The crown jewels of a spectacular Sunday afternoon 11-race card at The Red Mile are the $500,000 Kentucky Futurity and $300,000 Kentucky Filly Futurity for 3-year-old trotters. The 2025 editions of both races produced full fields of 11 and no shortage of contenders. The 133rd Kentucky Futurity (race 11) is arguably led by Earl Beal Memorial and Kentucky Championship Series victor Super Chapter, one of five horses being sent out for trainer Marcus Melander. The unquestioned leader among 3-year-old male trotters in terms of earnings at $960,255, Super Chapter is coming into the Futurity off a half-length second-place finish behind Warrior, an effort that didn't exactly thrill his trainer. "He should've won," said Melander bluntly on the second-place finish in the Bluegrass last weekend. "But we didn't find much on him. [Driver] Dexter [Dunn] said he was a little flat and I don't really know why. Hopefully he'll be sharper this week." On the plus side, Melander indicated in a post-draw interview that Super Chapter trained Thursday morning and "felt super" ahead of his Kentucky Futurity date from post four with Dunn again in tow. In theory Maryland is next best on the list of Melander's contenders. Following a divisional-winning campaign in 2024, the son of Chapter Seven has struggled to reach the winner's circle with no appearances in seven starts. His last race resulted in a second behind Emoticon Legacy in the Canadian Trotting Classic at Woodbine Mohawk Park. "He raced good up there and he got tired, which was good. That should move his form forward," said Melander on Maryland. "He feels great and came out of it good. It is going to be a tough race with the 3-year-old colts. He's good enough to win it and I think we'll have him ready." Maryland starts from post 11 in the second tier. Melander's remaining trio include Meshuggah (post two), Variegated (post five) and Mountcastle (post nine). All three have seen good moments this year, with Meshuggah winning a Bluegrass division at The Red Mile last Saturday in 1:50 1/5, Variegated a runner-up in the Yonkers Trot and NY Sire Stakes final, and Mountcastle a NJ Classic winner but disqualified and placed second due to pacing late in the mile. "They are good horses but maybe they need others to have a bad day," said Melander on his remaining horses. "Meshuggah raced really well last Saturday. He might be an outsider with a chance. Variegated has done well in New York and we may take a shot and pull the shoes; he can pick up a check." ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter The "now" horse in the Kentucky Futurity field has to be Go Dog Go after posting the fastest mile by a 3-year-old trotter in last weekend's Bluegrass Series. With regular driver Todd McCarthy in the bike, Go Dog Go floated away from the gate before settling in fourth and was able to come first-over without any issues in the 1:49 3/5 winning performance. "The instructions to Todd going out were 'make sure he trots,'" said trainer Carter Pinske, all too aware about Go Dog Go making breaks in his previous two starts. "I've known he has incredible speed his whole life; it was just putting it all together. I wasn't expecting that mile but it didn't surprise me." The trainer made a boatload of changes going into the race that seemed to get the best out of Go Dog Go and allowed him to showcase his raw speed without having to worry about making a miscue. "I made a lot of changes; closed up his bridle; changed his shoes; put the hobbles on; kind of changed his routine around during the week and it worked out," said Pinske. "I gave the horse a bit more work [during the week before the race] and perhaps the hobbles gave the horse a bit more confidence. Todd said he liked him with the closed bridle and he had his mind more on business. I think the shoes definitely helped. At The Red Mile maybe one percent of the horses don't get along with it, and he may be one of them." Having landed post seven, Go Dog Go could be lined up nicely to flash early speed and settle for a pocket trip either behind an inside leaver like Super Chapter or Emoticon Legacy, another contender who drew post 10 for the team of driver Louis Roy and trainer Luc Blais. After a disappointing fifth-place finish in the Hambletonian in early August, the light has gone back on for Emoticon Legacy. He finished a good second in the Beal and followed that up with victories in both the Simcoe and Canadian Trotting Classic, with the latter a 1:49 3/5 Canadian record mile. "He's feeling good right now and had a great week last week," said Blais, who was at the Lexington Selected sale on Tuesday but flew home Wednesday to train the son of Walner to make