Much of this sport’s history has been forgotten. Much of the traditions of the past have disappeared as the landscape for harness racing in North America veered away from past institutions towards areas where tracks popped up with greater purses. Thankfully there are members of this industry that felt it necessary to preserve The Red Mile, which is an institution rich in history from a breeding and a racing perspective unmatched anywhere in our sport today. While Sire Stakes have grown in many regions over the years, the sport has genuinely been robbed of its Grand Circuit traditions. Horses routinely race within their borders hoping to garner enough points to race in lucrative finals. It’s not a complaint that owners want to maximize their investments, it’s a reality that we’ve all become comfortable with accepting. Thankfully The Red Mile comes along at a time in the season where there is enough space for owners to bring the best from all proximities to one location with the hope of getting a clearer picture as to where they stand against the best. Two weeks is just enough time to test the talent and determine if what appeared to be the real thing locally could suddenly become a national headliner. Perhaps there is no group of horses that needs the Red Mile to achieve its goals than freshman trotters. Many have been pitted against competition on smaller tracks and thus will find a welcome diversion in the extremely forgiving surface at The Red Mile. For years this division has blossomed during the first weeks of the autumn season going further back than the days before Workaholic became the first Breeders Crown champion in the fall of 1984. On Thursday The Red Mile gives the sport its first chance to see who the stars of tomorrow will be as a divergent group meets in one of five Bluegrass divisions for juvenile trotting colts. The gathering of Pennsylvania’s finest and New York’s best, along with a sprinkling of New Jersey’s sons, makes this more than attractive to those who appreciate the finer things. Earlier this year trainer Jim Campbell had confessed after sending out a pair of Sire Stakes winners in this division that his best colt was likely the horse that had been defeated on that day. Fashionwoodchopper was the horse he was speaking about and the son of Donato Hanover actually lost his first three races. But Campbell was prophetic as the colt owned by new-Hall of Famer Jules Siegel, would capture the last leg of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes earning a spot in the final and then surprise everyone with a 38-1 victory from post eight in the $252K final on September 2 at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. Bad draws will follow Fashionwoodchopper with him to Kentucky at least in the first week of action as he’ll start again on the outside from post eight this Thursday. Trainer Marcus Melander has made a name for himself this year in North America sending out a solid pair of colts in the sophomore ranks. Melander confirmed on Monday that Long Tom would be in Lexington for two weeks of action culminating in the Kentucky Futurity. He also has qualified Enterprise for action. “We’re going to supplement Enterprise for the Futurity. I had to qualify him because he wasn’t eligible for the first week here,” said Melander, who drove the colt to a 1:52 4/5 winning mile on Tuesday morning over the red clay surface. While his sophomores have been making some noise, Melander’s best horse from his stable may in fact be the formerly unbeaten Fourth Dimension. The Chapter Seven-sired colt made a break in his last start after four consecutive New York Sire Stakes victories. Melander confirmed that all systems were go following the colt’s first loss and first break in stride within a race. “He’s fine,” Melander said. “I really don’t know what happened to him at Yonkers but he got a little too excited after he made the first break.” Over varied-sized tracks in New York, Fourth Dimension has looked as imposing as any freshman we’ve seen this year. That said, it’s hard to quantify the quality of any competition within states lines and therefore The Red Mile will likely give him a first acid test. “He’s feeling good and I wouldn’t have brought him down here if he wasn’t,” said Melander, who also suggested that Fourth Dimension potentially might not return for the October 14 New York Sire Stakes final at Yonkers. Trainer Julie Miller and husband Andy have been heavily involved in the trotting game for years and they would have a sleeper in this division in the Cantab Hall colt named Met’s Hall. The Pennsylvania-bred went for the big money early in the Peter Haughton at The Meadowlands and that made it impossible for him to qualify for the lucrative Sire Stakes final. With four wins in six starts, he easily captured the Sire Stakes consolation then prepped nicely at The Meadowlands on September 15 with 1:54 2/5 career best clocking. These three colts vie for $73,000 in fifth race on Thursday and will be joined by five others including American Moni, a colt by Muscle Hill from the great Moni Maker, who has a home field advantage having raced in the Kentucky Sire Stakes over the last month at The Red Mile. What American Moni doesn’t have is a win in four lifetime starts. JAYWALKING: Trainer Jim Mulinix confirmed on Monday that Lost In Time, his A Rocknroll Dance colt that captured The Metro this past Saturday, would skip the first week of Grand Circuit racing at The Red Mile and prepare for the second week. “He had a splint bothering him before The Metro and I want to make sure he recovers before sending him to Kentucky,” Mulinix said. The trainer and co-owner of Lost In Time also said that discussions are underway to sell at least part of the colt. “It’s a bit of an insurance policy,” said Mulinix, who also owns a 20 percent interest in Lost In Time’s sire A Rocknroll Dance.