HAMBLETONIAN OAKS ELIM WINNERS ALL PART OF 'DOUBLE' PURSUITS

HIGHTSTOWN, NJ -- August 7, 2026 -- Four trainers will send out horses in both the Hambletonian Oaks and Hambletonian on Saturday (Aug. 8) at the Meadowlands, and three of them saw at least one of their horses come out of this past weekend’s eliminations with a win.

Noel Daley, Marcus Melander and Åke Svanstedt each trained a winner in the three eliminations for the $500,000 Grade 1 Winning Key Farm Hambletonian Oaks final, for 3-year-old female trotters.

Melander also conditioned one of the two elimination winners for the $1 million Grade 1 Winning Key Farm Hambletonian, open to all 3-year-old trotters, while Daley and Svanstedt had horses advance to the final with top five finishes.

Three trainers in history have captured the Hambletonian Oaks and Hambletonian in the same year: Jim Campbell, Jan Johnson and Jimmy Takter (twice). Per Engblom will join Daley, Melander and Svanstedt in pursuit of joining that group this weekend by pulling off that double.

MARCUS MELANDER

Melander will send out three horses in both the Oaks and Hambletonian. In the Oaks, he has 2-1 morning-line favorite Nezuko Kamado S along with elimination winner Setyoursightshigh (6-1) and Lainey W (12-1).

Nezuko Kamado S finished second to Svanstedt’s Busy Miss Lissy S in their 1:51.4 elimination, missing by a neck despite a race-best :26 last quarter. It was her first loss in five races this season. She has won 10 of 16 career starts and earned $802,969.

“She’s had a super year, and it’s still super after (the elimination),” said Melander, who trains the homebred daughter of Chapter Seven-Zefira Kronos IT for Courant Inc. “It was slow fractions, and she couldn’t go faster than she did (to finish). I couldn’t be happier with her.”

Setyoursightshigh, last year’s divisional Dan Patch Award winner, won her elimination by a neck over Leading Lady in 1:53.1. It was her third consecutive victory after beginning her season with two second-place finishes in three starts. The daughter of In Range-Special Interest has been worse than second only once in 17 career races, with 10 wins and $823,996 in earnings for owners Heights Stable, Mantorp LLC, AMG Stable, and K Kjellgren Livs AB.

“It was some slow fractions there, and it didn’t say much maybe, but she looked good, she looked strong,” Melander said. “She’s in good form. Her year has been a little mixed, but lately it’s going in the right direction.”

Nezuko Kamado S starts the Oaks final from post 2 with driver Scott Zeron while Setyoursightshigh leaves from post 4 with Dexter Dunn and Lainey W from post 5 with James MacDonald. Lainey W, a daughter of Bar Hopping-The Black Beauty, has hit the board in all five of her races this year.

Melander won the 2023 Hambletonian Oaks with Heaven Hanover.

In the Hambletonian, Melander will have elimination winner Apex, the 5-2 second choice on the morning line, as well as Spencer Hanover (20-1, post 9, Jason Bartlett) and American Power (10-1, post 10, James MacDonald).

Apex, the 2025 Dan Patch Award winner for best 2-year-old male trotter, won his Hambletonian elimination by a nose over Endurance in 1:50.4. The son of Walner-Mission Brief has hit the board in 12 of 13 career races, winning nine and earning $1.11 million for owners Jeff Snyder, S R F Stable, and Steve Stewart.

NOEL DALEY

Daley-trained Carve won her Oaks elimination by 1-1/2 lengths over Lainey W in a career-best 1:51.1. She drew post 6 for the final and is 7-2 on the morning line with Andrew McCarthy in the sulky.

For her career, Carve has hit the board in 15 of 17 races, winning five and earning $296,197. The daughter of Captain Corey-Alpine has been no worse than second in her past five starts. She was a graded stakes winner last season when her mark of 1:52 in a division of the International Stallion Stakes made her the second-fastest freshman filly of the year.

“I didn’t think she was the best filly going in there, but I absolutely think she’s good enough to win it because she’s quick; she’s always going to put herself in the race,” said Daley, who trains the filly for lessees Patricia Stables, L.A. Express Stable, and Sjoblom Racing. “She needs a trip, she’s not going to whack it out or get parked, but she can win it.