sure he was good to ship down Friday ahead of the Futurity. "It is tough to be better than he has been." Fashion Green owns one of the best records in the 11-horse field with nine wins and a second in 12 career starts to his credit. His placing came in the Bluegrass last Saturday where he did the heavy lifting on the lead in Go Dog Go's sub-1:50 mile. The Jim Campbell trainee missed most of the spring and part of the early summer with a foot abscess that made it difficult to properly prepare for the Hambletonian, but since he has registered three wins in five starts. Tim Tetrick is listed to drive Fashion Green from post one. Trainer Ake Svanstedt sends out a pair of players in the Futurity with $217K winner Gap Kronos S starting from post six and NY Sire Stakes champion Happy Jack B landing the eight-hole. Rounding out the field is Onajetplane, a fringe player in major stakes who has been able to step up at times when trainer Noel Daley pulls the shoes, something that is likely on the foot-kind Red Mile clay surface. Onajetplane starts from post three. Unlike the boys division, the 60th Kentucky Filly Futurity (race nine) has more of a clear favorite in Delaney Hanover. The Lucas Wallin-trained charge is off a career-best 1:50 2/5 win in the Bluegrass on September 27 where she defeated the formerly nine-for-nine in 2025 Yo Tillie. "The ownership group and I had a plan to have her ready for this meet and hopefully I didn't have her ready one week too early," said Wallin before adding, "she should be ok." The Bluegrass victory was the second straight for Delaney Hanover (post three on Sunday) and while those who didn't back her at 4-1 in the race versus the 1-9 Yo Tillie, Wallin wasn't one of them. "There are a lot of other good fillies out there and obviously Yo Tillie is very good," said Wallin. "I think we have the best filly even if Yo Tillie was in the race, but I'm the trainer of Delaney Hanover, so I obviously think she is very good." Yo Tillie wasn't eligible to the Filly Futurity and the connections elected not to supplement. The aforementioned Marcus Melander has a pair of starters in this race as well, with Kadena (post seven) and Royal Mission (post 10) representing his barn. The former is off a 1:51 Bluegrass win of her own and has historically raced well over the Red Mile surface. Royal Mission wasn't as good in the Bluegrass with just a seventh-place finish behind Delaney Hanover, but Melander has some tricks up his sleeve for Sunday. "Royal Mission needed the race the other day but she is an outsider. We will pull her shoes and try to see if that helps a little bit," said Melander. Trainer Nancy Takter is another who has a contender in the field with Champagne Problems (post 11). The Tactical Landing-sired filly was second, timed in 1:51 2/5 in her Bluegrass engagement, the fourth straight time she has finished in that position, all in stakes races. "Her last three starts have been tremendous and I'm really happy with her," said Takter at the post draw. Certainly a horse to watch in the Filly Futurity is What A Bid Hanover. A 1-2 favorite in her Hambletonian Oaks elimination and one of the favorites to win the final, she broke in the elimination round and never made it to the big dance. The Ake Svanstedt filly also made a miscue the following week in the Contienentalvictory over the same track. Fast Forward six weeks and she was more than a 25 length winner in 1:56 3/5 in a Harrah's Philadelphia qualifier. If anyone can have What A Bid Hanover "right" off the break in action, it's Svanstedt. She'll start from post six. Miss Belmar was one of the Hambletonian Oaks favorites and wound up breaking in the race. Since then her form had stayed sour until last weekend when she perked up with a solid third-place showing at The Red Mile. Trainer Noel Daley could have her ready on Sunday as she starts from a cozy spot in the two-hole. Others in the field include stakes winners Country Victory (post one), R Charm (post four), Deja Blu (post five), Stash Some Cash (post eight) and R Dutchess (post nine). Other standout performers competing on the all-stakes card include Periculum in the 2nd race $160,000 Allerage Open Trot, a virtual match race as Twin B Joe Fresh and Sylvia Hanover hook up in a three-horse $64,000 Allerage split for mare pacers, Madden Oaks and Captain Optimistic in the first $220,000 Tattersalls carded as race six, Captain Albano in the $145,500 Allerage Open Pace one race later, Jugette winner Rodeo Drive Deo in the eighth race $241,000 Glen Garnsey, and the undefeated-in-2025 3-year-old pacing divisional leader Louprint in the second Tattersalls division (race 10). Post time for the card is 1 P.M. (EDT).