The Breeders Crown eliminations bring harness racing’s championship weekend to Eldorado Scioto Downs in Ohio this Friday and Saturday. Twelve finals worth more than $7.2 million follow on October 23 and 24, and the eliminations decide who gets there and who draws the inside posts. Hambletonian winner Apex, Little Brown Jug winner Redland Rocket Man and International Trot winner Super Chapter all head the form lines. Six horses were supplemented this year, which equals the most since 2014.
Here is everything we know about the Breeders Crown eliminations, division by division, plus how we plan to bet them. New to the sport? Our guide to harness racing covers the basics.
Breeders Crown Eliminations 2026 Schedule and Format
The two year old Breeders Crown eliminations race on Friday, October 16, and the three year old and Open eliminations race on Saturday, October 17. Live racing starts at 6:00pm ET both nights on Scioto’s five eighths mile oval. Divisions that draw more entries than one final can take run eliminations, and the rest go straight to the final next week.
Each elimination carries a minimum purse of $25,000. The format rewards winning. Elimination winners draw for posts 1 through 6 in the final, and the other qualifiers go into an open draw for the outside posts. On a five eighths mile track, an inside draw in a championship final is worth a lot, so expect drivers to push for the win rather than settle for a qualifying spot.
The finals pay $700,000 for each two year old division, $600,000 for each three year old division and for the Open Pace and Open Trot, and $400,000 each for the Mare Pace and Mare Trot. The winner of each final takes half the purse.
| Day | Track | Race | Grade | Purse (USD) | Post Time (ET) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri Oct 16 | Scioto Downs | Breeders Crown two year old eliminations | Elims | Finals $700,000 | From 6:00pm |
| Sat Oct 17 | Ascot | Long Distance Cup | G1 | $660,000 | 8:30am |
| Sat Oct 17 | Ascot | Champions Sprint | G1 | $660,000 | 9:05am |
| Sat Oct 17 | Ascot | Fillies and Mares Stakes | G1 | $660,000 | 9:40am |
| Sat Oct 17 | Ascot | Queen Elizabeth II Stakes | G1 | $1,452,000 | 10:20am |
| Sat Oct 17 | Ascot | Champion Stakes | G1 | $1,716,000 | 11:00am |
| Sat Oct 17 | Belmont Park | Fall Starter Championships (11 races) | Starter allowances | $1,085,000 total | From 12:05pm |
| Sat Oct 17 | Keeneland | Perryville | G3 | $350,000 | 4:12pm |
| Sat Oct 17 | Keeneland | Lexus Raven Run | G2 | $400,000 | 5:16pm |
| Sat Oct 17 | Woodbine | Ontario Derby | G3 | $123,000 | TBC |
| Sat Oct 17 | Woodbine | Ontario Fashion | G3 | $123,000 | TBC |
| Sat Oct 17 | Scioto Downs | Breeders Crown three year old and Open eliminations | Elims | Finals $400,000 to $600,000 | From 6:00pm |
| Sun Oct 18 | Keeneland | Rood and Riddle Dowager | G3 | $350,000 | 4:44pm |
| Sun Oct 18 | Woodbine | Frost King and South Ocean (Ontario sired) | Stakes | $105,000 each | TBC |
Friday: Two Year Old Breeders Crown Eliminations
Two Year Old Colt and Gelding Pace
Eastie Boy won the Metro Pace at Woodbine Mohawk Park on September 26 in a career best 1:49.2 for driver Ronnie Wrenn Jr. and trainer Ron Burke. Th Theo finished second and Global Choice third. Shalom Hanover came into the Metro final unbeaten but scratched on the night, so he arrives with a question to answer.
Two Year Old Filly Pace
Jersey Bulldog won the Shes A Great Lady final at Mohawk for driver Bob McClure and trainer John Pentland in 1:49.4. She was the second choice that night and beat the 4/5 favorite Waves Of Fortune, who finished third. Twin B Mayreau ran second.
