With all due respect to the races which have already been contested this year for 3-year-old pacing colts and geldings, in the 21st century we separate the equine men from the boys on a big track. With the Pepsi North America Cup postponed until September, the first meeting of all the expected sophomore giants of the sport takes place Saturday (July 10) in a pair of $50,000 Meadowlands Pace eliminations. When the entry box closed there were 14 horses entered for the Pace. The first five finishers in each elimination will compete in a final that will be worth at least $676,800 (it could potentially be more depending on how much the track decides to add to the purse and whether it takes the elimination money off the top of the final tally). We've seen enough of the combatants to form a strong opinion. With the talk of fixed odds wagering in New Jersey and prop-betting becoming more popular through sportsbooks, we present the odds to win the 2021 Meadowlands Pace along with commentary from some of the connections. Perfect Sting (3-1) Three weeks ago he would be closer to 8-5 due to his perfect 2-year-old record and monster performance against older foes on June 19 where he fought back and refused to lose. That was followed up with a loss against PA Sire Stakes foes at The Meadows which will certainly create some doubters. Trainer Joe Holloway on his last effort: "He came out of the race [at The Meadows] fine. Anything else is just an excuse. He got beat but he was just dehydrated. It was hot and it was a long ship. The furthest he had ever shipped before was four hours to Hoosier. It was a little over six hours to get to The Meadows." Holloway on Perfect Sting's current condition: "He will be good. He's ready. I think it is time to put an end to the pretenders." American Courage (4-1) He's always been this high on my list and after his Messenger elim/final sweep others are clearly going to hop on the bandwagon. At four-for-four in the win column this year and with only one defeat in 12 career tries, there is plenty to like. That said, he has never raced on a track larger than five-eighths. Trainer Travis Alexander on his current form: "He came out of it very well. He had a good weekend and never missed a meal. He really wasn't blowing that bad after the race and didn't seem put out." Alexander on changes going into the Pace and racing on a mile track: "I'm going to let his hobbles out an inch-and-a-half for the Meadowlands Pace and drop his head three holes. I expect good things because he is a very nice horse. I think I know what I have, but I don't want to jinx myself. We train on a big track in Florida. He carted my anvil hands around in a 25 second quarter at Sunshine Meadows." ***Alexander quotes courtesy Our View podcast One Eight Hundred (4-1) A 1:48 4/5 win after a pocket trip on June 19 at the Meadowlands put him squarely on the radar for Pace consideration and his 1:48 romp with a 25 3/5 final quarter over the same track one week later versus older foes really opened some eyes. He's now six-for-eight on the year and looking every bit as good as any horse on the list. Trainer Nancy Takter on whether he earned respect with the 1:48 win: "I think it was a good performance. If he garnered some respect with it, that's great, but I really don't care what other people think. My job is to make sure my horse is in good condition and ready to go. I was happy with him. His back-half was in 52 2/5. I don't think I've ever had a horse pace a back half that fast, especially so easily." Takter on whether we've seen his best: "No, I don't think so. We weighed him this morning [Tuesday] and he was at 1,275 pounds. There is a lot of horse to him. He has a nearly flawless gait, he covers a lot of ground, he has a great set of lungs, and a good heart on him. Obviously you need a little racing luck, but he is coming into the race in good form, and I'm happy with how he is right now." Abuckabett Hanover (5-1) His perfect record this year came to a halt in the Messenger, but it is hard to fault a horse for trying and getting parked (ultimately breaking) from post eight on a sloppy track at Yonkers. The bigger track probably suits his style better. He won at the Meadowlands in 1:49 1/5 in his first start of 2021. Driver Andrew McCarthy on the Messenger final: "Obviously he didn't handle the half-mile track as we had hoped, but he had plenty of go. Around the last turn he had enough go to win the race, but he's just not a half-mile horse right now. I'm still very confident going into the Meadowlands Pace." McCarthy on drawing in against American Courage and Perfect Sting: "They are great horses, and it will definitely be a good race. I think I have the fastest colt in the country right now as far as sheer speed. We just have to make sure we are close enough at the head of the stretch." Charlie May (8-1) He finished just a half-length behind American Courage in the Messenger and has now finished first or second in four consecutive starts. Son of McArdle has displayed great tactical speed early in the mile and the ability to rally in the stretch. Like American Courage, Saturday will be his first start on a track larger than five-eighths. Trainer Steve Carter on Charlie May's form: "He came out of the Messenger fine and all systems are go." Carter on trying the big track for the first time: "I have no concerns. He can go over anything. We put four aluminum shoes on him, and I'm going to train him tomorrow [Wednesday] to see how he goes. We are trying to get a little more speed out of him. If