Saturday is a big day and night for Standardbred racing in North America. The afternoon hours feature 2-year-old Pennsylvania Sire Stakes finals at Pocono Downs, while after sunset the best older trotters and pacers will convene at Woodbine Mohawk Park for the Maple Leaf Trot and Canadian Pacing Derby. At Pocono the marquee matchup pits two once-beaten colt trotters – T C I (trained by Ron Burke) and Security Protected (trained by Marcus Melander) – in one of four $252,000 Sire Stakes championships, race 11 on a card that kicks off at 1 P.M. (EDT). Some five hours later the two trainers will matchup again when It's Academic (Burke) squares off with Venerate (Melander) in the C$530,000 Maple Leaf Trot, race eight on a stakes-filled 12-race card that commences at 7:10 P.M. There is no doubt that T C I will be the favorite in his matchup against Security Protected. The son of Cantab Hall has won six straight starts since finishing second in his career debut and picked up a victory in the $458,800 William Wellwood Memorial just last weekend at Mohawk Park. Perhaps the only concern for T C I has been a demanding schedule which will see the 2-year-old making his fifth start in the last 29 days. "A little bit," said Burke when asked if he was worried about the colt's heavy workload. "As long as he trains alright I'll be ok with it. He's a big colt and he's never really been pushed until last week [Wellwood final]. He put himself in a spot where he had to do all the work. That is what we'll work on this week. I don't know where that came from last week where he wanted to be 'bully' and not take an easier trip. But if he shows me any signs of being tired I just won't race him." Security Protected also finished second in his first pari-mutuel start and followed that up with a three-race winning streak of his own, all against Pennsylvania Sire Stakes company. The colt by Father Patrick faces the stiffest test of his career on Saturday versus T C I. "I really like my horse. He's done nothing wrong this year," said Melander. "Burke's horse is great, of course, but I think my horse is absolutely as good as his horse." Security Protected starts from post three with Tim Tetrick back in the bike, while T C I goes from the five-hole with regular pilot David Miller. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter Burke has a presence in three of the four Sire Stakes finals on the Pocono card, with his largest contingent going out in the 2-year-old filly pace where he has five of the eight fillies scheduled to line up behind the gate. Despite the numbers, his chances of victory seem to be grim on paper as he faces two undefeated young ladies in Geocentric (five-for-five) and Lyons Legend (six-for-six), but Burke remains confident in at least one of his students. "I'll take my filly My Girl EJ versus anybody," said Burke. "We haven't pushed her full-blast yet. By the end of the year, I may be wrong, but I'll likely be proven right, my filly is as good as those two." My Girl EJ, a two-time winner in five career starts, has to overcome the eight-hole with driver Chris Page in the bike, a position that worries her trainer a bit. "If I had the inside I would say she could [win] for sure, but the outside is tough. She is the best 2-year-old I have by far," Burke remarked. As good as Burke's chances are of winning a stake at Pocono, the odds go up dramatically when he heads north of the border to Woodbine Mohawk Park on Saturday night. Not only will he send out the favorite in the Maple Leaf Trot (race eight) but also in the C$615,000 Canadian Pacing Derby (race 10). It's Academic will face seven foes in the Maple Leaf Trot, including the aforementioned Melander trainee Venerate. Those two have met up three times already this year not including a qualifier on August 24 at the Meadowlands where the pair tuned up for the C$530,000 race since no eliminations were necessary. Venerate went wire-to-wire in 1:51 1/5 to win by 1 1/2 lengths over It's Academic. "He couldn't be better," said Burke on It's Academic's conditioning. "I asked David [Miller] if he was good in the qualifier and he said 'I never even asked him. We were going to go in [1:]53 and [Venerate] was going to go way more, so I just sat with him and let him finish with trot.'" Melander was equally satisfied with the performance from Venerate, who had missed a few weeks since finishing second behind It's Academic in the August 5 Cashman Memorial at the Meadowlands. "Before the other races it was like six weeks between his races and now it has only been like four weeks," said Melander about the gaps in Venerate's schedule. "I think he'll be right. He got a fast last quarter in the qualifier." It's Academic holds a two-to-one lead in the head-to-head standings with Venerate in 2023 as they take their battle to a new location after three New Jersey meetings. "It is pretty fun," said Melander about the matchups. "It's Academic is a great horse and they are going to fight all year. Now Alrajah One is coming in to this race as well. We'll see how he does. They are great horses and it all comes down to trip and who is best that day." Alrajah One starts from post two with Dexter Dunn driving, It's Academic leaves from the six-hole with David Miller and Venerate has the services of Brian Sears from post seven. Should Burke's It's Academic fail to produce as the likely favorite in the Maple Leaf Trot, the trainer will get another chance to visit the winner's circle two races later with potential odds-on favorite Bythemissal in the Canadian Pacing Derby. A 4-year-old, Bythemissal has been unstoppable in August, winning all three of his starts with impressive brilliance. "Every start he just gets better and better," said Burke. "I've said it all along, he's the best horse I've had since Sweet Lou." Bythemissal starts from post six with Yannick Gingras listed to drive. His main foes figure to be Tattoo Artist (post four) and Allywag Hanover (post five). The Mohawk Park program also features Simcoe stakes for 3-year-old trotters and Ontario Sire Stakes Gold divisions for 2-year-old pacers.