Despite being out of action since December, Periculum demonstrated midseason form in his 7-year-old debut, cascading off cover and rolling to a 1:49.4 win in the $150,100 Grade 3 Arthur J. Cutler Memorial ...
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ -- May 16, 2026 -- Despite being out of action since December, Periculum demonstrated midseason form in his 7-year-old debut, cascading off cover and rolling to a 1:49.4 win in the $150,100 Grade 3 Arthur J. Cutler Memorial on Saturday (May 16) at the Meadowlands, his second consecutive triumph in the annual event for open trotters.
The son of Muscle Hill-Amour Heiress was in no hurry in the race's early stages, taking back from an early logjam that saw French Wine (driven by Jason Bartlett) push clear of Aetos Kronos S (Dexter Dunn) at the end of a :27 first quarter.
"It looked like there was a lot of excitement going into the first turn, and I didn't want to be part of it," said driver Scott Zeron, who activated Periculum out of sixth as 2025 FanDuel champion Lexus Kody (Yannick Gingras) pushed to the fore midway up the backstretch and seized control from French Wine at the :54.4 halfway stage. Meanwhile, Periculum had gained steadily in the breeze before flushing stablemate Aetos Kronos S off the pegs with seven-sixteenths to go, setting up a cover trip through the far turn. Aetos Kronos S ground forward to take a narrow lead from Lexus Kody just past the 1:23.2 three-quarters, but his biggest challenge was on his helmet as the field turned for home.
"We were able to pick up great cover," continued Zeron. "Once we shuffled three-wide, my horse put his head down and went forward."
In mid-stretch, Zeron fed Periculum racetrack, and the defending Cutler champ vaulted off his stablemate's cover and unleashed a :26.1 sprint home to win going away by 2-1/4 lengths and miss his lifetime mark, taken in the 2025 John Cashman Memorial, by a fifth of a second. Aetos Kronos S finished second; French Wine saved third from a failing pocket.
Marcus Melander, who trains Periculum for Brixton Medical Inc. and Holly Lane Stud East Ltd., opted to give his star trotter a second qualifier in preparation for his seasonal debut, as opposed to a single prep as was the case in 2025:
"Last year, even though he won (the Cutler), he could have been a bit sharper. I figured we'd take two qualifiers this year. He was very good last week, and he's very good when he races week to week."
Now a 17-time winner with $2,191,346 in career earnings, Periculum paid $3.80 to win as the 4-5 favorite.
The Arthur J. Cutler Memorial is named for the New York City restaurateur who founded Carmine's Italian restaurant in Times Square, named in honor of driver Carmine Abbatiello.
Following the race, Jeff Gural, chairman and CEO of the Meadowlands, spoke of his friendship with Cutler and their trips to the racetrack:
"He would go to the restaurant, walk inside and take about $2,000 out of the cash register, and he'd be even for the night and I'd be broke," Gural quipped before recalling his experience owning horses together with Cutler.
"He would park in the garage near my office (in Manhattan), and we would meet and head to the Meadowlands. We owned a mare, Cyclone Beauty, and she had a filly, Cyclone Annie. A few days after [Cutler] died, Cyclone Annie was here in the final of the (1997) New Jersey Sire Stakes. One by one, the horses broke, and God carried Cyclone Annie over the finish line."
In the Garden State, a $48,000 dash for 3-year-old trotting fillies, Madam Cheval worked out a second-over trip, displayed good trot after tipping with a little more than an eighth to go, then held off a late-charging Emmas Mystery CCL to record her second career win in 13 tries.
The Nancy Takter trainee, a daughter of Walner-Shake It Cerry who was driven by Tim Tetrick, stopped the clock in a lifetime-best 1:53 and returned $8 to win as the 3-1 second choice.
Takter completed a sweep of the Garden State’s two divisions – this one for $45,000 – for sophomore trotting fillies as 2-5 favorite Leading Lady tracked the action early from fourth in the five-horse field (there were two scratches), moved into contention nearing the far turn, and then exploited leader Isabella Bi’s wonky steps nearing the wire to record a safe neck win in a lifetime-best-equaling 1:53.1.
Driven by Matt Kakaley, Leading Lady, a daughter of Walner-Muscle Dolly, returned $2.80 to her backers.
In the first of two Garden State dashes for 3-year-old colts and geldings on the trot, which went for $45,000, the Marcus Melander-trained American Power sat a four-hole to the five-eighths before moving to the outside, was up to challenge leader Southwind Alamo with a little more than an eighth to go, before powering his way to victory in a lifetime-best 1:52.3.
The exquisitely well-bred colt by Walner-Ariana G, who was driven by Dexter Dunn, returned $3.80 as the 4-5 public choice.
Finally, in the second division for sophomore male trotters, which sported a purse of $42,000, the Tom Fanning-trained Practical Man worked out a pocket trip behind 3-5 favorite Never Say Die and skimmed the cones late to pick up his second win in three 2026 starts. The winning time of 1:53.4 was a lifetime best for the son of Tactical Landing-Fashion Athena.
The 5-1 third choice, who was driven by Jordan Stratton, returned $13.20 to win.
A LITTLE MORE:
Tetrick, Joe Bongiorno and Tyler Buter topped the driver colony with a pair of winners each. … Takter and Melander each scored twice to lead the trainers. … Followers of Ken Warkentin wore out a path the windows, as The Big M's track announcer selected seven winners on top, including Sergeant Walt in the first race ($14.20 to win) and A Little Kick in the second ($3.80) to complete an ice-cold early daily double that returned $39.80. ... All-source betting on the 14-race program totaled $2,684,078. … Racing resumes Friday at 6:35 p.m.
