Meadowlands: Ervin Hanover leads Pollack’s stakes sextet

Ervin Hanover helped owner Tom Pollack enjoy a “dream year” in 2025, and after beginning this season with consecutive wins in Canada, the multiple award-winning pacer heads to the Meadowlands this weekend looking to continue the magic.

Ervin Hanover, who received the 2025 Dan Patch and O’Brien awards for best older male pacer, will compete Saturday (July 4) in the $168,100 Grade 3 Dave Brower Memorial Open Pace at The Big M. Dexter Dunn will drive the 6-year-old stallion from post 6, in a field of 11, for trainer Dave Menary and owner Pollack. He is the 3-1 morning-line favorite.

The Brower Memorial is part of a stakes-packed card at the Meadowlands, where racing will begin at 6 p.m. (EDT). The program includes five additional graded events – the Stan Bergstein Graduate Series finals for 4-year-old pacers and trotters (both G2) plus the JL Cruze Open Trot, Six Pack Mare Trot, and Perfect Sting Mare Pace (all G3) – as well as Reynolds Memorial divisions for 3-year-old trotters and the single elimination for the Meadowlands Pace.

Pollack will have two horses in the Brower, with Christopher Dance N joining Ervin Hanover, three horses in the Graduate final for pacers – Fifth And Five, Sugar Man and Bruno No No No – and one mare in the Perfect Sting, Talk Curdy To Me.

“I’m just thrilled and blessed to be even part of these races, for sure,” said Pollack, a western Pennsylvania resident who got hooked on harness racing as a teenager in the late 1980s and has owned horses since 2010. “I’m in (the sport) because I love it, I love the action, and to be in these big races and be competitive, it's just been awesome.

“You get spoiled; you don't want it to end. I know it can't last forever, but it's just been so much fun.”

Ervin Hanover delivered a good bit of fun last year for Pollack, winning 10 of 17 races and earning $848,218. He was particularly strong the back half of the season, closing his campaign with eight wins and a second in his final 10 races. His victories included a Canadian-record 1:46 2/5 score in the Breeders Crown Open Pace (G1) as well as triumphs in the Jim Ewart Memorial and Dayton Pacing Derby (both G2).

“It was a dream year,” said Pollack, who picked up his first Dan Patch and O’Brien trophies courtesy of Ervin Hanover. “To have someone like him that's been one of the top older pacers has been a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing for me.”

This year, Ervin Hanover won an Open at Woodbine Mohawk Park in 1:49 1/5 on June 6 and a week later captured the Mohawk Gold Cup Invitational (G3) from post 9 in 1:48 2/5 over the same oval. Ervin Hanover was parked out the entire mile, four-wide exiting the last turn, and kicked home in 26 1/5 to get the victory by half-a-length over Lou Hill.

“He's come back super,” said Pollack about the son of Captaintreacherous-Eloquent Grace who has won 28 of 77 career races and earned $1.36 million. “He came from a tough spot (in the Gold Cup). He knows where the finish line is, that’s for sure.”

Ervin Hanover will face a field that includes the top three finishers from this year’s MGM Borgata Pacing Series final (G2) – winner Captain Albano, runner-up Huntinthelastdolar, and Coaches Corner – and Joseph Augur Memorial Invitational (G3) champ Ken Hanover, who was a Brower Memorial division winner last year when the event was split into two eight-horse divisions.

“It's the best of the best, so you've got to have your A-plus game every time you go out there because there's nine or 10 others that are bringing their A-plus stuff,” Pollack said about the older pacing ranks. “There's no layups there.”

Pollack’s other Brower entrant, Menary-trained Christopher Dance N, will leave from post 10 with driver Brett Beckwith and is 15-1 on the morning line. The 6-year-old son of Sweet Lou-Just Dance was a Group 1 winner in Australia in 2024 and has won 10 of 16 races in North America since being purchased by Pollack in April 2025. He arrives at the Meadowlands off back-to-back victories in conditioned races at Mohawk, including a 1:48 2/5 triumph on June 20.

“He's won his last couple fairly impressively, so we thought he deserved a shot to be in this,” Pollack said. “He’s sharp enough and has some back class, but that’s just a near impossible spot (from post 10). But he’s been good for us from day one.”

As for his trio in the Graduate final, Fifth And Five will leave from post 2 with driver James MacDonald, Sugar Man from post 8 with Dexter Dunn, and Bruno No No No from post 9 with Jason Bartlett. Fifth And Five (10-1 on the morning line) and Sugar Man (15-1) are trained by Enrico Robinson while Bruno No No No (10-1) is trained by Menary.

Earlier this year, Sugar Man, Bruno No No No and Fifth And Five finished 2-3-4 in the Charles Juravinski Memorial Cup (G2) behind Prince Hal Hanover at Flamboro Downs. Bruno No No No had won his elimination in 1:48 2/5, the fastest Canadian mile ever on a half-mile track.

“Fifth And Five is just a push-button, no frills, nice horse,” Pollack said. “He shows up every week and has surprised us at times. He's solid. Sugar Man has such quick speed and can get himself in position. He’s a smaller horse, that would probably be the knock on him, but he definitely can follow until the cows come home. Bruno is very talented, but he's just had four rough trips in a row (since winning his Juravinski elim). They said he trained great this week, so we’re hoping for some kind of trip with him.”

Captain Optimistic (with Scott Zeron driving for trainer Nancy Takter) and Prince Hal Hanover (Todd McCarthy-Dr. Ian Moore) are the top morning-line choices in the Graduate pacing final, at 5-2 and 3-1, respectively.

Menary-trained Talk Curdy To Me will close out Pollack’s night at the Meadowlands when she leaves from post 4 with driver Beckwith in the Perfect Sting. The 6-year-old daughter of Betterthancheddar-Keepers Destiny has hit the board in 58 of 86 career races, winning 18 and earning $631,630.

“She’s just a blue-collar mare,” Pollack said. “She’s not as talented as many of those in there, but she gives it her all and finds a way to grind out checks.”

Talk Curdy To Me is 8-1 on the morning line. Two-time Dan Patch Award-winner Miki And Minnie (MacDonald-Chris Ryder) is the 3-1 favorite.