The wait is officially over! Some of the best 2-year-olds from 2023 have been qualifying and we'll get to see our first true look at how they've developed and matured over the winter. Will they thrive as sophomores or has the rest of the pack caught up in terms of speed and stamina? Five tracks will offer events this weekend for 3-year-olds of both gaits and while we'll get into them shortly, we can't start a conversation about second-year Standardbreds without first mentioning the winter book Hambletonian favorite Karl, who recorded his first charted line of the year on April 27 at the Meadowlands and was nothing short of spectacular. Trained by Nancy Takter and driven by Yannick Gingras, Karl trotted to an easy half in 58 seconds before sprinting 27 3/5 and 26 3/5 quarters to close out a 1:52 1/5 mile. To put the time into perspective, Breeders Crown 2-year-old Colt Pace champion Gem Quality won his qualifier in the exact clocking (btw, he was extremely impressive as well with a 25 1/5 final quarter – more on that later). To further show how fast the mile truly was, no trotter on the card went better than 1:54 2/5. If we are seeing 1:52 1/5 from Karl in April, you have to wonder where the bottom may be for the son of Tactical Landing. "Honestly, I have no idea," said Takter with a chuckle when asked about how fast Karl may be able to trot. "I trained him in [1:]55 1/5 the week before with a back half in 55 and a piece. That was the fastest I've trained him before in a race bike. He just glides over the track. It is amazing how quickly and effortlessly he switches gears. You don't even notice it. You can be going a quarter in 30 seconds and the next thing you know he's going in 27 and a piece without feeling any difference. "We were looking to go high [1:]53 or [1:]54, but Yannick never even asked him to go down the stretch. There was a little tailwind. I had five horses on the day that came home better than 26 [seconds]. Obviously the track was setting up for fast last quarters." For the record, seven trotters have gone sub-1:50 miles as 3-year-olds, with Six Pack (2018, Red Mile) holding the North American record at 1:49 1/5, and Jujubee (2021, Meadowlands 1:49 4/5 & Red Mile 1:49 3/5) and Plunge Blue Chip (2018, Meadowlands 1:49 4/5 & Red Mile 1:49 4/5) the only horses to accomplish the feat twice in the same year. When pressed further about the possibility of Karl trotting in 1:49, Takter was reluctant to predict it but left open the possibility. "I don't want to jinx him but I think he has the ability to do it. I don't want to necessarily do it, at least not now. Maybe on a nice day in Lexington if things set up right for him. If he could win every race in 2:00 this year nobody would be happier than me," concluded Takter. Karl is expected to make his 2024 debut in a division of the New Jersey Sire Stakes on May 11 at the Meadowlands. That series offer a second leg on May 18 and a final on May 31. After that, Karl will be forced to take a little break. "He has no races in the month of June and he's not in a position where it is easy to find an overnight race for him," said Takter, who said she would likely put him in a qualifier in late June or early July. "After that he has the Stanley Dancer or the Zweig, then it is Hambo time. "Horses get sick, things happen, so I don't want to get too far ahead of myself." For those of us brave enough to look ahead and dream of a future where Karl becomes a star, then the thoughts switch to 2025 and beyond. While it is premature to even consider it, Takter admitted that she has discussed racing Karl as an older horse. "Obviously he has to get through this year, but the idea of racing him as a 4-year-old has been talked about within the ownership group, so we'll try to manage him well enough this year," said Takter. "Obviously it will come down to money because I know there is a lot of interest in him as a stallion. "Maybe you make a little less racing him but at the same time...I own a piece of him and I'm the youngest one in the ownership group and definitely the one that needs the money the most, but you're a fan of the sport too and you want to do what's right. Black Horse Racing raced Manchego as an older horse, the Benders would like to see the horse race in the future, and even the Crawfords, they raced Atlanta and have raced aged horses in the past too. For them, they would probably benefit the most from having him stand stud because they have a breeding farm, but at the same time they are big fans of the sport and obviously fans of racing." While Karl's debut is still about a week away, there are plenty of 3-year-olds preparing to make their 2024 pari-mutuel debuts this weekend and our journey starts in New Jersey where the Meadowlands hosts three divisions of the New Jersey Sire Stakes for pacers and Freehold offers the Dexter Cup and Lady Suffolk for trotters of both sexes on Saturday. The Meadowlands hosts a trio of $30,000 NJ Sire Stakes that are headlined by the first start this year from $510,120 earner Better Is Nice. The colt by Bettor's Wish, trained by Tony Alagna and driven by Andrew McCarthy, goes in race seven. The eight-horse $134,900 Dexter Cup (race 10 at Freehold) pits the undefeated-in-2024 Blackhawk Zette, a winner of the Weiss final on Monday at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, versus an inexperienced yet hopeful field that includes the full brother to three-time Breeders Crown champion Gimpanzee in Thinker Monkey. