Meadowlands: Fresh 3-year-olds add spice to TVG Open Trot

The TVG Finals at The Meadowlands are races that I have looked forward to since the track elected to offer admission of the Breeders Crown sophomore winners into the open events. This year’s blessing of that initial confrontation paved the way for the late-season star Tactical Landing to take a shot at the best open trotters in competition.

If only he had the chance to face the all of the best.

A close look at the points standings of the Open class trotters for the TVG Open shows Will Take Charge as the overall point leader with just 97 accumulated through the six events used to qualify.

Originally I thought it must be a misprint because the Allerage at The Red Mile and Breeders Crown are two of the races on that short list and there was one winner to both. Homicide Hunter earned 100 points with those scores and theoretically that would have elevated the horse to the top of the leaderboard.

There was no error as Homicide Hunter, due to his stable association, is prohibited from racing in the TVG or any other stakes event sponsored at The Meadowlands.

Let’s also remember that Homicide Hunter managed to win those classic events out of a detention barn. He also managed to become the sport’s fastest trotter of all time under those circumstances.

Theoretically this would set up the perfect storm for trainer Jimmy Takter and the connections of Tactical Landing, the full brother to superstar Mission Brief. Have your very fit and very fast sophomore trotter go up against a worn down group of older performers clearly missing the most talented and accomplished of the last two months.

It hardly seems just a few years ago that someone suggested we needed to keep racing our horses longer so there could be name recognition for our major races. It would appear Homicide Hunter’s years and success on the track might fit that profile. Shouldn’t the fastest trotter of all time stand for something other than exclusion from major competition?

While Homicide Hunter is an unfortunate omission from the contest, there was a pleasant surprise of sorts when entries were drawn on Tuesday. Six Pack, winner of two of the three legs of the Triple Crown for sophomores and more recently an easy winner of the Matron at Dover Downs, was able to work in to the field by a single condition. While not winning the Breeders Crown, the ticket that paved the way for Tactical Landing, a victory in the Kentucky Futurity was enough to qualify a sophomore for admission.

Another interesting entry that managed to find the box was Cruzado Dela Noche. With only an appearance in one of the six qualifying events, the Yonkers International winner was shy on eligibility. However, once less than 10 horses were named, the Marcus Melander trainee was afforded an opportunity to compete in the championship race.

Though Homicide Hunter would have perhaps made this the complete championship race with all of the elements required, his absence is only a minor loss to what should prove to be a major race with both 3-year-old and older performers right in the cross hairs for determining year-end titles and perhaps Trotter and Horse of the Year.

With Six Pack in the mix, Tactical Landing gets to face a colt that he missed in the Breeders Crown but was no match for in the Kentucky Futurity. Six Pack’s sickness on that occasion allowed Tactical Landing’s trainer Jimmy Takter to suggest his horse was much better than Six Pack. Now that point will have a vehicle to be proven.

At the same time, Six Pack has done everything a champion would be expected to do, and had it not been for a very bad trip in the Hambletonian elimination that left him out of the final, he could be a clear leader for overall Horse of the Year by now.

What the TVG Open will in fact do is not pit those sophomores directly against one another. With verifiable top horses like Marion Marauder, Guardian Angel As and Will Take Charge along with Warrawee Roo in the contest, the road has been paved with a group of horses that not only have the speed but stamina to take on a tough trip and get the job done.

Marion Marauder and Scott Zeron will likely be helped by added horses in the group that can do the table set-up. The Triple Crown champion and Cashman Memorial winner didn’t get the trip he prefers in either the International or Breeders Crown. With a solid field of horses that can mix it up, Marion Marauder has the experience and determination to win a big race.

Tactical Landing’s Breeders Crown victory was a signature event for his connections and certainly will lead to an eventual career at stud. That date could have significantly more appeal to many should he go out and win the TVG Open, a race that prior to Tuesday appeared to be one he might be even odds to capture and now looks as if he’s just one of many with a chance.

In essence a few extra conditions have given flexibility to the original point totals and produced something unexpected but most definitely exciting. For Meadowlands racing secretary Peter Koch, who has trudged much of the year trying to combine classes of horses that have little in common to create a serviceable racing program on Fridays and Saturdays, this had to be his best work. To get a Breeders Crown and Kentucky Futurity-winning horse to join older performers is something truly to be thankful for.

Just a match race between Six Pack and Tactical Landing would be worth showing up to watch. Add a significant number of world class trotters to the equation and you have something of epic proportions. In its recent history the TVG Open Trot has never lived up to the level it will reach on Saturday.

Let the best horse be proven on the racetrack.