On a picture-perfect late summer day at the hilltop half-mile track called MGM Yonkers Raceway, horses from varied countries will convene to compete for $1,000,000 and one of the best trophies in the sport of harness racing. The G1 MGM Yonkers International Trot brings together seven nations on Saturday afternoon and the comradery will have begun long before the starter says go for the field of 10 elite competitors. While stallions coming from foreign countries must remain housed at Yonkers Raceway in more of a quarantine situation, geldings are afforded the opportunity to stay on a farm away from the "city" life. That led trainer Daniel Redén, who has two starters in the International affair, to find a temporary home with Marcus Melander, who has a pair of contenders in the race as well. "I think so but he will be buying me dinner all week," quipped Redén when asked if he would owe Melander a meal if his Double Deceiver or Gamin Jaba were to get the best of his host's Aetos Kronos or Periculum on Saturday. Ironically, Redén, who is from Sweden, comes to Yonkers with one horse representing the United States and another from France. Double Deceiver is one of three in the field carrying the U.S. flag and he represents the trainer's best chance at victory. "He has beaten all of the best horses in Europe and Sweden this year. It took a year for him to adapt to the Swedish races but now he is there," said Redén. "I wasn't supposed to come here but it is a very big race and he can handle the track." In what seems like a lifetime ago, Double Deceiver won 11 of 25 races in the U.S. as a 2- and 3-year-old, including finishing second in the 2022 MGM Yonkers Trot over this surface. He was then purchased by Redén and brought to Sweden where there is lucrative money available for 4-year-olds and older. He was perfect in four starts in his first year overseas but won just once in four tries last year before exploding on the scene with six wins in nine starts this year. Double Deceiver, who will start from post six at 5-1 on the morning line in Saturday's race with regular driver Örjan Kihlström in the bike, has won two straight graded races in Europe. On July 20 he captured the G1 St Michel-Ajo at a distance of one mile in Finland and on August 9 he took home the G2 Jamtlands Stora Pris in Sweden. Strategy will be key in the 10-horse field with two horses starting in the second tier behind the #1 and #2, but Redén isn't necessarily expecting his driver to be too aggressive. "[Double Deceiver] can go very fast but Örjan doesn't always want to use him like that and I think over this distance he won't want to push him too much at the beginning. He is very tough to the end of the mile." Any driving decisions on Redén's other starter will be solely at his discretion since the 45-year-old will be in the bike behind the French-bred. He took over the lines in the G2 Jamtlands Stora Pris, and while Gamin Jaba finished just sixth behind his stablemate, the trainer/driver was encouraged. "We started over with him before the last race. He wasn't good in Finland in a very long distance but I decided to drive him myself last time to see what was wrong with him and he raced like last year," said Redén, who has been driving more in Sweden lately with success. "The last trainer told me that when he doesn't like the driver he is difficult. He was very good in his last race, so when I got the invitation I didn't blink because when he is at his best he is very good." A 9-year-old, Gamin Jaba has put together a nice career with 21 wins from 83 races. While he has only made it to the winner's circle once in 2025, he did win five times the previous year. His current form however has earned him longshot status at 30-1 on the morning line despite drawing post two on the inside of the gate. "He's like a very big boat at the start. I will lose some ground there but he is very strong to the end," said Redén about the gelding's lack of early speed. "You never know with these French horses. You think they aren't going to like the 800 meter track [half mile] but they can be very good on it too. He can be a surprise. He trained today [at Melander's farm] and took the trip very good." Redén sees being able to stay with Melander on a farm as a huge advantage over his fellow European competitors. "I think my horses have the best advantage of the European horses because they are geldings," said the trainer. "In Sweden and in France we use a lot of paddocks and they are outside. [Being at Yonkers] is a new thing for most of the horses. "I fear Hohneck. He is a very good horse and he likes the small tracks but now that he got post 10 I think it will be very tough for him. And starting behind Gamin Jaba is not a very good spot. I know Gio Cash is very good but with the rules of him having to stay at Yonkers it could be tough for him." Redén's pair will also have to contend with a strong duo from Melander's barn in millionaires Periculum and Aetos Kronos. Interestingly, both horses have raced in Sweden and Redén was even the trainer for Periculum during his time in the country. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter Periculum's first year back in the U.S. was stellar with six wins in 17 starts and over $821K earned. He has picked up right where he left off in 2025 with a 6-3-3-0 record and already $466K earned. Those stats earned him status as the 5-2 morning-line favorite despite landing in the second tier. "We got post nine and I'd still rather have that better than seven or eight. I still think it was a decent draw," said Melander. Periculum was able to overcome starting in the second flight in 2024 when he finished second behind the now retired Jiggy Jog in the International Trot from post 10. Whether or not the smaller track is to his advantage is not a known quantity. "He raced very good at Yonkers last year and he's a strong horse. He went around the turns very well and he raced earlier this year at the Plainridge and was good on the five-eighths, so