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter The Lady Suffolk split into two divisions, with recent first-out Meadowlands winner Chapalonia perhaps the one to beat in the sixth race and Blazing Deo one to watch in the eighth. We now head west to The Meadows to check out the three $51,257 divisions of Pennsylvania Sire Stakes for 3-year-old colt and gelding pacers that take place Saturday with first-race post set at 11:30 A.M. (EDT). Things kick off in the fourth race with the undefeated-in-2024 Timeisonmyside for The Stable putting his streak on the line versus a good field that includes Governor's Cup runner-up Its Saturday Night. Two races later we get to see the 2024 debuts of a pair of sub-1:51 winners last year in Arson and Booming Economy. The final division is scheduled as the eighth race. More and more Ohio-breds are bursting on the Grand Circuit scene, and we'll get our first look at 43 hopefuls in five Ohio Sires Stakes splits at Miami Valley in the afternoon on Saturday. Some of the interesting contestants include Jurassic Hattie, a recent winner of the Hackett Trot over the track who has never been worse than second in nine career starts, in the opener. Winning a pacing split of the Hackett was Seaside Diva, and she'll put her perfect record in two starts on the line in the $100,000 filly pace carded as the second race. The colt pacers go in races three and eight worth $65,000 each, with Janelle Granny looking to rebound in the former while his conqueror in the Hackett – Rose Run Zane – seeks to run his winning streak to five in the eighth race. Perhaps the featured horse goes in the $100,000 ninth race for colt trotters when Spaaaanzano makes his 2024 debut. The Chris Beaver trainee won his first five starts last year before a second in the Ohio Sires Stakes championship and a fifth versus Grand Circuit foes in the Peter Haughton. Our final stop is Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania as the track starts off its PA All-Stars series with 3-year-old filly pacers on Sunday evening. Three events are scheduled, with races seven and 10 offering the best returning prospects. Takter is represented with Kentucky Commonwealth final winner Flawless in race seven, who has been just that in two qualifying wins with Lasix added to the equation. "She's like a new horse this year. She was just so angry and difficult to deal with last year," said Takter. "When she came back from turnout she was just way easier to get along with and wanted to do her work. I always thought she had enough speed but she wasn't giving us all her effort." Race 10 and post seven is the starting point for Liberty Bell and Kindergarten leg winner Pressure Cooker. The Linda Toscano trainee showed plenty of promise as a 1:51 4/5 winner last year and can't be faulted for finishing second behind the promising Caviart Belle in her latest qualifier. Five tracks and three states worth of racing for 3-year-olds, and we are literally just raising the curtain on the 2024 stakes season for that age group. There are still seven more months of Sire Stakes and Grand Circuit events ahead. If you're like me, the excitement is hard to contain. News and Notes It was an inauspicious start to the year for top 3-year-old pacing prospect Captains Quarters as he locked wheels with the leader as he was making a move on the outside and finished well back (timed in 2:02 2/5) in his first qualifier of the year at Woodbine Mohawk Park. The 2023 Metro Pace winner has hopefully gotten all the bad luck he'll experience this year out of the way. While all the praise above is for Karl, it is certainly worth noting that his top rival T C I is scheduled to qualify Friday morning at the Meadowlands in the second race. The millionaire catches a much less accomplished field but certainly a group that showed at least some ability in 2023. One race later New Jersey champion and Breeders Crown third-place finisher Buy A Round races in her first qualifier of the year, and Breeders Crown 2-year-old filly pace winner My Girl EJ starts in the fifth race on the 9:00 A.M. card. Speaking of 3-year-old filly pacers, Dan Patch winner Geocentric qualified on Wednesday morning at Hoosier Park. She sat the pocket through fractions of 30, 59 2/5 and 1:28 2/5 before being angled out in mid-stretch and sprinting home for an easy win in 1:54 4/5. According to co-owner Milt Leeman on X, if all goes well she will race on May 17 in a PA Sire Stakes at The Meadows. Getting back to the Friday Meadowlands qualifiers, two of the best 2-year-old pacing colts from last year are expected to meet in the 13th race when Dan Patch winner Captain Albano and Breeders Crown champion Gem Quality go behind the gate. While they aren't 3-year-olds, the Ake Svanstedt barn has top older trotters Jiggy Jog S and Southwind Tyrion entered in race nine. As you consider the 3-year-olds who qualified at the Meadowlands on April 27, it is worth noting that something changed with the track that morning and into the evening card. A total of 26 horses between the two cards paced their final quarters in under 26 seconds. Yes, there was a little bit of wind, but there was definitely more of a hint of what we saw the year that Bulldog Hanover seemed to be setting records every weekend. Who knows if that will continue, but it is something to keep an eye on. With the fast final quarters at the Meadowlands came an extreme speed bias. Ten of the 14 winners won "wire-to-wire" and another three won from the pocket on the April 27 evening card. While 2023 didn't go so well for Greenshoe as a stallion, his first crop of 3-year-olds have displayed much better early returns. He already has 13 winners on the year with the fastest being Green Mercedes, a 1:54 2/5 winner at Harrah's Philadelphia on April 18. It will be interesting to see if a few of his offspring follow in his footsteps and turn out to be much better and faster in their sophomore campaigns. Time will tell!