“She’s not a superstar, but she is very handy. She can do everything. That handiness, that’s the factor.”

Daley’s finalist in the Hambletonian is long shot Minoan, who finished fifth in his elimination. He starts from post 1 in the final and is 25-1 on the morning line with driver Todd McCarthy. The son of Bar Hopping-Regal Woman won a division of the Tompkins-Geers Stakes a week prior to the Hambletonian elims, which afforded the chance to go for a spot in the big show.

“It was a last-moment decision,” said Daley, who trains the gelding for the same connections as Carve plus himself. “We made $16,000 in the Tompkins-Geers, we put $15,000 back out, that’s what it comes down to. We took a shot. I put him in hoping to make the final (and get a good paycheck).

“He’s handy and he’s flawlessly gaited. I knew we had to have everything go our way for him to make the final, and he actually had a ton of trot. He can leave the gate and put himself in play. No matter where he draws, he’ll go forward and take a shot.”

Daley won the 2011 Hambletonian with Broad Bahn.

ÅKE SVANSTEDT

Newly elected to the Harness Racing Hall of Fame in Goshen, N.Y., Svanstedt has Busy Miss Lissy S in the Oaks final and Magic Punk in the Hambletonian final.

Busy Miss Lissy S won her Oaks elimination by a neck over Nezuko Kamado S in a career-best 1:51.4. She starts from post 1 in the final and is 4-1 on the morning line with Svanstedt handling the driving duties. The daughter of Calgary Games-Hill’s Angel S was last year’s Kindergarten Classic Series champ and has won two of her past three races.

“She’s been getting better and better every race this year,” said Svanstedt, who trains the homebred filly for Panamera Racing. “She’s had some bad posts, but she’s raced good every time. But (the elimination) was the best this year.

“I like everything about her, except her size; she is so small,” he added with a laugh. “But all the other things are good with her. She has a good attitude and a nice stride.”

Svanstedt won the 2024 Oaks as the trainer/driver of Warrawee Michelle.

Magic Punk reached the Hambletonian final with a third-place finish behind Big Ranger and It Could Be Worse in his elimination. The son of Wishing Stone-I D Entity NO starts the final from post 8 and is 15-1 with driver Yannick Gingras, who has been behind the colt in his past five races.

Earlier this year, Magic Punk won the Dexter Cup (G3) at the Meadowlands. Last year, he finished second in the William Wellwood Memorial (G1) at Woodbine Mohawk Park. He is owned by Magic Punk Inc.

Svanstedt is a three-time winner of the Hambletonian, as trainer/driver in all three. He won last year’s final with Nordic Catcher S.

PER ENGBLOM

Engblom will have Custom in the Oaks and Captain Naughty in the Hambletonian.

Custom finished third in her elimination, just three-quarters of a length behind winner Setyoursightshigh. She is 8-1 on the morning line and will start the final from post 3 with Jason Bartlett in the sulky.

The daughter of Walner-Goldy Mary FR has two wins and two seconds in her past four races, including a victory in a division of the Reynolds Memorial on July 4 at the Meadowlands in a career-best 1:52.1.

“She raced good (in the elimination); she came home in :25.4,” said Engblom, who trains Custom for TLH Racing. “She one of those horses that is going to be much better if they go :55 to the half instead of :58 because she’s got stamina and won’t get tired. Hopefully, the final sets up a little differently.”

Captain Naughty finished fourth in his Hambletonian elimination, two lengths in back of winner Apex. The homebred son of Captain Corey-Msnaughtyashill will start the final from post 5 and is 15-1 on the morning line with driver Brett Beckwith.

“He’s got a flawless, beautiful gait, like most of the Captain Coreys,” said Engblom, who began training Captain Naughty for owner Denise Dennis less than a month ago. “He was full speed across the wire, it just took him a little bit to get in gear. He’s a very nice horse. I’m happy to have him.”

Racing begins at noon on Saturday at The Meadowlands. The Hambletonian will be race 11, with a scheduled post time of 4:51 p.m. (EDT). The companion $500,000 Hambletonian Oaks is race 9 and will go at 3:36 p.m. The races will be shown live on FOX Sport 2 (FS2).

For free program pages, visit the Meadowlands website here.