Trainer Marcus Melander entered three sophomores on Tuesday for the sport's biggest trotting stakes events at the Meadowlands. Melander will send out a pair in two $100,000 Hambletonian eliminations on Saturday at the Meadowlands and a single filly in the $50,000 Hambletonian Oaks trial with an eye on the biggest prize seven days following. "I just want to get them into the final," Melander said. "Anything can happen next week." Melander's sentiment sums up the aspirations of most trainers, with 20 horses going in two Hambletonian divisions and 23 fillies divided into three divisions to determine the 10 finalists for the $1 million Hambletonian and $500,000 Hambletonian Oaks on August 3. Melander knows firsthand that getting into the final is the most important goal, because sometimes luck and how the race is contested have a huge impact on the final result. Last year many fans thought post 10 was a curse after the draw, but it turned into a blessing after the results when Melander sent out Heaven Hanover to a 28-1 triumph in the Hambletonian Oaks and trainer Nancy Takter had Tactical Approach ready and driver Scott Zeron delivered at 12-1 from the identical post position. Of Melander's horses it appears that Date Night Hanover, the $600,000 Harrisburg yearling purchase from 2022, likely has his best chance for reaching the Oaks final and perhaps giving the trainer his second straight title in the process. "I couldn't be happier with the way she's coming into the race," said Melander of Date Night Hanover. "She was far back in the Del Miller and trotted strong to the wire." Perhaps driver Dexter Dunn was looking to give the Chapter Seven-sired filly an easier trip following her overland first-over performance in the Zweig filly division at Vernon on July 4. Date Night Hanover took the air and kept coming in the stretch to a 1:51 4/5 career-best against Grand Circuit competition. With post five in the tenth race and third of three eliminations, Date Night Hanover needs a top-three finish to be guaranteed to advance to the final. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter R Melina (post eight) was a 1:51 1/5 winner while regaining her edge in her Del Miller Memorial victory. Also by Chapter Seven, R Melina has won 11 of 19 career starts for trainer John Butenschoen and has the driving services of Todd McCarthy, who captured the Hambletonian in 2022 with Cool Papa Bell. French Champagne (post one) looks to continue her winning form in the first $50,000 Oaks elimination (race six) for driver Dunn and trainer Ake Svanstedt. She'll meet six rivals, including Soiree Hanover (post five), one of last year's more talented fillies. The streaking Elista Hanover (post four) enters her Hambletonian Oaks elimination (race eight) on a nine-race winning streak for trainer Annie Stoebe. The filly by International Moni could be in the toughest of the three divisions, with last year's Breeders Crown winner Warrawee Michelle (post one) and multiple stakes winner Buy A Round (post three) to her inside. Adding depth to this group is the Luc Blais-trained Drawn Impression (post seven) and Empire Breeders Classic winner Honey's Sweet (post eight). The Hambletonian, of course, is the biggest dance set for August 3 and Melander hopes that his two colts will find a way through the eliminations and into the final. Neither Security Protected or Wild Ticket drew particularly well in their trials, but Melander is happy with their form and hopes that they reach the final. "I thought Security Protected raced very well in the Dancer," said Melander. "He got locked in behind Karl, and that cost him." Security Protected drew post seven in the 10-horse first Hambletonian elimination carded as race nine. The Father Patrick-sired colt was among the best in the division last year and has had a bit of a bumpy road heading into the Hambletonian, suffering troubled trips in his last three stakes engagements. Security Protected finished fifth in the Dancer behind upset winner Sig Sauer and will once again be up against him and Karl in Saturday's trial. He'll need at least a fifth-place finish to reach the final. "I expect Karl to be better," said Melander of the likely heavy favorite in this division. Karl drew post six while Sig Sauer drew post eight in what appears to be the stronger of the two elimination heats. Adding even more depth to this group is