The long racing season came to an end for many of the sport's leading horses this past Saturday (November 15) when the Meadowlands conducted the last major stakes races for 2-year-olds in its Fall Four. Co-starring on the program were the swan songs for some of the sport's most enduring horses featured in the FanDuel Championship events where the trotting mare M-M's Dream proved her mettle for the final time over the Meadowlands miler before moving on to matronhood in 2026. While the star-studded evening was mixed with inclement weather, the performers put on quite the show, with a few surprises in the mix. Longevity has long been associated with Standardbreds when compared with the Thoroughbred set, as for the most part, our horses endure, and in fact sometimes improve with age. Perhaps the poster boy for that claim would be Lexus Kody, a horse I suggested a few months back should be a legitimate Horse of the Year candidate. His final mile of the year was the last in a series of epic performances only marred by an out-of-character Breeders Crown finale. Ron Burke suggested the effort was akin to a 1:48 mile, and while the trainer is generally spot on with his observations, I'd be hard-pressed to put a three-second variant on the East Rutherford, New Jersey, mile surface, regardless of the moisture it took on. With that out of the way, Lexus Kody left no doubt with another signature performance. He served notice as the horse to beat in 2026 - no matter which of this year's sophomore class returns next year. While Lexus Kody was dominant this year, the same couldn't be said of the older pacing division where Breeders Crown winner Ervin Hanover could not continue his winning ways despite preferring the colder weather of the season. That's not a knock on Ervin Hanover, but the reality in a division where being in front or near the top is generally the advantage needed to succeed. Such was the case for Maximus Miki, who used the FanDuel Championship as an occasion to leave the gate and find perfect drafting position behind Ken Hanover. The veteran son of Always B Miki has clearly emerged as a 6-year-old with some epic performances, including his come-from-behind masterpiece in the Canadian Pacing Derby where he out-kicked pace-setter Ervin Hanover on the wire. Breeding is always a factor in producing champions, and Maximus Miki's bloodwork suggests a pedigree that defined aged racing for multiple generations. The third foal from the $482K winner Beach Gal (by Somebeachsomewhere), Maximus Miki's full brother Always A Miki shined as a freshman, winning the 2020 Governor's Cup. Yet, going further back down the maternal line, you find the names Dragon Again, Artsplace, Cam Fella and Jenna's Beach Boy, horses that were brilliant early and late in their racing careers. While just clearing his first $1 million in career earnings this year, Maximus Miki has all the attributes of a horse that could easily double that in short order in the not-too-distant future. In the same FanDuel Championship, Abuckabett Hanover made his final racetrack appearance and managed to get a fifth-place check. A career earner of $2.18 million, Abuckabett Hanover retires as the richest son/daughter of Betting Line by a wide margin. Known for his closing kick from an early age, Abuckabett Hanover enjoyed his best year in 2024, winning seven times in 15 starts and banking $833K for trainer Andrew Harris and his ownership partners. As a bonafide closer, Abuckabett Hanover was a horse you couldn't help root for, no matter what post he drew or how difficult the competition appeared to be. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter The late Hall of Famer Herve Filion once reminded me that "horses are not machines." It's a quote that has more than come in handy when trying to make sense of horses like Ervin Hanover dominating on Breeders Crown night and then struggling to match that performance a few weeks later. The same likely could be said for the sophomore filly Miki And Minnie, who needed an all-out drive to keep from losing a Breeders Crown race at Woodbine Mohawk Park (won in a dead-heat with The Last Martini). That the sophomore filly returned from that mile and raced against older mares, including this year's Breeders Crown champion Always B Naughty in the FanDuel Championship, was indication enough that she was ready to shake off a sub-par yet winning effort and do more. Trainer Chris Ryder clearly knew what he was doing putting her in against older horses. Miki And Minnie was simply awesome, despite needing some encouragement to clear the lead halfway into the mile. It was obvious that she was toying with Always B Naughty before leaving that one in the dust at the head of the stretch in an epic effort. With defending Horse of the Year Twin B Joe Fresh sidelined, Ryder knew the division would be without its most recognizable face. At the same time, there is never certainty when pitting a sophomore against older foes. The victory gave sire Always B Miki a sweep of the pacing FanDuel championships. It's hard to extract the significance of victories in the 2-year-old Fall Four events at the Meadowlands when juxtaposed to the full season. The obvious reason is that many of the sport's best young horses don't hang around to mid-November due to the difficult paths needed to reach Sire Stakes finals, at times in multiple states, as well as Grand Circuit stops. With that it's hard to quantify whether a victory at the Meadowlands in the last major 2-year-old stake is a stepping stone to the future or just a win versus mid-level competition. The win by All Time Trot S in the $462K Goldsmith Maid may have been both, a victory over a tired group of 2-year-old trotting fillies, as well as the coming-out party for a horse with a pedigree that has more than a few elements of greatness sprinkled in. All Time Trot S is by international favorite Googoo Gaagaa (sire of the impressive first-year stallion Captain Corey), but it's her dam's side that is more than worth noting when looking for clues to an exceptional trotting filly. All Time Trot S' dam – Gorgeous Am – is a Muscle Hill-sired daughter of Lovelinotte. While that name doesn't strike a chord in North America, Lovelinotte is a half-sister to the Steele Memorial winner Pasithea Face S, the dam of the 2021 Goldsmith Maid champion Joviality S, who went on to win the 2022 Yonkers Trot as well during her $1.9 million-earning career. All Time Trot S didn't have the freshman season Joviality S did, with her starts limited to overnights and the Kindergarten Series. Trainer Aaron Lambert thought he had something special when we spoke this January, and though I followed the efforts of Gentleman's Club – his freshman son of Downbytheseaside – closely on the Ohio Sire Stakes circuit, it was hard to discern if there was more than meets the eye. Gentleman's Club had his defining moment this past Saturday for Lambert and company with what could only be described as an imposing effort in capturing the $334K Governor's Cup. Good enough to reach the Ohio Sire Stakes final, Gentleman's Club didn't have much luck in that $300,000 event at Dayton on September 27 but was able to regroup and find his form in a major way over the last few weeks, prepping and inevitably capturing the Governor's Cup. By now it is no surprise when a son or daughter of Downbytheseaside wins a major Grand Circuit contest. This one is supported by a solid maternal line, with his dam See You At Peelers - a daughter of Bettor's Delight that went 13-for-13 as a 2-year-old in 2010 and beat male rivals in the Art Rooney at Yonkers a year later. See You At Peelers' broodmare career didn't click early when bred to Somebeachsomewhere but has more than made up for it with her last two foals of racing age by sons of that sire, both capturing Grand Circuit stakes. In addition to Gentleman's Club is his half-sister Champagne Room (Papi Rob Hanover), a Bluegrass winner this year as a sophomore. Trainer Ron Burke is so good that even when he loses he wins, and that was the case when She's A Bulldog upset likely division winner Loua Dipa in the Three Diamonds. This race could have been more about the number of hard miles Loua Dipa had during the long campaign that her stablemate She's A Bulldog didn't have to endure. A maiden entering the Three Diamonds, She's A Bulldog may prove to be the star of Burke's sophomore filly pacing class in 2026 if she builds on that performance.