Anne Demers, Lawrence Minowitz and Ake Svanstedt. Bred by In The Dark Racing LLC, Show Me Your Ace broke his maiden in his first trip to the gate and has now earned $15,000. The colt was a $150,000 purchase at last year’s Lexington Selected Yearling Sale. Show Me Your Ace provided $7.78 to those who selected him on their tickets and stopped the clock in 1:52.2.