Highland Kismet (post three), the Goodtimes winner making his second start at the Meadowlands, and Situationship (post 10), a Stanley Dancer division winner. Melander hopes that Wild Ticket can overcome post nine in the second Hambletonian elimination heat carded as race 11. Wild Ticket was an Empire Breeders Classic division winner on June 14 at Vernon but failed to get into the hunt in the Zweig, and on July 13 finished fifth in a division of the Stanley Dancer behind Situationship at the Meadowlands. "He had no room in the stretch," said Melander of Wild Ticket in the Dancer. That said, Saturday's contest will be an even tougher test for Wild Ticket given the unlucky draw. T C I was last year's richest juvenile trotter, and though he won three of his first five starts, he came up short in the Dancer, finishing third following a close-up trip. T C I did land the pole position in this division for perennial leading trainer Ron Burke, who is still search of his first Hambletonian title. Dame Good Time was aggressively handled in the Dancer by driver Scott Zeron and finished fourth, but the altered son of Chapter Seven showed that he can trot with pretty much any of the top sophomores in training when he captured the Zweig on July 4 at Vernon. Dame Good Time drew post seven. Trainer Julie Miller also sends out a gelded son of Chapter Seven in Secret Agent Man (post three) in this division. With but nine career starts, Secret Agent Man may lack the experience of the more seasoned competition in this class but clearly has the speed. He was a 1:50 3/5 winner in an overnight at the Meadowlands on July 6 and followed that performance with a stakes win in the Tompkins-Geers on July 20. Only the top five horses in each Hambletonian elimination will reach the seven-figure final. Post time for Saturday's elimination card is 6:20 P.M. (EDT) and 14 races are on tap. Oaks Elimination One, Race 6 1 – French Champagne – Dexter Dunn – Ake Svanstedt – 2-1 2 – Chaparmbro – James MacDonald – Trond Smedshammer – 10-1 3 – Sadbirdstillsing – Jason Bartlett – Tony Alagna – 15-1 4 – Paulina Hanover – David Miller – Noel Daley – 6-1 5 – Soiree Hanover – Tim Tetrick – Lucas Wallin – 3-1 6 – Allegiant – Scott Zeron – Vernon Beachy – 8-1 7 – Spy Coast – Yannick Gingras – Ron Burke – 4-1 Oaks Elimination Two, Race 8 1 – Warrawee Michelle – Ake Svanstedt – Ake Svanstedt – 10-1 2 – Tandem Hanover – Todd McCarthy – Andrew Harris – 15-1 3 – Buy A Round – Andrew McCarthy – Noel Daley – 5-2 4 – Elista Hanover – David Miller – Annie Stoebe – 6-5 5 – Draw The Line – Yannick Gingras – Ron Burke – 15-1 6 – Cool Ma Belle – Bob McClure – Mark Steacy – 10-1 7 – Drawn Impression – James MacDonald – Luc Blais – 4-1 8 – Honey's Sweet – Dexter Dunn – Tony Alagna – 8-1 Oaks Elimination Three, Race 10 1 – Emoji Hanover – Bob McClure – Luc Blais – 7-2 2 – Kinesiology – Yannick Gingras – Ron Burke – 12-1 3 – Chapalonia – Andrew McCarthy – Annie Stoebe – 8-1 4 – Sambuca Hanover – David Miller – Nifty Norman – 6-1 5 – Date Night Hanover – Dexter Dunn – Marcus Melander – 5-2 6 – Senorita Palema – Ake Svanstedt – Ake Svanstedt – 12-1 7 – Miss I La – Joe Bongiorno – Noel Daley – 10-1 8 – R Melina – Todd McCarthy – John Butenschoen – 3-1 Hambletonian Elimination One, Race 9 1 – Bella's Musclehill – David Miller – Nifty Norman – 6-1 2 – Waterfall – Todd McCarthy – Tony Alagna – 20-1 3 – Highland Kismet – Bob McClure – Mark Etsell – 3-1 4 – Benny J – James MacDonald – Tony Alagna – 10-1 5 – Supernova Hanover – Dexter Dunn – Per Engblom – 15-1 6 – Karl – Yannick Gingras – Nancy Takter – 4-5 7 – Security Protected – Tim Tetrick – Marcus Melander – 12-1 8 – Sig Sauer – Andrew McCarthy – Noel Daley – 8-1 9 – Caballero – Scott Zeron – Trond Smedshammer – 20-1 10 – Situationship – Ake Svanstedt – Ake Svanstedt 9-2 Hambletonian Elimination Two, Race 11 1 – T C I – David Miller – Ron Burke – 2-1 2 – Amazing Catch – Dexter Dunn – Ake Svanstedt – 10-1 3 – Secret Agent Man – Andy Miller – Julie Miller – 4-1 4 – Mars Hill – Todd McCarthy – Tony Alagna – 15-1 5 – Private Access – James MacDonald – Luc Blais – 5-1 6 – Life on the Bluf – Yannick Gingras – Lucas Wallin – 20-1 7 – Dame Good Time – Scott Zeron – Travis Alexander – 3-1 8 – Bright Star – Andrew McCarthy – Tony Alagna – 8-1 9 – Wild Ticket – Tim Tetrick – Marcus Melander – 15-1 10 – Daiquiri Hanover – Ake Svanstedt – Ake Svanstedt – 10-1