Two Year Old Colt and Gelding Trot
Wrong Sounds Right won the Mohawk Million by three lengths in 1:51.1, a stakes and track record that matched the world record for a two year old trotting male. Todd McCarthy drove for trainer Jim Campbell. Access Now ran second and D A Johnny Cash third.
Two Year Old Filly Trot
Birr Castle holds the only Win and You’re In spot in this division, so she skips the Breeders Crown eliminations and draws for posts 1 through 6 in the final. Marcus Melander trains her and Scott Zeron drove her to a stakes record 1:53.4 in the $300,000 Pennsylvania Sire Stakes championship at Pocono on September 7.
Saturday: Three Year Old Breeders Crown Eliminations
Three Year Old Colt and Gelding Pace
Redland Rocket Man is the story of the division. His connections paid $72,000 to supplement him after he won the Little Brown Jug for driver Jody Jamieson and trainer John Pentland. He brings a four race winning streak to Ohio, and he equalled the world record of 1:46.4 for three year old pacing geldings in the Simcoe Stakes at Mohawk.
Ron Burke’s Melillo and Al Papi finished second and third in that Jug. Brandon Blvd (Dexter Dunn and Andrew Harris) and Beau Jangles (James MacDonald and Dr. Ian Moore) each won a division of the Bluegrass at The Red Mile on October 3 in 1:47.2.
Three Year Old Colt and Gelding Trot
Apex won the Hambletonian by a nose over Big Ranger in a stakes record 1:49.2 for Dexter Dunn and Marcus Melander. His stablemate Nix Nacken has beaten him twice since. Nix Nacken won the Canadian Trotting Classic at Mohawk with Scott Zeron, beating Apex, the 3/5 favorite, and then won the Kentucky Futurity in 1:50 with Bjorn Goop, matching the world record. Apex broke stride at the start of the Futurity.
Strobe Lite, a two time Ontario Sires Stakes champion, finished third in the Canadian Trotting Classic. His connections supplemented him for $72,000.
Three Year Old Filly Pace
Loua Dipa won the Jugette for Ronnie Wrenn Jr. and Ron Burke, a record sixth Jugette for the Burke barn. Miss Jum Jabber arrives as a supplement after 13 wins from 17 starts this year, including the Pennsylvania and Kentucky Sire Stakes championships, for trainer and owner Brett Pelling. Topville Lucky won a Bluegrass division for Andrew Harris at The Red Mile.
Three Year Old Filly Trot
Melander holds two strong cards here. Nuance won the Elegantimage at Mohawk by two and a half lengths in a stakes record 1:51.1 with James MacDonald. Nezuko Kamado S won the Hambletonian Oaks by a neck over Carve. Nancy Takter’s Shes Moni won the Kentucky Filly Futurity with Yannick Gingras in 1:50.1. Little Road, the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes champion for breeder, owner and trainer Roger Hammer, joins as a supplement after nine wins this year.
Saturday: Open and Mare Breeders Crown Eliminations
Open Pace
Dandy Ideal won the Dan Patch at Hoosier Park in 1:47.2, matching the stakes record, for Tyler Buter and trainer Hunter Oakes. Best Chip joins as a supplement for Joe Bongiorno. He won the Canadian Pacing Derby in 1:46.4, matching the stakes record, and ran second in the Dayton Pacing Derby on October 3. He has nine wins from 16 starts this year.
Open Trot
Super Chapter has collected four major older trotting prizes since August for Melander and Dexter Dunn. He won the John Cashman Memorial on Hambletonian Day, the International Trot at Yonkers against horses from seven countries, and the Maple Leaf Trot at Mohawk in a Canadian record 1:49.3 for aged trotting stallions. Most recently he won the Dayton Trotting Derby on October 3 in a track record 1:50.2, equalling the world record for a four year old male trotter on a five eighths mile track, the same size as Scioto.
Mare Pace and Mare Trot
Francent N cost $48,000 to supplement into the Mare Pace. She set a Canadian record of 1:47.3 in the Milton Stakes and has won four of six starts. Three Times Bettor won the Rockin Nola at Hoosier Park for Dexter Dunn and Brett Pelling in 1:49.1.
