2007 Pepsi North America Cup Entries

The $1.5 million Pepsi North America Cup is the richest harness race in Canada, featuring the best 3-year-old pacing colts in North America going the standard distance of 1 mile around two turns of Mohawk's 7 furlong oval. The race had originally been run at Greenwood Raceway and then at Woodbine, but with changes to the Ontario harness racing season, this Saturday night the North America Cup will be contested at Mohawk, the first time the Campbellville oval has hosted the prestigious event. Red River Hanover owns the Cup stakes record of 1:48 4/5 in 2002, while Bettors Delight, who will be inducted in the Canadian Racing Hall of Fame this summer, won the race by the largest margin, 4 1/2 lengths, in 2001. Other winners of the Cup, which began in 1984, include such champions as Jate Lobell (1987), Precious Bunny (1991), Presidential Ball (1993), Cams Card Shark (1994) and Gallo Blue Chip (2000).

Posts were drawn on Tuesday afternoon at a special event at the Mississauga Civic Centre. A full field of ten will line up behind the starter, with Yankee Skyscraper drawing post 2 as the 2-1 favorite on the morning line. Yankee Skyscraper won the fastest of the three elimination races, closing from last to first to win in 1:50 2/5. Regular driver George Brennan will be in the sulky once again on Saturday night.

Second choice on the board is Tell All at 3-1 who will line up in post 3. He won his elimination by 2 1/2 lengths in 1:50 4/5. Driver Jody Jamieson said, "I think he's got a great shot. Obviously, I'm going to try to work out a perfect trip, but if it doesn't work out, I think he's still a good enough horse to overcome that. He can close like any good horse ever has. So hopefully he's coming into the race 100%. I'm sure they're going to be racing on the front end. You're going for a million five. There will be a lot of tussling trying to get positioned early. That's why I picked post three. I don't want to get too involved, too early."

Rounding out the top three on the morning line is 7-2 Sutter Hanover who drew the 4 post after winning his elimination by 1 1/4 lengths in 1:50 4/5. Scott Petherick, assistant trainer for Mark Harder, said, "He's had races three weeks in a row. It looked like he was flat (in the elimination), but the horse wasn't any flatter or any worse than last week. It might have looked like that and the time might have looked like that but the horse came out of the race perfectly. He's one of the only ones in the race who has been able to move three or four times in a race and still be able to hold on. So, he's really, to me, the horse to beat. The four-hole was (driver) Dave Miller's choice. He's been raced on the front end and that's really not his type of race. He can do it but he's better off stalking them."

Saturday's exceptional card also includes the $334,600 Goodtimes Stakes for 3-year-old trotters, the $531,800 Elegantimage Stakes for 3-year-old filly trotters and four $265,350 finals of the Classic Series for older horses. The first race on Saturday night goes off at 7:20 PM ET with the North America Cup going to post at 9:40 PM ET. The race will be shown in Canada on The Score television network in a special telecast from 8:30 - 10:00 PM, and will be available at simulcast outlets all over North America.