I think he'll be fine. I think a mile and a quarter benefits him as well," said Melander, who has Scott Zeron in the bike behind Periculum for owners Brixton Medical Inc. and Holly Lane Stud East LTD. Aetos Kronos came over from Sweden to the U.S. this year for New York based owners Jeffrey and Michael Snyder with hopes of resurrecting the career of the winner of $1.5 million. He had fallen on hard times due to some health issues which limited him to just three starts in 2024, but the results have been spectacular since the calendar turned to 2025. Under the care of Melander, Aetos Kronos has won six of 10 starts while setting a lifetime mark of 1:49 4/5 just a few weeks ago in a Maple Leaf Trot elimination at Woodbine Mohawk Park. While he was just sixth in the final, the trainer feels his horse is sharp and ready. "It was tough going first over with Lexus Kody winning in 1:49 1/5. He had a good week coming back from Canada and he seems fine," said Melander about Aetos Kronos. "In Sweden there are a lot of long distance races so he's done that before and it seems like the Lasix really helped him." Aetos Kronos will make his half-mile track debut on Saturday, something Melander said the horse should be well prepared for having raced over a number of five-eighths tracks in Sweden with banked turns. Dexter Dunn will be in the bike behind the 9-year-old from post five as the 7-2 co-second choice, an odds assignment he shares with the fastest horse in the land this year, Lexus Kody. Based in the U.S. for trainer Ron Burke, Lexus Kody actually races under the Canadian banner since he was sired by Archangel in that country. The 7-year-old has always been a good horse but has really broken out of his shell this year with a career high $379K in earnings and a lifetime best 1:49 1/5 mark set on August 30 in the Maple Leaf Trot. His current-year earnings total beats any two previous seasons during his five-year career. Yannick Gingras has been the regular driver for Lexus Kody during many of his 32 career wins and he wasn't at all surprised by the sizzling Maple Leaf performance or anything Lexus Kody has accomplished this year. The driver said something clicked for the gelding this year which has allowed him to reach the next level. "He's a big strong horse with an efficient gait. I really do believe the sky is the limit. I've said it for years," said Gingras. "Mentally he's come leaps and bounds over the last four months and I just hope he stays like this and can do the talking on the track." Of concern to some is that Lexus Kody has made a break in four of his five appearances at Yonkers Raceway. Two of those starts came this year, with the first going well and one not so well. "His gait is not the problem. He can get around the turns faster than the straighaways. It is his behavior and hopefully those issues are behind him," said Gingras. "If you watch his first race [at Yonkers in 2025], he got around there like hoops around a barrel; he jogged in 1:55 1/5 like it was a walk in the park. The next week, the minute he hit the post parade I knew it wasn't going to work. He was a different horse. He went behind the gate and he was angry and ran as the gate was opening." Gingras added that you can watch Lexus Kody in the post parade and know quickly whether he might be willing to comply with the rules of racing. "If he is nice and relaxed in the post parade, that is usually when he's at his best, and he's been like that most of the year. Lately I've had to tap him on the ass to actually jog," laughed Gingras. While many people expect Gingras to leave hard from the coveted inside position in post one, the driver wasn't willing to commit to a strategy just yet, citing the versatility of Lexus Kody and the speed of some of the competitors. "I know some of the Europeans have crazy gate speed. That is just how the races go there. The gate goes so slow and then they have quick acceleration that we don't really have here," said Gingras. "My horse does not have to be on the lead and I think he's shown that. If he gets off on the right foot and seems good going into the first turn, I have no problem stepping on the gas. I think my horse has humungous lungs and he can take the pressure, but it doesn't have to be that way. I'd be really happy coming away third or fourth and coming first-up on them." When referring to the early speed factors of the European horses, Gingras was clearly referencing Gio Cash, who starts from post three for trainer/driver Daniel Wäjersten. Racing for Denmark, the 6-year-old just missed a neck behind Double Deceiver in his last start from a second-tier spot but raced on the lead and proved victorious in his previous two outings. Despite his 12-1 status on the morning-line, Gio Cash, who is 15 for 29 lifetime, figures to be put in play early and will likely take more action than expected at the windows. According to his trainer the son of Victor Gio It has acclimated nicely. "He's only been jogging so far but he seems happy and has eaten well," said Wäjersten. Another strong contender is Hohneck from France. The 8-year-old is a career winner of more than $3 million who excels on smaller tracks. The issue for the Philippe Allaire trainee is starting from post 10 in the second tier where his early speed will not be a factor. Gabriele Gelormini will have the task of overcoming the obstacle as he sits in the bike behind the 6-1 offering. Others with longer odds in the race include Norway's Powwow (post four, Bjorn Goop, 50-1), Southwind Coors (post seven, Jason Bartlett, 20-1), who got into the race after the French-bred Ideal Ligneries scratched, and Diva EK (15-1), who represents Italy for trainer/driver Alessandro Gocciadoro. The $1,000,000 MGM Yonkers International Trot (race six) is part of a strong 10-race card that also includes the $200,000 Aria Pace (race five) and $200,000 Bob Miecuna Trot (race seven). Post time is 12:20 P.M., with the main event, which can be viewed on Fox Sports 2, set for 3:00 PM (EDT).