by Ken Weingartner, USTA Media Relations Manager
East Rutherford, NJ — 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.
Apex (#3) prevailed over Big Ranger (#4) in an epic stretch duel that turned the 101st Hambletonian into an instant trotting classic. James Witherite/USTA photo.
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.
The connections of Apex celebrate in the winner’s enclosure following his stakes-record 1:49.2 win in the 101st Hambletonian. Lisa Photo.
“Thank God we got there,” Melander said. “It was tight. He has the will to win, and he put his nose first.
“I didn’t think he held on, but he’s a big fighter. He fights all the way to the finish line.”
Dunn also was uncertain about the outcome after crossing the finish line.
“I was probably 5% that I’d won and 95 that I got beat,” he said. “It’s amazing. The feelings that ran through me when I was told I won it; there’s no better feeling. I watched this race when I was a kid back in New Zealand, and to be here and win it, it’s incredible.
“He’s so strong, this horse, and I had full confidence in him. He was pretty racy today. It was two great horses coming up the straight there. That was one hell of a battle.”
Added Melander, “I was very confident in the horse. He had a good week and he warmed up good. I didn’t know how the race was going to play out, but he’s a very strong horse, and he’ll fight. He’s both strong and fast. But his strength is his big thing; his heart, his lungs and the will to win. He has everything a champion horse needs. He’s definitely a champion.”
Apex, the 2025 Dan Patch Award winner for best 2-year-old male trotter, has won 10 of 14 career races and earned $1.61 million for owners Jeff Snyder, S R F Stable and Steve Stewart. The son of Walner, out of Mission Brief (who was second in the 2015 Hambletonian), was bred by Mission Brief Stable, a group that also includes Stewart.
“We bred Mission Brief, so we’ve had the family,” Stewart said. “It’s been a great ride, for sure. But the best thing is, partners like these (Apex) guys and the ones we have with Mission Brief, that means the world to us.”
Snyder has won many of the sport’s premier races, but this was his first Hambletonian.
“It’s a very special moment,” Snyder said. “This is the apex of our career, our life, of the horses we’ve raced. It’s just amazing. He was super. All credit goes to Marcus Melander, Dexter Dunn and the entire Melander team.
“We thought Apex was the winner, by a long nose. We were watching it from the finish line, and I thought that he had it. But then when the photo didn’t come up, it was a long four-minute wait. We started to sweat it out a little bit. But then I saw Marcus putting the blanket on him, looking confident, so we felt like we had the race won.”
Sent off as the 5-2 second choice behind 3-5 favorite Big Ranger, Apex paid $7.80 to win.
Apex
Sweet Lou
Nezuko Kamado S
NEZUKO KAMADO S CONTROLS, WINS 56th HAMBLETONIAN OAKS
By Ray Cotolo, for The Meadowlands
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – A slick move through slow early fractions by driver Yannick Gingras to loop 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.