Uncle Peter leads 10 into Hambletonian final

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Uncle Peter, Knows Nothing and Market Share won their eliminations Saturday, leading a field of 10 trotters who qualified for next weekend’s $1.5 million Hambletonian at the Meadowlands.

Uncle Peter, who captured last year’s Breeders Crown for 2-year-old trotters, won the first elimination in 1:53 3-5 with Ron Pierce in the bike. Money On My Mind finished second and Prestidigitator took third.

Knows Nothing trotted the mile in a career-best 1:53 1-5 in capturing the second elimination by 1 1/4 lengths with Jody Jamieson driving.

Guccio and driver-trainer Jimmy Takter closed to finish second. My MVP sat last on the rail for most of the race but was able to rally wide into the stretch and finished stoutly to finish third. Stormin Normand finished four in the second elimination and got the final spot in the Hambletonian as the fourth richest finisher.

Market Share posted the fastest winning time, capturing the third elimination by almost three lengths in 1:52 2-5. The Tim Tetrick-driven colt will try to make Linda Toscano the first woman trainer to win the Hambletonian.

Archangel, who held the lead entering the stretch, finished second. Gym Tan Laundry was third.

Among the colts who failed to qualify for the final were Possess The Will, last year’s champion trotter, and Little Brown Fox, who was a surprise winner of a division of the Stanley Dancer Memorial earlier this month.