Ramona Hill etched her name in the harness racing history books on Saturday at the Meadowlands, becoming just the 15th filly to win the $1 million Hambletonian for 3-year-olds. She also tied Muscle Hill's stakes record, halting the timer in 1:50 1/5. Driven by Andrew McCarthy, Ramona Hill settled in the fourth position from post five while Amigo Volo (Dexter Dunn) rocketed out from post position ten and chopped out the opening quarter in a hot 26 2/5. Threefiftytwo (Daniel Dube) was two-wide on the opening turn from post six, and he would press on to the lead beyond the opening quarter. In the backstretch McCarthy made a two-wide move with Ramona Hill, and she marched up steadily on the rim to overtake Threefiftytwo beyond the 54 3/5 half-mile marker. When Ramona Hill cleared, that left Ready For Moni (Yannick Gingras) in the first-over position and Back Of The Neck (Scott Zeron) tracking from second-over, and they would remain in that fashion to the 1:22 2/5 three-quarters. Through the stretch Ready For Moni and Back Of The Neck both had their chances to chase down Ramona Hill, but the filly just kept finding more on the lead, and she would win harness racing’s premier event by a length. Ready For Moni and Back Of The Neck finished second and third, Amigo Volo was a late-gaining fourth after getting pinned in behind a fading Threefiftytwo on the last turn, and Hollywood Story (David Miller) came in fifth. For McCarthy, it was his fifth win of the day, his third in partnership with winning trainer Tony Alagna, and he couldn’t have been more thrilled. "It was a very good start to the day, and I was trying to keep my cool and not let it in sink in too much because I knew I still had a lot work to do, and I still do have a lot of work to do, but the adrenaline you get from winning a race like this as soon as I crossed the wire, words can't explain it," he said. "It's just an amazing event, and it's such a privilege to be able to be involved, let alone win it. "I kind of figured Dube would leave with the six, and I saw Dexter blasting out of there from the ten-hole. I figured I was getting away in a pretty good spot there. I kind of snuck in front of Yannick, and if they kept rolling I would have been happy just to stay and come first-over, but I also didn't really want to give Yannick that ride second-over behind me, so when I came out early there, and I sensed that I could find the front, I went for it. She knows her job, I've said it the whole way along. In the last turn she really swelled up. She'll start to work a little bit towards the wire, but she finished it off." Alagna trains Ramona Hill, a daughter of Muscle Hill, for co-owners/breeders Crawford Farms and co-owners Brad Grant, Robert Leblanc, and In The Gym Partners. Ramona Hill has a record of 9-0-2 from 11 career attempts, and the winner’s share of the purse vaulted her over the $1 million mark in lifetime earnings. She paid $2.80 to win as the 2-5 choice. This was Alagna's first career Hambletonian victory, but he had a premonition that this day was coming during Ramona Hill's 2-year-old season. "It was pretty funny, earlier today I got a text from a friend of the family for forever, Roger Welch from Illinois, and he said 'if you remember last year when you were at Hoosier, you told me you had a filly that you thought could win the Hambletonian next year,'" recalled Alagna. "He said 'if you could give me some stock tips, I'd really appreciate it.' "People talked about how COVID affected this filly's schedule early, but honestly this was our schedule from the beginning, with or without COVID. I told the owners, 'we're going to give ourselves a chance if we need another race after the Del Miller, but I think two starts is all she needs going into the Hambletonian or Hambletonian Oaks, whichever we decide. She's very much like a Thoroughbred. She doesn't require the work or the starts to be at her best. Andy's done a phenomenal job of driving her and he's got all the faith in the world in her. You put those two together, a confident filly and a confident driver, and there isn't much you can't get done." Alagna also talked about the decision to go into the Hambletonian, rather than the Oaks, remarking, "I think we always had it as a group with the owners; we always had it in the back of our minds, but nobody wanted to be the first one to say it. After the Del Miller it became a reality. I can remember I texted Andy and I said 'What do you think about the Hambo?' He said 'She can do it; there's nobody that can beat her.' When that all came together, it was the thing to do." For Al and Michelle Crawford of Crawford Farms, it was a massive Hambletonian Day as they also were co-owners of Oaks champion Sorella and Cane Pace winner Tall Dark Stranger, but this was extra-special because they bred Ramona Hill. "We're so excited and so proud. We bred her, raised her, and we own the dam," said the Crawfords. "I haven't been this nervous for a race in probably ten years, maybe ever. Brad (Grant) was not here to hold our hands, so we need to let him know that we're thinking about him today. "It's huge. We've got a Chapter Seven yearling sister, and she's bred back to Muscle Hill, the mare is. A day like today makes it incredibly worthwhile." For John Fodera of In The Gym Partners, this was also the culmination of a long career in harness racing, and made all the more sweet because of his long-time friendship with Alagna off the track. "Fifty-nine years waiting and this is, I think, our fourth run at the Hambo, but nothing led up to it like Ramona Hill," said Fodera. "Tony was so confident. Last year, as a 2-year-old, he said ‘just be patient with me, this filly is going to win the Hambo for you.’ He predicted it after her second start last year. She proved it last year and then again this year. It's a great, great thrill. Andy and Tony are just two great, great people for me. I'm so grateful to the business, to my partners, and everyone else."