It's no small accomplishment to start a 2-year-old trotter's career in June and see them still fit and able come mid-October. That trainer Ray Schnittker had a filly and colt race against each other in a two-horse match race to start their career at the Meadowlands and find them entered on Friday afternoon's (Oct. 18) Breeders Crown elimination program is quite extraordinary. Shes A Shoe In may not be a lock on Friday, but the freshman trotting filly comes in with solid credentials, having captured the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes Championship on September 5 at The Meadows and then following that up with a victory in a Reynolds division at Tioga two weeks later. "She's been good from the start," said Schnittker about the filly by Greenshoe that cost just $55,000 at last year's Lexington Selected auction and has already earned $191k in her first year on the track. "The division of the Reynolds she won was like three seconds faster than the other one." Shes A Shoe In qualified last Thursday (October 10) with a solid second-place finish at the Meadowlands, and her trainer is hopeful for big things on Friday where she landed post four (race four) in one of three $25,000 Breeders Crown eliminations for juvenile trotting fillies. "I'm really looking forward to racing her on the mile track," said Schnittker. "It's really tough when you put them on small tracks and there's so much stopping and starting, and they get jammed up." She's A Shoe In has won three of her seven career starts, but the losses, to some degree, can be attributed to the learning curve all young horses need. "It's really hard to race them and send them to the front every week," said Schnittker. "You have to teach them to race from behind and that has consequences." Fortunately for Schnittker and driver Mark MacDonald, the lessons learned through the preliminary legs of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes have paid off well for the filly in the last month with a pair of stakes victories where she showed versatility, winning from both off- and on-the-pace in style. From the second crop of Greenshoe, Schnittker was undeterred at the sale in the fall of 2023 when he purchased the filly. "You know, I don't pay much attention to how sires do with their first crop," Schnittker said. "Bettor's Delight's first crop wasn't special and look at him now." As for the attraction to the filly, Schnittker campaigned her older sister on the New York Sire Stakes circuit. "I had her sister, and I just bought her full brother in Lexington," said the trainer. Needing a top-three finish to reach the final, Shes A Shoe In faces a solid field with many shipping back to New Jersey from races in Kentucky over the last few weeks. New York Sire Stakes champion Royal Mission (post one), Kentuckiana Stallion Management winner Kendra (post two) and Sound Judgement (post eight) – a recent International Stallion Stakes winner in 1:52 – enter the race in great form. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter "I think the Pennsylvania circuit is as good as there is," said Schnittker when asked to compare his filly with those returning from the Bluegrass State. "I expect her to race well." The first Breeders Crown elimination may be the softest of the three, with the other two $25,000 eliminations slated for races six and nine looking quite deep. Aperfect Annie (post one) enters the sixth race following a pair of major stakes wins at The Red Mile. Deja Blu, the first foal from champion mare Atlanta, drew post four while entering the Crown with four wins in her last five starts. R Dutchess (post seven) showed speed and determination in her 1:52 victory on October 5 in an International Stallion Stakes at The Red Mile. The third Crown elimination (race nine) figures to be quite contentious, with Mohawk Million runner-up Lasting Dream making her U.S. debut for trainer Luc Blais. The daughter of Cantab Hall has been consistent while mired with bad post positions much of the season, something she'll have to deal with again on Friday from post seven. The field includes stakes winners Spicy Nice (post three), Luna Lovegood (post five), R Charm (post six) and Voguish (post eight). Trainer Ake Svanstedt could have a sleeper as well with What A Bid Hanover (post four), a filly that opened eyes with her third-place finish in Red Mile Grand Circuit action recently. There are just two $25,000 Breeders Crown eliminations for juvenile colts and gelding trotters, and Schnittker believes that Karinchak (post three) is on course to reach the final. "He's another example of a horse that has had to deal with getting jammed up on the half and five-eighths mile track all year," said Schnittker in defending the Chapter Seven-sired colt's one win in nine starts this season. "I thought the big track would help him a lot." In fact, Schnittker put Karinchak to the test over the mile track in a qualifier on October 10 at the Meadowlands and was quite impressed with the outcome. "I thought he was impressive that morning. It was cold and the wind was whipping, and he trotted one of the faster miles of the day," said Schnittker, reflecting on the 1:55 2/5 career-best effort that saw Karinchak march down the road and Mohawk Million winner Maryland follow him home at a distance in second through a solid back-half mile. While Maryland gets a free pass into next week's final courtesy of his Peter Haughton victory in September, Karinchak will need a top-four finish to advance, and that may not be that easy given the seven he will face in Friday's fifth race. Trainer Ron Burke has a pair with stakes winners Tactical Dynasty and Hidalgo drawing post two and five, respectively. Memento Mori was a 1:51 4/5 winner in Grand Circuit action at The Red Mile and landed post four in this division. The well-bred Emoticon Legacy (post seven) arrives for the usually-prepared Luc Blais stable. Trainer Marcus Melander has a pair with Go Boom (post six) and Meshuggah (post eight). The latter was a winner of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes Championship and then third after cutting the mile in the Mohawk Million. The second $25,000 Breeders Crown elimination for juvenile colt and gelding trotters is carded as race 11, with the Marcus Melander-trained Super Chapter (post one) leading a field of eight with just the top four assured a place in the final, along with the fifth-place finisher with the highest career earnings. Super Chapter has won five of his eight starts this year and was dominant at The Red Mile recently, winning both the final of the Kentucky Championship Series final and a division of the International Stallion Stakes. Trainer Ake Svanstedt also has a son of Chapter Seven in the field with immense talent in Happy Jack B (post eight), a Grand Circuit winner at The Red Mile that enters the contest following a strong second-place finish at The Red Mile. Go Dog Go, a son of Greenshoe that appeared on his way to consecutive Grand Circuit wins at The Red Mile only to break on the lead in the stretch in both, arrives at the Meadowlands with trotting hopples added for trainer Carter Pinske. Go Dog Go drew post five. Maximus Mearas S (post four) has won three of his first four starts for trainer Lucas Wallin this year. Wallin hopes to return to the Meadowlands winner's circle as he did back in 2021 when Rebuff captured the Breeders Crown in this division. The Friday Breeders Crown eliminations card kicks off with an afternoon post time at 12:30 P.M. (EDT).