I don't like what I see tomorrow we'll go back to his regular shoes. I've always wanted to put aluminums on him in the front. I'm still not sure about the back yet. I'm like a virgin racing at the Meadowlands. I've hardly ever raced there. I'm just going by what I think and what other people have told me." Rockyroad Hanover (8-1) One of four Tony Alagna-trained horses in the group of 14, the son of Captaintreacherous had been more of a fringe Pace player until he ran down Perfect Sting in a PA Sire Stakes race at The Meadows on June 26. Of course he was disqualified for interference when it appeared he ran up on the horse in front of him and made a brief break. Either way, that mile, along with losing by just a length to One Eight Hundred in his 1:48 win, puts him firmly in the Pace picture. Driver Dexter Dunn on PASS win and disqualification: "I couldn't be happier with the performance. He has great gate speed and can really get off the car fast. He got good position and his last 100 yards is where he did his best work. He just got up on the back of the seat, he didn't hit a wheel or anything, and it kind of caught me a little off guard. He only went off for maybe one or two strides." Dunn on how good Rockyroad Hanover is: "I think he is right there with them for sure. He's already been good against Southwind Gendry and Perfect Sting. He can get off the car with any horse, and it feels like he can follow a helmet all day." Southwind Gendry (8-1) As one of the best 2-year-olds in the sport last year, he was expected to shine, and even trainer Ron Burke has admitted that despite his 4-2-2-0 record, his on-track work has been just OK. The gelded son of Always B Miki was uncovered in his last start but just seemed to lack the killer instinct late in the mile. Will we see the best Gendry can offer in the next couple of weeks? Driver Yannick Gingras on Southwind Gendry's somewhat lackluster 2021: "He hasn't really been healthy. In his first start of the year at The Meadows I thought he was as good as he's been, but since then it's been a little bit of a struggle. He's been like 90 percent. They scope him and he's fine to race and then after the race he comes up sick again. He always looks like he's ok, and then after the race it turns out he wasn't 100 percent. I just hope one day he'll be himself, because if he is he's as good as any." Gingras on his hopes that he'll revert to form: "I was told yesterday that health-wise he's good. It's been unfortunate. He's going to have to be pretty darn good in the elimination because it isn't an easy bunch of horses." Exploit (10-1) This guy was done in by an outside post and a rather slow pace in the Messenger elimination. In his last start at the Meadowlands he was just a half-length behind One Eight Hundred while timed in 1:48 1/5. Metro winner from last year could be a live longshot. Heart Of Chewbacca (10-1) One of two from the Burke stable in the eliminations, this colt by Bring On The Beach made an ill-advised first-over bid from last in the Messenger elimination and faded to the back late in the mile. Flashing early speed has never been his thing and his first try on the big track could be just what the doctor ordered. Chase H Hanover (20-1) His major asset is early speed, but the son of Captaintreacherous has proven he has some staying power as well. Like so many others in here, the Scott Cox trainee tries the mile track for the first time in his career. Lawless Shadow (20-1) Shadow Play-sired colt was right with the top dogs in 2020, and he's never finished worse than third in five starts this year. He was parked well past the quarter through quick fractions in his last start but really had no excuse for not being close at the wire. He's a very good horse. Is he this good? Red Right Hand (25-1) He feels like a similar horse to Simon Says Hanover, though perhaps he's a bit faster on paper? Last time he had no shot from post nine, and he lost to an older foe in the previous start. Trainer Nancy Takter on whether Red Right Hand is good enough to compete: "Todd [McCarthy, driver] told me last time that he never let him go, and he still finished with a ton of pace. He probably doesn't have the flashy credentials of the other horses, but he deserves a chance in the race. We've been babying him all year because he was so grabby last year. I think once we rev him up you'll see more from him. We've kind of had the kid gloves on with him." Simon Says Hanover (40-1) While he's been fairly consistent even in his off-the-board races, we really haven't seen the top speed needed to play with this group. Hellabalou (50-1) Eddie Dennis trainee also comes out of the PA Sire Stakes last time and failed to menace, albeit from a bad post. He'd need to take a big step forward to even make the final. MEADOWLANDS PACE FIRST ELIMINATION (RACE 6) 1-Chase H Hanover-Brian Sears/Scott Cox-12-1 2-Charlie May-Brett Miller/Steve Carter-3-1 3-One Eight Hundred-Tim Tetrick/Nancy Takter-9-5 4-Heart Of Chewbacca-George Brennan/Ron Burke-4-1 5-Rockyroad Hanover-Dexter Dunn/Tony Alagna-5-1 6-Exploit-Todd McCarthy/Tony Alagna-8-1 7-Hellabalou-Andrew McCarthy/Eddie Dennis-15-1 MEADOWLANDS PACE SECOND ELIMINATION (RACE 8) 1-American Courage-Matt Kakaley/Travis Alexander-3-1 2-Abuckabett Hanover-Andrew McCarthy/Tony Alagna-4-1 3-Lawless Shadow-Mark MacDonald/Ian Moore-6-1 4-Red Right Hand-Todd McCarthy/Nancy Takter-15-1 5-Perfect Sting-David Miller/Joe Holloway-2-1 6-Simon Says Hanover-Scott Zeron/Tony Alagna-15-1 7-Southwind Gendry-Yannick Gingras/Ron Burke-7-2