Harness: Indiana, Ontario offer championship finals this weekend

This weekend highlights two major state and provincial stakes programs as Harrah's Hoosier Park hosts its Indiana championships on Friday night and Woodbine Mohawk Park offers its Gold Super Finals on Saturday evening. The top 2- and 3-year-olds of each sex and gait are set for action in eight championship finals for Indiana- and Ontario-sired horses.

In Indiana, trainer Jamie Macomber could not be happier with Dover In Motion heading into Friday's $250,000 finale for 2-year-old colt and gelding trotters. The son of first-crop stallion Dover Dan has captured seven of his eight races this year, losing just once in the Mohawk Million on September 25.

"I'm not sure what happened that night," said Macomber of the lone defeat. "It was the first time he had ever travelled out of state. Maybe it was that."

Macomber has put that race aside and appeared more optimistic after Dover In Motion returned to Indiana for the final leg of the Sire Stakes program on October 6.

"He bounced back and was more like himself," said Macomber of the 1:54 2/5 open-lengths victory.

Two years ago Macomber trained Dover In Motion's half-brother Swan In Motion to a second-place finish in this same contest and hopes for a better outcome on Friday.

"There's no similarity between the two," Macomber said. "When I first got Swan In Motion to train I fell in love with him. He was just a beautiful horse to train. When I got Dover In Motion this year he was nothing like his half-brother."

Over time Dover In Motion got the hang of it and has only gotten better, but Macomber is not taking anything for granted heading into the rich event on Friday night.

"I expect Ponda Adventure [post five] to leave out of there for Trace [Tetrick]," Macomber said. "I would rather we had drawn posts four or five, but I'm happy with the pole."

Dover In Motion will have Ricky Macomber Jr. in the bike and goes in race nine in one of eight $250,000 championships.

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North of the border on Saturday night, driver James MacDonald hopes to continue his incredible season with a handful of potential champions in separate C$225,000 divisions of the Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Super Finals at Woodbine Mohawk Park. MacDonald could get the ball rolling early with Prohibition Legal, a juvenile filly by Big Jim that has been nearly flawless in her first season on the track, winning seven times in just eight starts.

"She's been amazing all year," said MacDonald. "I'm feeling pretty confident."

Prohibition Legal landed post seven in the C$225,000 final, but that's unlikely to be an obstacle considering likely second choice Silver Label (post three) hails from the same stable.

Prohibition Legal comes in to the final following a personal-best 1:50 4/5 effort in a Gold Series victory at Woodbine Mohawk Park on October 2 that followed a solid second in the She's A Great Lady final.

"There was no shame losing to Niki Hill," said MacDonald of the She's A Great Lady. "The other filly got the better trip that night."

MacDonald has another powerhouse filly in Adare Castle (post eight), a likely public choice in the C$225,000 final for juvenile trotting fillies.

"She's a real professional," said MacDonald of the daughter of Muscle Mass that has won six of her eight races and finished a solid second behind Venerable in the Peaceful Way final. With C$373,537 banked this year, Adare Castle is the richest horse in the field. Her 1:54 2/5 record, taken in the final Gold edition on October 4 at Woodbine Mohawk Park also makes her the fastest of the 10 in the race.

MacDonald hopped aboard Logan Park for the final Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Series event for 3-year-old colt and gelding trotters and provided an 8-1 surprise, guiding the Archangel-sired gelding to a 1:53 2/5 score over odds-on favorite Fashion Frenzie. The two once again lock horns in the C$225,000 final with Logan Park landing post nine and Fashion Frenzie post eight.

"He was really sharp," said MacDonald of the victory. "I think adding Lasix was a big help."

Logan Park has won five of his 12 starts this year with earnings near C$300K on the season.

While 2-year-old gelding Betterhavemymoney drew better (post three) than the other MacDonald finalists, the driver was a bit more cautious about his chances.

"He was so good early in the season, but I think we roughed him up a little," said MacDonald. "He was better in his last trip."

Betterhavemymoney finished third at Flamboro (Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Series) behind Erinwood Yves (post two), a horse he defeated earlier this year in the Battle Of Waterloo at Grand River.

Twin B Archie enters the C$225,000 final for 2-year-old colt and gelding trotters at the top of his game.

"He was so good setting a track record at Flamboro," said MacDonald, pointing to the 1:57 1/5 open-lengths victory in the Gold division on October 3.

"It's going to be tough going against John's [Bax] horse [Duly Resolved] who finished second in the [Mohawk] Million," said MacDonald, who has been known to pull off major upsets during his brilliant driving career.

The 15-race Hoosier stakes card kicks off at 6:30 P.M. on Friday while Woodbine Mohawk Park has a 7:00 P.M. start time to its 12-race Saturday program.