While catching the machine that is the Ron Burke stable as that trainer marches towards the incredible number of $30 million in seasonal earnings, trainer Marcus Melander’s stable hopes to put the finishing touches this weekend on what could be a very impressive $10 million dollar year to rank second in the nation. The 33-year-old has horses favored in the Matron Stakes action at Dover Downs on Thursday and a host of contenders in Saturday’s stakes extravaganza at The Meadowlands. With multiple entries in those races and good fortune, the magic number is clearly in range. “Even at $9 million it’s been a great year,” said Melander, acknowledging the accomplishment which by far is the best season of his career. “We’ve got chances to add to it this weekend.” The stable has had top horses in pretty much every trotting division while broadening its reach with extensions in Ohio and Indiana. That has helped him inch closer to the magic $10 million mark which only three trainers in the history of the sport - Ron Burke, Mickey Burke and Jimmy Takter - have accomplished. “I’m especially proud of the earnings per start number this year,” said Melander. With 608 starters as of Wednesday (November 12), the average was $15,343, a number that was up from his 2024 figures. Key to any statistic though is the number of horses sent to post and this year Melander’s stable has sent out over 33 percent more starters than in 2024 while maintaining the standards of excellence they have for some time. Melander will send out a solid one-two punch in Thursday’s Matron, with Breeders Crown top finishers Meshuggah and Super Chapter starting from posts one and two respectively in the $163K sophomore colt and gelding trot. It will be the final start of the year for the pair, with both perhaps going their separate ways in 2026. “I’m thankful that Anders (Ström-Courant Stable) wants him to race in the States next year. He’s eligible to plenty of stakes in Sweden,” said Melander of Meshuggah. The victory in the Breeders Crown as a major longshot surprised those wagering and others in the sport but not Melander. “He’s been getting better and his gait has cleaned up,” Melander said of the son of Greenshoe. Melander is now uncertain about the exact future of both Super Chapter and Maryland for next year but suggested that picture would likely clear up in the next 30 days. “They are going to be tested and we’ll see,” said Melander, recognizing the obvious stud value each has with the sport anxious to generate more extensions of the Chapter Seven line. For his part Melander has been a walking billboard for Chapter Seven pretty much every year he has sent out horses on the racetrack. With Super Chapter, Maryland and this year’s 2-year-old Breeders Crown champion Spencer Hanover the long list of champions continues to grow. “He’s the best sire out there,” said Melander of Chapter Seven. “His horses seem to fit our program.” With yearling sales now complete, expect to see a few more sons and daughters of Chapter Seven emerge in 2026. “We’ve got four fillies and four colts,” said Melander when asked about the next chapter of his association with the sport’s top trotting stallion. Spencer Hanover will be making his 13th start in Saturday’s G1 $421,000 Valley Victory at The Meadowlands but his trainer feels that the $450,000 Lexington Selected yearling from 2024 is every bit as good if not better than he’s been earlier this season. “He came out of the Breeders Crown feeling great, otherwise we wouldn’t have brought him back for this,” said Melander. Asked about the number of starts: “He made breaks in some of those races so it’s really the equivalent of eight or nine starts.” Spencer Hanover added hobbles prior to the Big Apple Trot on October 4 at Vernon Downs and since has completely turned around a winless season with three consecutive scores in the Big Apple final and then a sweep of the Breeders Crown elimination and final at Woodbine Mohawk Park. “I’m not happy with post nine,” said Melander prior to his horse moving into the eight hole due to a scratch. “But I think he’ll be able to find a spot leaving and race well.” Jason Bartlett has done a masterful job of his own behind Spencer Hanover putting him in positions to win, but the task will be a little more challenging this Saturday given the post position edge Diabolic Hill (post 6) has on him. Also a Crown elimination winner, Diabolic Hill tracked Spencer Hanover’s cover in the $700,000 Breeders Crown final on October 24 and finished a solid second. Melander will send out two others in the Valley Victory, with Nix Nacken (post 1) and American Power (post 4) also looking to get a decent chunk of the large purse and add to the stable coffers. “He’s a solid horse,” said Melander of Nix Nacken, a Grand Circuit winner at The Red Mile that has been first or second in half of his 10 starts this season. The well-bred American Power has shown promise this year while racing at a much lower level in the tiered Kentucky stakes races. “He’s coming along well but he’s going to need a trip,” said Melander of the Walner-sired colt from the champion race mare Ariana G. An outside draw in the G1 $462,000 Goldsmith Maid hardly dims the chances for Nezuko Kamado S, a filly by Chapter Seven that entered the Breeders Crown on a major roll but had her winning streak snapped with a third-place finish. “I thought she raced great in the Breeders Crown,” said Melander. “Scottie (Zeron) followed Dexter (Dunn) up to the lead and she just got too aggressive at that point. I know it wasn’t Scott’s idea to go that fast.” Nezuko Kamado S suffered in the late stages following a huge middle-half clocking and lost the Crown to Storybook Love, a filly she had defeated weeks earlier in the Big Apple Trot for juvenile fillies. Melander didn’t appear concerned that his filly needed any major equipment changes following the Crown. “She raced from off the pace in the eliminations and won so we’ll see,” said Melander. The Goldsmith Maid, race six at The Meadowlands on Saturday, may see Melander’s filly favored, with Jim Doherty Memorial winner Atlantic Summer (post 5) and the improving Busy Miss Lissy S (post 8) serious contenders. Melander will have two chances to pick up sizeable checks in the G1 $350,000 FanDuel Championship (race 10) for Open trotters, with Periculum (post 4) and Aetos Kronos S (post 7) well-spotted against eight others in one of the most competitive races of the year. “I was happy with the way they qualified,” said Melander of the pair that both trotted in 1:52 and change in a race held at The Meadowlands on November 8. “Outside of the International where he was boxed in Periculum has been first or second in every start this year. “He’s had another big year and I expect him to race well.” Periculum will be returning to race again in 2026 for Melander. “Aetos Kronos S wasn’t eligible to the Breeders Crown so he really needed that qualifier,” said Melander, who has guided the 9-year-old by Bold Eagle to a solid campaign in his first year racing in North America. The FanDuel features Crown upset winner French Wine (post 8) along with the division leader Lexus Kody (post 6) and the classy Logan Park (post 2), who finally benefits from a solid draw coming off his fastest win of the year, a 1:50 4/5 score on November 2 at Woodbine Mohawk Park. No matter the results this weekend it’s been an incredible year for a Marcus Melander stable that shows no signs of slowing down and should continue to expand its presence across North America for years to come.