Marcus Melander Leads the Breeders Crown Eliminations
No trainer brings more firepower to Scioto than Marcus Melander. He trains Apex, Nix Nacken, Nuance, Nezuko Kamado S, Birr Castle and Super Chapter, all Grade 1 winners or Win and You’re In qualifiers this season. He won the Hambletonian, the Hambletonian Oaks and the Cashman on the same afternoon in August. John Pentland arrives with two Grade 1 winners of his own in Redland Rocket Man and Jersey Bulldog.
| Division | Horse | Trainer | Key 2026 Win |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2YO Colt Pace | Eastie Boy | Ron Burke | Metro Pace |
| 2YO Filly Pace | Jersey Bulldog | John Pentland | Shes A Great Lady |
| 2YO Colt Trot | Wrong Sounds Right | Jim Campbell | Mohawk Million |
| 2YO Filly Trot | Birr Castle | Marcus Melander | Pennsylvania Sire Stakes championship |
| 3YO Colt Pace | Redland Rocket Man | John Pentland | Little Brown Jug |
| 3YO Colt Trot | Apex | Marcus Melander | Hambletonian |
| 3YO Colt Trot | Nix Nacken | Marcus Melander | Kentucky Futurity, Canadian Trotting Classic |
| 3YO Filly Pace | Loua Dipa | Ron Burke | Jugette |
| 3YO Filly Pace | Miss Jum Jabber | Brett Pelling | Pennsylvania and Kentucky Sire Stakes championships |
| 3YO Filly Trot | Nuance | Marcus Melander | Elegantimage |
| 3YO Filly Trot | Shes Moni | Nancy Takter | Kentucky Filly Futurity |
| Open Pace | Dandy Ideal | Hunter Oakes | Dan Patch |
| Open Pace | Best Chip | Joe Bongiorno | Canadian Pacing Derby |
| Open Trot | Super Chapter | Marcus Melander | International Trot, Maple Leaf Trot, Dayton Trotting Derby |
| Mare Pace | Three Times Bettor | Brett Pelling | Rockin Nola |
How We Bet the Breeders Crown Eliminations
The post position rule drives our approach. Because elimination winners draw inside posts for the final, the class horses usually race to win, and that makes short prices on the obvious horses common. We look for value underneath them in exactas and trifectas, especially in splits where two strong horses meet early.
Track size also matters. The Red Mile and the Meadowlands are one mile ovals and Woodbine Mohawk Park measures seven eighths of a mile, while Scioto is a five eighths mile track with tighter turns. Horses that won from off the pace on the bigger tracks face a tougher task here, and early speed from a good draw counts for more.
Our Breeders Crown Eliminations Best Bets
Three Year Old Colt and Gelding Trot: Nix Nacken. He has beaten Apex twice in a row and comes into the Breeders Crown eliminations with a world record equalling Kentucky Futurity win.
Three Year Old Colt and Gelding Pace: Redland Rocket Man. Four straight wins, a Jug title and a world record equalling 1:46.4 in the Simcoe. His connections did not pay $72,000 to make up the numbers.
Open Trot: Super Chapter. He has won the Cashman, the International Trot, the Maple Leaf Trot and the Dayton Trotting Derby since August, and his world record equalling mile at Dayton came on a five eighths mile track like Scioto.
Two Year Old Colt and Gelding Trot: Wrong Sounds Right. His Mohawk Million matched the world record, and he won it by three lengths.
Bet the Breeders Crown With MyWinners
The Breeders Crown eliminations set up the richest weekend of the harness year, and next week we preview all 12 finals. For the bigger picture, our Harness Racing Triple Crowns guide covers the season’s other championship races. Catch the Hambletonian winner, the Jug winner and the International Trot winner under the lights at Scioto Downs this Friday and Saturday from 6:00pm ET.
Bet online at app.mywinners.com, on the MyWinners: Racing & Sports app on iOS or Android, or go here to find your nearest MyWinners or Winners venue in CT.
