By Mike Farrell, for the Meadowlands
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Rick Zeron,
an admitted crier, had reason to well up Saturday after the 93rd
Hambletonian.
Not only had the veteran horseman won the
trotting classic in his first try. His son Scott was in the sulky to make it a
family affair, and the high point of a 43-year-old career.
And he got the job done with a filly, the
very determined Atlanta.
“This is a dream come true,” said Rick
Zeron. “That’s my specialty, trotters. I live and breathe to train a trotter,
especially a filly. It’s more satisfying for me to train a filly to get where I
am today, to win what I did today, than with a colt. It’s a bigger challenge.”
Atlanta won the $1 million Hambletonian on
Saturday, becoming the 14th filly to capture the famed trotting
race for 3-year-olds.
It was an emotional victory for the
father-son team from Oakville, Ontario.
The filly won the Hambletonian the hard
way, setting the pace and holding on gamely in the lane.
Scott Zeron employed those tactics earlier
in the day in the first of two eliminations, and got Atlanta beat after setting
a wicked pace.
Remarkably, Atlanta regrouped quickly
after the punishing mile.
“I spoke to my assistant trainer Ernie
Henry who has looked after since she was 18 months old,” said Rick Zeron. “He
said it took her about 7 to 10 minutes longer than usual to get her wind back.
After that, she was absolutely perfect. He said we were good to go.”
That was an understatement.
In the final, Atlanta was again on the
lead. This time, Zeron did a better job of rationing her speed.
Atlanta responded by kicking away from
challenger Tactical Landing at the top of the stretch to open a 3-length
advantage.
She trotted strongly to wire, winning by 1
length over 29-1 shot Met’s Hall.
“I’ve said it to a few people close to
me,” said Scott Zeron. “She’s the best horse I ever drove. Everything is so
fluid and effortless. The mile (in the elimination) just got away from me. I
was mad at myself. That’s not how I wanted to head into the final. If she was a
champion, she would bounce back and she did.”
The time was 1:50 4/5 for the
mile.
It was the second Hambletonian victory for
Scott Zeron. He was at the lines when Marion Marauder won in 2016.
Atlanta, the 2-1 second choice, paid
$6.40, $4.20 and $3.60.
Mets Hall returned $19.40 and $7.60.
Tactical Landing paid $3.40 to show.
Crystal Fashion was fourth as the 9-5
favorite followed by Evaluate, Alarm Detector, Classichap, Patent Leather, Hat
Trick Habit and Fashionwoodchopper.
The win was worth $500,000 for the
ownership team of Rick Zeron, Crawford Farms, Holland Racing, Howard Taylor and
Bradley Grant.
The Hambletonian kicks off the Triple Crown
for trotters. The series continues with the Yonkers Trot on Sept. 1and
Kentucky Futurity on Oct. 7.
There were two $100,000 elimination heats
earlier on the card with the first five finishers in each advancing to the
Hambletonian final.
Crystal Fashion nipped Atlanta in first
elimination, trotting the mile in 1:50 1/5 and paying $10 to win.
Wolfgang, the 6-5 favorite, was sixth and
missed the cut.
Tactical Landing took the second
elimination in 1:52 1/5 in a 6-1 upset, beating 74-1 shot Patent
Leather by 1¼ lengths.
Six Pack, the 2-5 choice, finished fifth
but was disqualified for stretch interference and placed sixth.
BIG CROWD AT BIG M: A total of 18,252 came out for the
on-track Hambletonian experience, despite bad weather early in the day.
“I’d like to thank our fans, owners,
drivers, trainers, grooms and employees for supporting what is not only our
biggest day here at the Meadowlands, but harness racing’s biggest day,” said
Jason Settlemoir, the track’s chief operating officer and general manager.
HAMBO HIGHLIGHTS: Tim Tetrick swept the late double and
finished the day with four driving victories. Scott Zeron and Yannick Gingras
won three apiece. … Trainer Jimmy Takter had five winners on the day. … The
first 14 races on the card saw only one winning favorite, before Tetrick
finished the day with the all-chalk double at odds of 3-5 and 7-5. … On-track
handle was just short of $1.1 million, with all-source wagering totaling
$5,669,720, smashing the previous 2018 industry-best (established on Meadowlands
Pace Night) by $1,586,330. … Harness racing returns to the Big M on Oct. 12.
